Abstract:
Home garden is a sustainable land management system that could be of great utility in
ecosystem with both plant biodiversity and biomass. The present study was conducted in
Belipola village situated in Welimada region (Intermediate Zone, Up-country) with the aims of
identification of plant species, stratification structure and the tree plant diversity. The area was
divided into three groups according to the topographic arrangement as steep (>30% slope),
moderate (10%-30% slope) and flat land (>10% slope). Six home gardens were selected by
simple random sampling method for each topography hence eighteen home gardens were
evaluated. Plant species in the home garden were identified and classified into different
categories such as uses, origin of species and growth habit. Stratification structure of home
gardens was determined and schematic diagrams were drawn by using the physiognomic
formula. Tree species were determined when the breast height diameter of a plant is greater
than 5 cm. The diversity of tree species was calculated using the Shannon Weiner index. There
are 297 plant species were identified in home gardens and out of them 69, 63, 108, 32, 20 and
5species were determined as trees, shrubs, herbs, climbers, grasses, and ferns, respectively.
When considering the origin, 213 species were identified as exotic species while 72 were
identified as native species where 8 endemic plant species were also detected. Further, 107
species were identified as food sources while 10, 5, 31, and 25 species were mainly used as
timber, firewood, medicinal plants, species for biodiversity improvement, Ornamental purposes,
and miscellaneous uses, respectively. The Shannon wiener index of home gardens ranged from
1.53 to 3.10 and mean value was 2.35. However, it is not significantly different among the
topographies of home gardens. Result of an architectural analysis of the canopy in the home
gardens reveals that the good structure can be found in steep slope home gardens in the study
area. High tree species diversity, layered canopy configurations and compatible species
admixtures could be the most conspicuous characteristics of a home garden in the region. Hence,
there is a large potential in the home gardens to enhance the forest cover of the Intermediate
zone of up country, Sri Lanka.
Keywords: Home garden, Plant Biodiversity, Stratification structure, Tree species diversity
Corresponding Author: nchedigalla@gmail.co
