Management of plant biodiversity in the homegarden agroforestry practices in demba gofa district of south Ethiopia

This study was premeditated to provide data on plant biodiversity, uses and management in homegarden agroforestry practices. Interview with owners, discussions with local people and site visits were applied to collect primary data. Secondary data were collected form online and documented sources. Species biodiversity data were calculated using Shannon- Wiener Index and vegetation data were analyzed using R-software of version R3.0.1 program. The result indicated that 106 plant species were collected from all sites. Out of the collected plant species, edible and medicinal plants accounted 76.7% and 58.0% respectively. Cordia africana, Mangifera indicum, Persea americana and Moringa olefiera had high species number and relative frequency. Some of these species were used as construction material while others used as source of income. Farmers have indigenous knowledge on management of plant biodiversity where farm size, water availability and socioeconomic differences hinder the plant biodiversity in homegarden agroforestry practices. It can be concluded that farm size, extension program, local knowledge in use and source of planting materials were must be considered to promote homegarden agroforestry technologies.