Itisa Mariyam
Although mainly composed of impenetrable thorny
scrub, the Itisa Mariyam woodland has some regionally uncommon species in its
more remote parts where little of the original tree cover has been cut. An
expanding monastery population and an absence of exotic timber will in due
course put pressure on the existing tree resources.
This small secluded monastery lies at the base of a tall cliff below
the highland plateau. There is very little flat ground and agricultural land is
extremely limited. The small church is located on a small promontory. The
monastery community is small and often transient. The woodland, now chiefly
secondary scrub, is on a steep scree slope that is often pretty unstable. Most
of the scrub is extremely prickly and impenetrable. The last patch of uncut
forest is up a gully and of very difficult access due to the steepness of the
terrain.
At the base of the cliff there is a permanent water
source and the vegetation, including fig trees, reflects this. During the rainy
season there is a large waterfall nearby, but no water runs for most of the
year.
In the region, either on the plateau or in the
canyon, there is no natural forest left apart from the few sacred groves, many
of which are actually extremely degraded. However, there are large extends of
secondary scrub mainly on steeper grounds. The remaining of the land is
extensively cultivated.
History
Itisa Mariyam, unlike the neighbouring Itisa Abune Teklehayimanot,
has a more limited history. The physical setting, steep slopes below a large
cliff precludes the site from having a large community and the difficult access
restricts the number of visitors.
According to an old church teacher there has been
very little change in the amount of tree and woodland cover throughout his life
at the monastery, indicating that deforestation occurred during the early parts
of the 20th century if not earlier.
Conservation status
The patch of uncut forest is relatively species rich
and has a few species that are regionally not readily observable. Of interest
is a small population of indigenous Salix,
not observed at any other site in the region. This site could be a good source
of planting material for species reintroduction elsewhere in the neighbourhood.
Most of the only remaining large trees are in a gully on the
cliff face.
Deacon’s huts are very basic and built out of locally
available materials.
View across the canyon. There is another sacred grove
(centre) with very few native trees.
Threats
The expanding monastery
community requires an increasing amount of wood resources and little exotic
timber, i.e. eucalypt, is available locally. Thus, there is an increasing
threat to the native woodland as the monastery tries to obtain these essential
wood resources to meet its requirements.
The introduced Tagetes minuta produces pure stands on
scree slopes where gaps exits in the canopy. This annual plant grows to great
heights (i.e. over 2 m in places) under local conditions and may affect
regeneration of woody plants. The introduced cactus Opuntia ficus-indica is spreading and forms, locally, monotypic
stands.
Management
