PLANT SPECIES DIVERSITY AND COMPOSITION OF HOMEGARDEN AGROFORESTRY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO RURAL HOUSEHOLD LIVELIHOOD IN GIBE DISTRICT, SNNPR ETHIOPIA

Homegarden agroforestry is commonly defined as a land use system involving deliberate management of multipurpose trees and shrubs in intimate association with annual and perennial agricultural crops and invariably livestock within the compounds of individual houses, the whole tree-crop, and animal unit are being intensively managed by family labor. The aim of this study was to investigate diversity and composition of homegardens agroforestry (HGAF) and its benefits for rural household -livelihoods generation in Gibe district, SNNPR Ethiopia. The methods of conducting this research were purposive and random sampling method. Plant species diversity inventories were carried out for 45 homegardens from 142 total sample sizes. All woody species and herbaceous species were counted and recorded in 10 x 10 m and 2 x 2 m plots, respectively. A total of 93 plant species (55 woody and 38 herbaceous) belonging to 43 families were recorded in the study homegardens. Fabaceae was the most frequent woody plant family with (12) species, followed by Rutaceae with (6) species, Solanaceae with (6) species and Lamiaceae with (5) species. Similarly, Solanaceae with (6) species was found to be the most frequent family amongst the herbaceous plant families this frequency occurrence was followed by Musaceae with (3) and poaceae with (3) that were encountered in the Gibe district. The mean Shannon-Weiner diversity index in the three study wealth category was 1.30, 1.85 and 2.25 for woody and 0.93, 1.70 and 1.97 for herbs poor, medium and rich respectively. The study revealed ten use categories of HGAF and the main livelihood source in the study area were agriculture. Based on findings benefits of HGAF is source of food and cash crops, household income source, animal feed, fuel wood source, source of medicinal plants, benefits from livestock and beekeeping products, not only this but also it contributes to environmental sustainability. Encourage homegardening for plant biodiversity conservation and management as well as for ecological interventions is the main issue