Species diversity and grass cover change following the invasion of Lantana camara in a woodland ecosystem.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the species diversity change following the invasion of L. camara and grass coverage in the woodland in the Somaline Region, Ethiopia. To achieve the objectives, two adjusted sites were selected (invaded and non-invaded); at each site, a five-transect line with a distance of 500 m was established. In this transect line, 30 plots with a size of 20 m * 20 m and a distance of 200 m were established for collecting tree and shrub data, while seedlings, saplings, and herbaceous data were collected in a 1 m * 1 m plot. Diversity indices were used for the data analysis. The study result indicates that 23 species with 12 families of herb, grass, shrub, and tree species were identified in the study area. The comparison of the Shannon diversity index and evenness showed that the non-invaded site demonstrated more diversity as compared to the invaded site. Additionally, the correlation result indicates that the rate of L. camara invasion negatively correlates with the Shannon diversity index and evenness, with a correlation coefficient of -0.78 (p = 0.00) and - 0.73 (p = 0.00), respectively. Furthermore, grass and herb coverage: the non-invaded area has high grass and herb coverage with 77.7 ± 12.3, while the invaded area has 29.9 ± 17. In addition, the correlation results indicated that the rate of L. camara invasion had an adverse effect on grass and herb coverage. The invasion of L. camara leads to a decline in species diversity, the number of seedlings and saplings, and grass and herb cover in the study area. Consequently, future research explores the specific interactions between L. camara and native species to better understand the impact of this invasion on local ecosystems, as well as its effects on soil nutrients, microbial communities, and overall composition.