Plants Diversity and Structure Under different Land Uses of Kafa Biosphere Reserve and its surroundings, South Western Ethiopia

Occurrence Observation
Latest version published by Hawassa University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources on Feb 19, 2026 Hawassa University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources
Publication date:
February 19, 2026
License:
CC0 1.0

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Description

Data on plant diversity and structure were collected in the Kafa Biosphere Reserve (KBR), Southern Ethiopia, across three land uses: core habitat, buffer, and agriculture. Woody plant species were recorded in 1250m2 plots, counting all individuals. Herbaceous cover, focusing on insect-visited flowers, was estimated in four 1m2 quadrats within each plot. Vegetation structure data, including DBH and height, were also measured.

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 999 records.

1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

Occurrence (core)
999
ExtendedMeasurementOrFact 
4975

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Versions

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How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Girma Z (2026). Plants Diversity and Structure Under different Land Uses of Kafa Biosphere Reserve and its surroundings, South Western Ethiopia. Version 1.1. Hawassa University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources. Occurrence dataset. https://cloud.gbif.org/africa/resource?r=plantdivs2026kbr&v=1.1

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Hawassa University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources. To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 7b1e4df9-de95-453a-a51d-b806dbec861f.  Hawassa University, Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Participant Node Managers Committee.

Keywords

Diversity; Herbs; Occurrence; Woody species; Observation

Contacts

Zerihun Girma
  • Metadata Provider ●
  • Originator ●
  • Point Of Contact
Hawassa University
1530 Hawassa
ET
Matthew Cassetta
  • Owner
JRS Biodiversity Foundation
US

Geographic Coverage

The Kafa Biosphere Reserve (KBR), a UNESCO World Heritage site and biodiversity hotspot, provides critical ecosystem services to millions of people. As Ethiopia's first biosphere reserve and the world's first coffee biosphere reserve, the KBR holds global appeal for coffee enthusiasts and ecotourists. Located in southwest Ethiopia's highlands (7º0’ – 8º0’N, 35º30’-37º0’E), the KBR is the birthplace of wild Arabic coffee, harboring nearly 5,000 wild varieties. Its forests feed the Gojeb, Dinchia, and Woshi rivers, acting as a vital freshwater reservoir. This forest ecosystem significantly supports local livelihoods by providing wild coffee, valuable spices, and wild honey.

Bounding Coordinates South West [7.243, 36.12], North East [7.514, 36.484]

Taxonomic Coverage

No Description available

Genus Alchemilla, Crotalaria, Dolichos, Helichrysum, Ipomoea, Plectranthus, Polyscias fulva
Species Acalypha psilostachya, Acanthus eminens, Achyranthes aspera, Achyrospermum schimperi, Albizia gummifera, Allophylus abyssinicus, Apodytes dimidiata, Bersama abyssinica, Bidens pilosa, Bothriocline schimperi, Brucea antidysenterica, Caesalpinia decapetala, Carduus leptacanthus, Casimiroa edulis, Celtis africana, Chenopodium ambrosio'ides, Chionanthus mildbraedii, Cineraria abyssinica, Clerodendrum myricoides, Cordia africana, Crassocephalum macropappurn, Crotalaria agatiflora, Croton macrostachyus, Cupressus lusitanica, Cyathula uncinulata, Dalbergia lactea, Desmodium repandum, Dichrocephala integrifolia, Dissotis senegambiensis, Dombeya torrida, Dracaena steudneri, Ehretia cymosa, Ekebergia capensis, Elaeodendron buchananii, Embelia schimperi, Erythrina brucei, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Eucalyptus saligna, Ficus palmata, Ficus sur, Ficus vasta, Gouania longispicata, Guizotia scabra, Hagenia abyssinica, Helichrysum forskahlii, Helinus mystacinus, Hibiscus macranthus, Hygrophila schulli, Ilex mitis, Impatiens, Isoglossa somalensis, Jasminum abyssinicum, Justicia ladanoides, Justicia schimperiana, Kosteletzkya begoniifolia, Lannea triphylla, Linum usitatissimum, Lippia adoensis, Macaranga capensis, Maesa lanceolata, Mangifera indica, Maytenus undata, Mikaniopsis clematoides, Millettia ferruginea, Mimosa pigra, Mimusops kummel, Nicandra physaloides, Ocimum gratissimum, Oplismenus hirtellus, Pavetta oliveriana, Pavonia schimperiana, Pavonia urens, Pentas schimperiana, Persea americana, Phoenix reclinata, Piper capense, Pouteria adolfi-friederici, Premna schimperi, Prunus africana, Psidium guajava, Pycnostachys meyeri, Ricinus communis, Rothmannia urcelliformis, Rumex nepalensis, Sapium ellipticum, Schefflera abyssinica, Senna didymobotrya, Senna septemtrionalis, Sesbania sesban, Sida rhombifolia, Spathodea campanulata, Tagetes minuta, Teclea nobilis, Trilepisium madagascariense, Vernonia amygdalina, Vernonia hochstetteri, Vernonia hymenolepis

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 2024-05-01 / 2025-05-31

Project Data

No Description available

Title Plant Diversity and Structure Under different Land Uses of Kafa Biosphere Reserve and its surroundings, South Eastern Ethiopia
Identifier CESP2024-013
Funding The data collection was financial supported by JRS Biodiversity through grant number 70032 to Hawassa University
Study Area Description The Kafa Biosphere Reserve (KBR), a UNESCO world heritage site and biodiversity hotspot in Southwest Ethiopia (7º0’ – 8º0’N, 35º30’-37º0’E), provides crucial ecosystem services for millions of local inhabitants. As Ethiopia's first biosphere reserve and the world's first coffee biosphere reserve, the KBR is a potential ecotourism destination, particularly for coffee enthusiasts. This predominantly highland region, covered by evergreen montane forest, is the birthplace of wild Arabic coffee, harboring nearly 5,000 wild varieties. The KBR is also a major water source for the Gojeb, Dinchia, and Woshi rivers, acting as a vital freshwater reservoir. The forest ecosystem significantly supports local livelihoods by providing wild coffee, valuable spices, and wild honey.
Project Award Insect pollinator diversity under different land uses in and around Kafa Biosphere Reserve and Bale Mountains National Park, Southern Ethiopia

JRS Biodiversity Foundation
70032

The personnel involved in the project:

Zerihun Girma
  • Author
Beyene Tekelu
  • Content Provider
Kidist Fekadu
  • Content Provider
Mikias Biazin
  • Content Provider

Sampling Methods

Plant diversity and structure were assessed in core, buffer, and agricultural zones within and around KBR. In each zone, a 50m x 25m plot was established at 500m intervals. Woody plants were recorded within this plot, while herbs were recorded in four 1m x 1m subplots at each corner. Data collection occurred between 8:00 and 11:00 during favorable weather (sunny, no rain, 25-38°C) targeting flowering periods (Rader et al., 2013; Speights et al., 2017). For woody plants, the number of individuals, stand height, and DBH were recorded. For herbs, percent cover was estimated in each subplot. All plants were collected, pressed, and identified at the National Herbarium of Addis Ababa University using flora guides and archived specimens.

Study Extent The study was carried out in core, buffer zones of Kafa Biosphere Reserve d the surrounding agricultural land. Sampling was carried out in all habitat types in the core buffer zones and the surroundings agricultural land. Data was collected for two years from 2024 to 2025 targeting flowering period.

Method step description:

  1. For woody plants, the number of individuals, stand height, and DBH were recorded. For herbs, percent cover was estimated in each subplot. All plants were collected, pressed, and identified at the National Herbarium of Addis Ababa University using flora guides and archived specimens.

Collection Data

Collection Name Plant diversity of Kafa Biosphere Reserve
Specimen preservation methods Dried

Additional Metadata

Acknowledgements
Alternative Identifiers 7b1e4df9-de95-453a-a51d-b806dbec861f
https://cloud.gbif.org/africa/resource?r=plantdivs2026kbr