The Impact of Urban Home Gardening on Plant Species Conservation and Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

Home gardens are an important consideration in terms of environmental sustainability and plant species conservation and yet their significance is often unrecognized. This is particularly more relevant in tropical region such as Ethiopia as home gardens have been a way of life for centuries in the region generally and in Mekelle city in particular. The present study tries to examine the urban home garden practices and evaluate their significance towards environmental benefits and plant species conservation in Mekelle city. A total of 89 home gardens were randomly selected for the study. A combination of complete plant inventory, demarcation of plots with 10m*10m for tree plants, 5m*5m for shrubs and 1m* 1m for herbs as well as interview were used to collect data. The result showed that the cultivated land size of sample home gardens ranged from 50-500m² with mean 214.16m². About 99% of the assessed home gardens were established on open areas of their garden in response to getting more environmental benefits, food and cash to support family. From the total of 72 species that recorded in the home garden, Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris L.),Papaya (Carica papaya L.), Rhamnus prinoides ,Ruta chalepensis, and guava (Psidium guajava) were the most cultivated crops in the home gardens of the study site. The present study exposed that contribution of UHG goes beyond gap filling where, economic important and environmental benefited crops dominated in the home garden. The main advantages of urban home gardening practices are income supplementation, nutritional improvement due to food diversity by providing the urban society with fresh food and its urban environmental guarantee due to conserve plant species diversity and waste utilization. Paying due attention to urban home garden development has significant role in addressing environmental benefits in the future. The availability of water, improved seeds and incidence of pests and insects are the most determinant factors that influence the sustainability of urban home gardening.

Keywords: urban home garden, environmental benefit, plant species diversity, Mekelle, Ethiopia