Evaluating Cultivation and Conservation Strategies for Medicinal Plants in Home Gardens: Menz Keya Gebreal District, North Shoa, Ethiopia

Evaluating Cultivation and Conservation Strategies for Medicinal Plants in Home Gardens: Menz Keya Gebreal District, North Shoa, Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Evaluating Cultivation and Conservation Strategies for Medicinal Plants in Home Gardens: Menz Keya Gebreal District, North Shoa, Ethiopia Bizuayehu Nigussie¹, Dagne Abebe², Zebideru Deribe This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7883357/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background This study, conducted from August to December 2021, aimed to evaluate the cultivation and conservation strategies for medicinal plants in home gardens in the Men Keya Gebreal District, North Shoa Zone, Ethiopia. Methods Data were collected from 118 informants using semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, market surveys, and guided field walks. Analytical methods included direct matrix ranking, paired comparison, and priority ranking. Results The survey identified 50 beneficial plant species, with 18 species (36%) categorized as common, 21 species (42%) of medium occurrence, and 11 species (22%) as rare. The community sourced 30 species (60%) from home gardens, 18 species (36%) from the wild, and 2 species (4%) from semi-wild areas. The Lamiaceae family contributed 5 species, Fabaceae 4 species, and Asteraceae also 4 species. Among these, 38% were shrubs, 30% trees, 30% herbs, and 2% climbers. Solanum tuberosum was the most preferred food species, while Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata was the most versatile. Of the 50 species, 23 (46%) were edible, and 27 (54%) non-edible. Traditional medicine utilized 27 species, spices included 10 species, and soil fertility conservation involved 12 species. Conclusion The main challenges identified were monoculture practices, small garden sizes, poor soil conditions, and manpower shortages. Recommended measures to address these issues include rainwater storage using geo-membranes, natural fertilizer application (compost), and reducing monoculture practices. Medicinal Plants Home Gardens Traditional Medicine Soil Fertility Conservation Monoculture Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. 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Analytical methods included direct matrix ranking, paired comparison, and priority ranking.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe survey identified 50 beneficial plant species, with 18 species (36%) categorized as common, 21 species (42%) of medium occurrence, and 11 species (22%) as rare. The community sourced 30 species (60%) from home gardens, 18 species (36%) from the wild, and 2 species (4%) from semi-wild areas. The Lamiaceae family contributed 5 species, Fabaceae 4 species, and Asteraceae also 4 species. Among these, 38% were shrubs, 30% trees, 30% herbs, and 2% climbers. Solanum tuberosum was the most preferred food species, while Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata was the most versatile. Of the 50 species, 23 (46%) were edible, and 27 (54%) non-edible. Traditional medicine utilized 27 species, spices included 10 species, and soil fertility conservation involved 12 species.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe main challenges identified were monoculture practices, small garden sizes, poor soil conditions, and manpower shortages. Recommended measures to address these issues include rainwater storage using geo-membranes, natural fertilizer application (compost), and reducing monoculture practices.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Evaluating Cultivation and Conservation Strategies for Medicinal Plants in Home Gardens: Menz Keya Gebreal District, North Shoa, Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-07 11:21:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7883357/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"470265fa-7d98-4ef0-a3f4-f5d5ed875606","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 7th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-08T10:54:14+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-07 11:21:45","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7883357","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7883357","identity":"rs-7883357","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}