Variation in population structure and dynamics of montane forest tree species in Ethiopia guide priorities for conservation and research

The greatest extent of Afromontane environments in the world is found in Ethiopia. These areas support exceptional biodiversity, but forest cover and ecological integrity have declined sharply in recent decades. Conservation and management efforts are hampered in part by an inadequate understanding of the basic ecology of major tree species. We investigated population structure and inferred population dynamics from size frequency distributions of 22 forest tree species encountered in montane forests of Ethiopia. We collected new empirical data from four sites in the Bale Mountains, where some of the country’s most extensive and least disturbed forests remain, and conducted a systematic review and analysis of all such studies that reported population structure for one or more of these species in Ethiopia. Thirteen widespread montane tree species showed a reverse-J size distribution, indicating a relatively stable population structure. Six other species had size-frequency distributions th...

埃塞俄比亚拥有全球规模最大的非洲山地（Afromontane）生态系统。该区域孕育了极为丰富的生物多样性，但近数十年来，森林覆盖率与生态完整性均出现了大幅下滑。当地的保护与管理工作在一定程度上受限于对主要树种基础生态学特征的认知不足。本研究基于埃塞俄比亚山地森林中22种林木的径级频率分布，对其种群结构展开了调查，并推导了种群动态。研究团队在贝尔山脉（Bale Mountains）的4个样地采集了全新的实测数据——该区域保留着该国规模最大、受干扰程度最低的森林之一——并对埃塞俄比亚境内所有针对上述1种或多种树种开展种群结构研究的相关文献进行了系统综述与分析。其中13种广泛分布的山地林木呈现出逆J型径级分布，表明其种群结构相对稳定；另有6个物种的径级频率分布呈现……