WOODY SPECIES DIVERSITY OF PARKLAND AGROFORESTRY AND ITS ROLE IN IMPROVING SMALLHOLDER HOUSEHOLDS’ FOOD SECURITY IN MELKA BELLO DISTRICT, EAST HARARGHE ZONE, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

Woody species of Parkland agroforestry are prominent features in many crop landscapes in Ethiopia. Parkland agroforestry which is a system practiced for many local populations is very important for house hold food security and widely acknowledged. Therefore, in the eastern part a little information compiled in the eastern part generally and specifically in the study district don’t any information available concerning woody species diversity of parkland agroforestry and its role in improving Smallholdr household food security. This study objectives, was conducted to assess woody species diversity of parkland Agroforestry and its, role in improving smallholder household food security in Melka, Bello District, East, Hararghe, Zone which was purposely selected based on presence of parkland agroforestry. A total of 116 respondents were selected in a systematic sample way from total households of 5303 in the study area based on Kothari formula used. woody species data was collected though established 100*50m plot size in each 116 sampled household’s total 58ha of land of species DBH>5cm and height >1.3m was counted and recorded. The survey data was collected through household interviews in the study area. The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 26 at 5% significance level. Woody species density, basal area and diameter class distribution were computed to characterize structure of woody communities. The study indicated that the woody species diversity indices were higher at lowland (Ifa bas and Mekenisa kebeles) than midland agro-ecology (Daga belo and Dire kufa kebeles).The result of this study showed that significance difference (p<0.05) in the mean value of Shannon and Simpson diversity index among the lowland and midland parkland agroforestry in the study area. The survey results indicated that 46% of the respondents were food secure, while 54 % were food insecure