Abstract
<title>Abstract</title> <p> Protected areas are increasingly established to restore degraded ecosystems, yet evidence of vegetation recovery during the early post-gazettement period remains limited, particularly in African miombo woodlands. This study assessed the floristic composition and vegetation structure of Ugalla River National Park (URNP), western Tanzania, five years after its establishment through the amalgamation of the former North Ugalla Forest Reserve (NUFR) and the former Ugalla River Game Reserve (URGR). Vegetation data were collected from 60 Modified Whittaker plots established along six 30-km transects distributed across the two former management units. Woody plant diversity, species richness, evenness, relative abundance, regeneration status, and diameter at breast height (DBH) distributions were quantified and compared between the former URGR and NUFR. The former NUFR supported greater woody species diversity, richness, and evenness than the former URGR, indicating a more diverse and compositionally balanced plant community. Species dominance differed markedly between the two, with <italic>Brachystegia spiciformis</italic> dominating the former NUFR and <italic>Terminalia sericea</italic> dominating the former URGR. Most woody species exhibited fair regeneration, although the former NUFR contained more species across all regeneration categories than the former URGR. Diameter-class distributions in both areas displayed an inverse J-shaped pattern, indicating continuous recruitment and ongoing natural regeneration. These findings demonstrate early vegetation recovery in URNP following gazettement, while differences in floristic composition and vegetation structure continue to reflect historical management regimes and inherent habitat characteristics. The study provides baseline ecological information for monitoring long-term vegetation recovery and supports adaptive management of recovering miombo woodland ecosystems in Tanzania. </p>