Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Mechara Agricultural Research Center Mechara, Ethiopia

The Homegardens are one of the most important niche in which farmers feel confident to plant and maintain tree and shrub species. Homegardens floristic composition in western Harerghe in general and Habro district have not been given much research attention. The study investigated the floristic composition of the homegarden agroforestry system in 36 homegardens. The study was carried out in Habro district at three sites (Melka Belo, HaroChercher and Lega Bera) Kebeles. A total of 77 plant species were recorded from homegardens of the study area. The families Fabaceae, Solanaceae and Euphorbiaceae were the most diverse, each having nine, seven and five species. The most abundant woody species in the study area were Catha edulis, Coffea arabica and Cordia africana where as the most abundant herbaceous species were Lycopersiconesculentum, Capriscumspp and Nicotina tabacum. The highest species richness (40 woody and 19 herbaceous) was recorded at HaroChercher site for both woody and herbaceous species and lowest number of species was recorded at Melka Belo. According to Jaccard’s and Sørensen’s similarity indices Melka Belo and HaroChercherHomegardens Agroforestry System (69.23 and 81.82) were the most similar pairs followed by Melka Belo and Lega Bera (61.54 and 76.19) while HaroChercher and Lega Bera (52.70 and 69.03) were the most dissimilar pairs. Hence, the research encourages agroforestry systems that are found to have positive effects on plant diversity.