Natural forests are crucial for climate change mitigation and adaptation, but deforestation and degradation challenges highly reduce their value. This study evaluates the potential of natural forest carbon stock and the influence of management interventions on enhancing forest carbon storage capacity. Based on forest area cover, a study was conducted in nine purposely selected forest patches across various forest ecosystems. Data on diameter, height, and environmental variables from various forest management approaches were collected and analyzed with R Ver. 4.1. The findings revealed a substantial difference (p .029) in carbon stock between environmental variables and management interventions. The findings revealed a strong connection between environmental variables and the overall pool of carbon stock within forest patches (p .029). Carbon stocks were highest in the Moist‐montane forest ecosystem (778.25 ton/ha), moderate slope (1019.5 ton/ha), lower elevation (614.50 ton/ha), southwest‐facing (800.1 ton/ha) and area exclosures (993.2 ton/ha). Accordingly, natural forests, particularly unmanaged parts, are sensitive to anthropogenic stresses, decreasing their ability to efficiently store carbon. As a result, the study highlighted the importance of sustainable forest management, particularly area exclosures and participatory forest management, in increasing forest carbon storage potential.

Almost all habitats on the planet are home to birds, from the lowest deserts to the highest mountains. Birds have proved to be excellent indicators of biodiversity or productivity as they are easily observed and are relatively well known compared to other animals. Although bird species are distributed across the globe, habitat destruction, fragmentation, and loss have adversely affected their survival and distribution. Therefore, this study is an attempt to prepare a baseline data on avifaunal diversity with their relative abundance and species richness in different habitats within Lewi Mountain Awi zone, Ethiopia from December 2018 to October 2020, including both the wet and dry seasons. The sampling sites were stratified based on land cover features, and transect count techniques were employed. The data were summarized per season and habitat type in the excel spreadsheet throughout the study period. In this study, one-way ANOVA was used to determine the effect of habitat type on species diversity and abundance. T-tests are also use to analyze bird populations among seasons. A total of 1591 individuals, 56 bird species belonging to 29 families and 12 orders were identified during the two seasons. The Wetland habitat had the highest species diversity index (H’ = 3) with high evenness index (J = 0.88) during the dry season followed by the open shrubs habitat (H’ = 2.97) with the highest evenness index (J = 0.95). The settlement had the lowest species diversity (H' = 2.17) and the lowest evenness index (J = 0.8) in the same season. During the wet season, disturbed forests recorded the highest Shannon-Weiner diversity index (H’ = 3.2) with the highest evenness (J = 0.92) followed by Wetland habitat (H’ = 2.97) with high evenness index (J = 0.87). During dry and wet seasons, the abundance of birds' species in different habitat types did not differ significantly (F = 1.91, p = 0.193, dƒ = 3) and (F = 1.579, p = 0.199, dƒ = 3), respectively. From all studied habitats, the overall mean abundance of bird species between dry and wet seasons was significantly different (F = 3642, P ≤ 0.001, dƒ = 1). In conclusion, settlement had the lowest species diversity and the lowest evenness index in the research area for the entire season. The habitats are important to the conservation of birds, so good habitat management is required, such as minimizing agricultural expansion and overgrazing, demarcating the forest habitats for wild species only, and creating awareness among local communities.

The reliable data on faunal diversity, abundance, and habitat preference are essential for proposing and establishing relevant conservation interventions. A survey was done from September 2019 to March 2021 to investigate the diversity, relative abundance, and habitat association of large and medium mammals in Tiski Waterfall, Ethiopia. Data were collected using the line transect survey method in both habitat types. In cliff sites, the point transect was also used. The habitats were populated by large and medium animal species that favor dense forest and shrubland habitats near water sources. During the research, three different habitat categories were evaluated (dense forest, shrubland, and cliff sites). Ten mammalian species were discovered. During the wet season, there were 243 ± 6.6 populations recorded, while during the dry season, there were 204 ± 6.8. Seasonal differences in species abundance were statistically significant . The total populations of the three habitat types were 198.2 ± 7.39, 135 ± 5.35, and 114 ± 5.16 for dense forest, shrubland, and cliff site, respectively. All three habitat categories had a great difference in species abundance . The olive baboon (Papio anubis) was the most common, accounting for 38 percent of the population, followed by the vervet monkey (Cercopithecus aethiops), which accounted for 23 percent. Leopard (Panthera pardus) and common bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) contributed the least to the total, accounting for only 2% each of the total. The highest diversity of mammalian species was found in dense forest (H′ = 0.98), followed by shrubland (H′ = 0.90), and the cliff location has the lowest diversity (H′ = 0.57). The maximum uniformity of the species was found in dense forests (J = 0.51), followed by a shrub region (J = 0.43), and the remaining of the habitat (J = 0.35). Dense forest and shrubland had the highest species similarity (Sl = 0.67), followed by shrubland and cliff site (SI = 0.61). In dense forests with cliff sites, the similarity was lowest (SI = 0.31) in each. To limit the impact of agricultural growth on big and medium mammals, good habitat management is required.

As a countermeasure to deforestation and forest degradation, there are many forests restoration practices with area exclosures. However, there has been limited scientific investigation of the biophysical status of the restoration practice to show whether it is successful or not for further interventions. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the impacts of forest restoration with area exclosures on vegetation and soil-property-changing aspects. The method followed the concept of forest restoration based on selected indicators and comparison against best practices. For this purpose, three districts in three agro-ecologies were selected. In each district, one exclosure, adjacent church forest, and adjacent grazing land were selected. Then, vegetation data and soil data were collected and analyzed using different diversity indices. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied for data analysis with R.Vr.3.1. The result revealed that there was a significant difference (p < 0.03) in vegetation composition, biomass, and soil attributes across land use and agro-ecology. In terms of wood density, area exclosures were recorded with the highest (1963 trees ha⁻¹) wood density, followed by church forests (1079 trees ha⁻¹) and grazing lands (501 trees ha⁻¹). The highest species diversity was observed in church forests (1.53), followed by area exclosures (1.42) and grazing lands (0.64). Area exclosures show higher similarity (60%) with grazing lands than church forests (45%). Abundant woody species, herbs, and litter biomass were recorded in church forests (1320.8- and 1.8-ton ha⁻¹), followed by exclosures (613- and 1.69-ton ha⁻¹) and grazing lands (415- and 0.78-ton ha⁻¹), respectively. In terms of soil property, church forests recorded the best loam sand and better AvP, Organic Matter, and total nitrogen, followed by exclosures and grazing lands. All the above vegetation and soil parameters indicate that area exclosures show intermediate values between church forests and grazing lands. Therefore, forest restoration with area exclosures is the better tool for degraded forest restoration. Further research is required to understand the ecosystem services of area exclosures and the trajectory of successional changes in vegetation composition and soil parameters of the area exclosures.