• Problem formulation: deforestation and the associated land degradation is at a severe pace in Ethiopia and has dramatic socio-enomic and ecological consequences
• Objective: understanding the ecology of forest relics and new, naturally establishing forest resources in order to provide guide lines for sustainable forest restoration
• Methodology: Standard descriptions of standing and belowground vegetation (in de seedbank) are extended with a relatively novel approach of addressing the vegetation through the plant functional attributes it exhibits.

These attributes reflect the response mechanisms of plants to its environment and other biota. Grouping into types results in functional classification which allows to predict the dynamics of the ecosystems and specifically some woody reference species.

Focus is on measuring leaf, seed and structure characteristics.