%0 Journal Article
%T Variation in Woody Species Abundance and Distribution in and around Kibale National Park, Uganda
%A Paul Okiror
%A Jane Chono
%A Antonia Nyamukuru
%A Jeremiah S. Lwanga
%A Phionah Sasira
%A Paul Diogo
%J ISRN Forestry
%D 2012
%R 10.5402/2012/490461
%X Several protected areas in Uganda are increasingly facing encroachment making farmlands indispensable hubs for biodiversity conservation. A comparative study was conducted comprising a protected area in Kibale National Park and surrounding farmlands to establish how farmlands mimic the forest floristic structure. Study results show very low similarity between the forest and farmland ecosystems ( ). A total of 50 and 29 species were identified in the forest and, farmland, respectively; 8 were shared. Importance value indices of woody species in the forest ranged from 0.3 to 29.9 with Celtis durandii being the most important while those in the farmland were 1.9¨C79.2, Eucalyptus grandis, having the highest index. Woody species diversity and evenness were higher in the forest ecosystem ( , ) compared to the farmland ( , ). The 10¨C<20£¿cm diameter class was the lowest in both ecosystems. Communities adjacent to the park should be educated about the value of the park and conservation in general. Since adjacent farmlands provide important ecotones to the park, on-farm indigenous tree retention and planting are required. Further research on threatened species is needed to enhance conservation in and around KNP. 1. Introduction Kibale National Park received the protected status as a national park in 1993 [1, 2]. It was initially Kibale forest and a hunting ground for the Omukama of Tooro [3]. It underwent a series of transformations from being a gazetted Crown Forest in 1932 to Central Forest Reserve in 1948 and was gazetted as Kibale Forest Game Corridor in 1964 [4]. However, just like in other developing countries, Uganda¡¯s protected areas such as Kibale National Park (KNP) experience extensive human disturbances due to hunting, grazing, settlement, cultivation, fuel wood extraction, and collection of nonwood forest products which contribute to the livelihood of communities adjacent to protected forests [5]. In turn, these negatively affect tree growth and forest cover [6]. Hamilton [7] reported that changes in the patterns of woody species diversity and distribution in forests and farmland ecosystems can also be attributed to environmental factors such as canopy density, slope, soil, and altitude. Woody species composition usually varies with altitude whereby species numbers generally decline with elevation. There are also indirect effects of regional and global human industrial activities that influence the Earth¡¯s atmosphere and climate. Such environmental and human activities can lead to loss of woody species diversity, reduced species composition, and
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn.forestry/2012/490461/