Silvicultural contributions towards sustainable management and conservation of forest resources in the highlands of Ethiopia

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A silvicultural project was conducted to design sustainable forest management strategy for the utilization of forest resources in the highlands of Ethiopia. While the natural forest is heavily degraded, plantation forests are inappropriately managed. Two experiments were conducted, one in the natural forest and the other in plantations. Enrichment plantings were undertaken as a measure to restore degraded natural forests. Ecologically and economically important indigenous species were planted in gaps of the degraded forests. Survival and growth were different among species, as draught and herbivory had an impact on the young plantings. First results after two-investigation years indicated the potential of enrichment plantings by native species. In plantation forests, different management options involving silviculture treatments with different thinning intensity and different protection variants against livestock were conducted in different age classes of three dominant plantation forests. Mature stand, ground vegetation and regeneration were in depth investigated and a comprehensive data is available. First results of the impact of the silvicultural treatments on mature stands and regeneration were promising. However, longer-term investigation is indispensable to draw valid conclusions about the further growth of the plantations and the success/failure of the enrichment plantings to restore degraded natural forests. Further analyses and results set in publications will provide scientific bases for recommendations on the sustainable management and restoration of the Ethiopian highland forests.