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The data of this article is related to the original article entitled "An expert-based approach to assess the potential for local people engagement in nature conservation: The case study of the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique" [1], published in Journal for Nature Conservation. The dataset is from an online and selfadministrated survey with 55 experts aware of conservation policies and incentives under implementation in the Niassa National Reserve (NNR), the largest protected area in the country and thirdlargest in Africa. The survey included four sections of both compulsory and non-compulsory questions, mostly in closedended Likert-scale. In the first section, experts were asked about the main practices that threaten biodiversity conservation in the NNR, the actors who are directly and indirectly responsible for each practice, and the reasons for local people's involvement with those practices. The second section was about the effectiveness and limitations of the current compensation measures to engage local residents with conservation-friendly practices. In the third section, respondents were asked to select new measures to

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of meteorological conditions on the fire occurrences in forest stands of Lichinga district, in the period from 2010 to 2012. Data about fire occurrences records of the district of Lichinga and two others close districts (Lago and Sanga) were provided by the Center for Monitoring and Control of Forest Fires (CCMIF) of the company Chikweti. Daily weather data: temperature, rainfall and relative humidity of the same period, recorded at 13:00 PM, by the meteorological station of the Institute of Agronomic Research of Mozambique (IIAM) in Lichinga district were also provided to this work. Meteorological data were submitted to regression analysis and Tukey test. The results showed a significant variation in temperature and humidity on both tests. The overlapping of fire occurrences and meteorological variables, suggested a great influence of the meteorological conditions in the occurrence of fires, mainly due to the very long dry periods. In 2010 there was a delay in the occurrence of fires; this was related to the rainy season which was slightly longer. September and October was the months that recorded the highest number of fire occurrences throughout the studied period. Keywords: Forest stands; meteorological variable; forest fire prevention. Resumo Influência das condições meteorológicas na ocorrência dos incêndios florestais no distrito deLichinga, norte de Moçambique. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a influência das variáveis meteorológicas na ocorrência de incêndios em povoamentos florestais no distrito de Lichinga, no período de 2010 a 2012. Para tal, foram analisados os registros de ocorrências de incêndios do distrito de Lichinga e de outros dois distritos vizinhos (Lago e Sanga), disponibilizados pelo Centro de Controle e Monitoramento de Incêndios Florestais (CCMIF) da empresa Chikweti Forest of Niassa, e dados meteorológicos diários de temperatura (máxima e mínima), precipitação e umidade relativa, do mesmo período, registrados às 13 horas, pela estação meteorológica do Instituto de Investigação Agronômica de Moçambique em Lichinga (IIAM-Lichinga). Os dados meteorológicos foram submetidos ao teste de análise de regressão e ao teste de Tukey, tendo sido observado uma variação significativa da temperatura e umidade em ambos os testes. A sobreposição das ocorrências dos incêndios com as variáveis meteorológicas demostrou uma grande influênca dessas variáveis na ocorrência dos incêndios, principalmente devido aos períodos secos prolongados. No ano 2010 observou-se um atraso na ocorrência dos incêndios, devido ao período chuvoso que foi ligeiramente mais longo. Os meses que registraram maior número de ocorrências em todo o período foram setembro e outubro. Palavras-chave: Povoamentos florestais; variáveis meteorológicas; prevenção de incêndios florestais.

Rice farming systems (RFSs) in southern Mozambique are very heterogeneous and diversified, which has implications for smallholders’ adoption of each RFS, as well as on rice production and productivity in the region. In this regard, it is important to understand: (i) which RFS typologies can be leveraged to improve rice production and productivity; (ii) the drivers for smallholder farmers’ decisions to adopt an RFS; and (iii) which policies/incentives could enhance existing RFSs. The present study was based on surveys of 341 smallholder rice farmers in the Chókwè Irrigation Scheme (CIS), southern Mozambique. Data on the productivity of rice, size of the herd, and total other crop types were used to frame the RFS typologies. A multinomial logit model (MLM) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were applied to determine the driver for each RFS, and predict the constraints for production and yield. Based on cluster analysis, four typologies of RFSs were identified: the subsistence farming system (FS), specialised rice FS, mixed crops FS, and rice–livestock FS. Farms with longer experience reported applying more fertiliser and seedlings per unit hectare. The availability of labour increased the likelihood of adopting the mixed crops FS and rice–livestock FS. Older households were more likely to adopt the subsistence FS, and live closer to the farming fields. Yield of rice was positively associated with inputs such as fertilisers, pesticides, and seedlings, as well as years of experience of the household. Our results suggest that smallholder farmers need more assistance and technical support to identify and adopt more productive and less costly RFSs in this region.

(1) Background: the Miombo woodlands comprise the most important vegetation from southern Africa and are dominated by tree legumes with an ecology highly driven by fires. Here, we report on the characterization of bacterial communities from the rhizosphere of Brachystegia boehmii in different soil types from areas subjected to different regimes. (2) Methods: bacterial communities were identified through Illumina MiSeq sequencing (16S rRNA). Vigna unguiculata was used as a trap to capture nitrogen-fixing bacteria and culture-dependent methods in selective media were used to isolate plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB). PGP traits were analysed and molecular taxonomy of the purified isolates was performed. (3) Results: Bacterial communities in the Miombo rhizosphere are highly diverse and driven by soil type and fire regime. Independent of the soil or fire regime, the functional diversity was high, and the different consortia maintained the general functions. A diverse pool of diazotrophs was isolated, and included symbiotic (e.g., Mesorhizobium sp., Neorhizobium galegae, Rhizobium sp., and Ensifer adhaerens), and non-symbiotic (e.g., Agrobacterium sp., Burkholderia sp., Cohnella sp., Microvirga sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Stenotrophomonas sp.) bacteria. Several isolates presented cumulative PGP traits. (4) Conclusions: Although the dynamics of bacterial communities from the Miombo rhizosphere is driven by fire, the maintenance of high levels of diversity and functions remain unchanged, constituting a source of promising bacteria in terms of plant-beneficial activities such as mobilization and acquisition of nutrients, mitigation of abiotic stress, and modulation of plant hormone levels.

RESUMOEste trabalho foi desenvolvido com objetivo de avaliar o desempenho dos índices de Nesterov e Fórmula de Monte Alegre (FMA) no ambiente Lichinga (norte de Moçambique), de modo a sugerir o melhor índice a ser usado nesta região. Para a materialização desta pesquisa, foram usados dados meteorológicos diários (temperatura, precipitação e umidade relativa) e dados de registro de ocorrências dos incêndios florestais de um período de três anos (2010 a 2012). Os dados meteorológicos foram fornecidos pelo Instituto de Investigação Agronômica de Moçambique em Lichinga (IIAM-Lichinga) e o banco de dados de registro de ocorrências de incêndios foi providenciado pelo Centro de Controle e Monitoramento de Incêndios Florestais (CCMIF), da empresa Chikweti Forest of Niassa. Na sequência, foram calculados os índices de perigo de incêndios e o grau de perigo diário para os dois índices, tendo-se observado a predominância do grau de perigo muito alto em quase todos os anos, com um porcentual de 52,65% para o FMA e 37,96% para o índice Nesterov. Com valores de Skill Score (SS) de 0,11 e Porcentagem de Sucesso (PS) de 44,82%, o índice Nesterov mostrou melhor desempenho para o ambiente de Lichinga, ao contrário do FMA que apresentou um fraco desempenho com os valores de 0,07 de SS e 35,62% de PS. Palavras-chave: incêndios florestais; índices de perigo de incêndios; grau de perigo. ABSTRACTThis study was conducted in order to evaluate the performance of Nesterov indexes and of Monte Alegre formula (FMA) in Lichinga environment (northern Mozambique) in order to suggest the best index to be used in this region. To do so, we used daily meteorological data (temperature, precipitation and relative humidity) and registration data of forest fire occurrences in a period of three years

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