An annotated checklist of the 271 strict-endemic taxa (235 species) and 387 near-endemic taxa (337 species) of vascular plants in Mozambique is provided. Together, these taxa constitute c. 9.3% of the total currently known flora of Mozambique and include five strict-endemic genera (Baptorhachis, Emicocarpus, Gyrodoma, Icuria and Micklethwaitia) and two near-endemic genera (Triceratella and Oligophyton). The mean year of first publication of these taxa is 1959, with a marked increase in description noted following the onset of the two major regional floristic programmes, the “Flora of Tropical East Africa” and “Flora Zambesiaca”, and an associated increase in botanical collecting effort. New taxa from Mozambique continue to be described at a significant rate, with 20 novelties described in 2018. Important plant families for endemic and near-endemic taxa include Fabaceae, Rubiaceae and Euphorbiaceae s.s. There is a high congruence between species-rich plant families and endemism with the notable exceptions of the Poaceae, which is the second-most species rich plant family, but outside of the top ten families in terms of endemism, and the Euphorbiaceae, which is the seventh-most species rich plant family, but third in terms of endemism. A wide range of life-forms are represented in the endemic and near-endemic flora, with 49% being herbaceous or having herbaceous forms and 55% being woody or having woody forms. Manica Province is by far the richest locality for near-endemic taxa, highlighting the importance of the cross-border Chimanimani-Nyanga (Manica) Highlands shared with Zimbabwe. A total of 69% of taxa can be assigned to one of four cross-border Centres of Endemism: the Rovuma Centre, the Maputaland Centre sensu lato, and the two mountain blocks, Chimanimani-Nyanga and Mulanje-Namuli-Ribaue. Approximately 50% of taxa have been assessed for their extinction risk and, of these, just over half are globally threatened (57% for strict-endemics), with a further 10% (17% for strict-endemics) currently considered to be Data Deficient, highlighting the urgent need for targeted conservation of Mozambique’s unique flora. This dataset will be a key resource for ongoing efforts to identify “Important Plant Areas – IPAs” in Mozambique, and to promote the conservation and sustainable management of these critical sites and species, thus enabling Mozambique to meet its commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Background and aims -The Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa, stretching along the Indian Ocean coastline from Somalia to Mozambique, are considered by Conservation International to be a global biodiversity hotspot -an area of high diversity and endemism under increasing threat. Although the largest remaining extent of these forests is reported to be found in Mozambique, very little is known on their extent, condition and composition here. In addition, the term 'coastal forest' has been used in different ways by different authors. This paper defines and characterises coastal dry forests found in northern Mozambique and assesses their present extent, botanical composition, conservation importance and the threats to these forests. Methods -The study area of 18,150 km 2 lies in Cabo Delgado Province in north-east Mozambique, adjacent to Tanzania. Its limits are determined primarily by geological substrate and landform. Four smaller study sites were chosen covering a range of landforms. Manual interpretation of satellite imagery dating from 1999-2002 was used to calculate possible previous and present extent of 'dense vegetation'. Extensive field collecting was used in determining botanical composition and distribution patterns. IUCN Red List assessments were carried out on selected species using distributional criteria. Results -Dry forests similar to those in southern Tanzania are found widely scattered across coastal Cabo Delgado, sitting in a matrix of miombo woodland and other vegetation types. However, forest cover is not as extensive was believed. We calculate that the original extent of 'dense vegetation cover', which includes coastal dry forest, was 6087 km 2 . Owing to clearance over the last 150 years this is now only 1182 km 2 , of which perhaps only 400 km 2 is moderately-intact dry forest. In this southern part of their range such forests are essentially dry, not moist and mesic, and dominated by a high proportion of deciduous or sclerophyllous evergreen trees. The plant species composition differs significantly from that of the surrounding woodlands. There is a marked change in species composition between forest patches along the coast, and they contain numerous species with restricted global distribution. Since 2003, 68 species new to Mozambique have been recorded from Cabo Delgado in addition to 36 possible new species. Many new records are of species previously only known from south-eastern Tanzania. Previously recorded patterns of restricted distribution and high species turnover between forest patches in Kenya and Tanzania are confirmed. Seven coastal forest species were assessed as Endangered. Regional context and conservation -Coastal dry forests are discussed in relation to the more widespread 'sand forests' of the continental interior of south-central Africa, and shown to have similarities in ecology, species composition, soils and ecology. Very little of the present extent of coastal forests in Mozambique lies within protected areas. The threats to their continued existence in the face of explo...
Mozambican forests are exposed to risks that contribute to the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Thus, ex situ conservation represents a key strategy to reduce genetic erosion. In this study, we evaluated the ecological status of the ex situ conservation plantation in Michafutene, Maputo province, one of the most important repositories of forest genetic resources in the country. Thirty plots were established in which all trees, shrubs and grass species were identified. A total of 2092 individuals spanning 39 species were scored. Afzelia quanzensis was the most important species (Importance Value Index -IVI = 203), but with a low silvicultural performance. Other important trees were Albizia adianthifolia (IVI = 32), Albizia versicolor (IVI = 16) and Pterocarpus angolensis (IVI = 12). A complementary genotyping analysis of A. quanzensis was conducted by intersimple sequence repeats, indicating that the germplasm collection has different provenances and represents a wide genetic pool. Thus, despite the poor management, there is a considerable potential for the conservation of A. quanzensis provided immediate and appropriate management activities are implemented to improve its ecological performance. R esum eMozambican forests are exposed to risks that contribute to the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Thus, ex situ conservation represents a key strategy to reduce genetic erosion. In this study, we evaluated the ecological status of the ex situ conservation plantation in Michafutene, Maputo province, one of the most important repositories of forest genetic resources in the country. Thirty plots were established in which all trees, shrubs and grass species were identified. A total of 2092 individuals spanning 39 species were scored. Afzelia quanzensis was the most important species (Importance Value Index -IVI = 203), but with a low silvicultural performance. Other important trees were Albizia adianthifolia (IVI = 32), Albizia versicolor (IVI = 16) and Pterocarpus angolensis (IVI = 12). A complementary genotyping analysis of A. quanzensis was conducted by Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats, indicating that the germplasm collection has different provenances and represents a wide genetic pool. Thus, despite the poor management there is a considerable potential for the conservation of A. quanzensis provided immediate and appropriate management activities are implemented to improve its ecological performance. Les forêts mozambicaines sont expos ees a des risques qui peuvent contribuer a la perte de leur biodiversit e et des services ecosyst emiques qui y sont associ es. La conservation ex situ constitue donc une strat egie cl e pour r eduire cette erosion g en etique. Dans cette etude, nous avons evalu e le statut ecologique de la plantation ex situ de Michafutene, dans la province de Maputo, qui compte parmi les plus importants d epositaires des ressources 1 g en etiques foresti eres du pays. Trente parcelles ont et e etablies, o u toutes les esp eces d'arbres, arbustes et herbes o...
Mozambique biodiversity richness plays a pivotal role to achieve the sustainable development of the country. However, Mozambique’s flora and fauna diversity still remains broadly unknown and poorly documented. To properly address this issue, one of the strategic needs expressed by the Mozambican institutions was the development of a national biodiversity data repository to aggregate, manage and make data available online. Thus, a sustainable infrastructure for the standardisation, aggregation, organisation and sharing of primary biodiversity data was developed. Named the “Biodiversity Network of Mozambique” (BioNoMo), such a tool serves as a national repository of biodiversity data and aggregates occurrence records of plants and animals in the country obtained from floristic and faunistic observations and from specimens of biological collections. In this paper, the authors present the structure and data of BioNoMO, including software details, the process of data gathering and aggregation, the taxonomic coverage and the WebGIS development. Currently, aggregating a total of 273,172 records, including 85,092 occurrence records of plants and 188,080 occurrence records of animals (41.2% terrestrial, 58,8% aquatic), BioNoMo represents the largest aggregator of primary biodiversity data in Mozambique and it is planned to grow further by aggregating new datasets.
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