Conservation of Woody Plant Diversity in Kenya

Medley, Kimberly E.; Maingi, John K.; Mutiti, Christine

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-66426-2_10

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…In areas below ca. 650 m a.s.l., Acacia - Commiphora bushland vegetation forms a wildlife corridor in the plains between the Tsavo East and Tsavo West national parks around and on the foothills ( Medley et al 2017 ). Along the slopes, forest fragments and deciduous/evergreen montane woodland vegetation are nested within an agricultural rural landscape ( Newmark 1998 ).…”

Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The woodland vegetation along the slopes has unique floristic affinities and is an important source of renewable natural resources for the local community. By meeting the community’s needs, it helps in maintaining the evergreen forests for watershed protection ( Rogo and Oguge 2000 ; Medley and Kalibo 2005 ; Himberg et al 2009 ; Mwamidi et al 2012 ; Medley et al 2017 ). These hills exhibit a high biodiversity of both vascular and non-vascular plants ( Enroth et al 2013 ; 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain

Watuma¹,

Kipkoech²,

Melly³

et al. 2022

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Taita Hills forests are an ecological island within the Tsavo plains and are the northern-most part of the Eastern Arc Mountains in southeast Kenya. They are highly fragmented forests embedded in a mosaic of human settlements and farms on the slopes and hilltops. Despite their intensive degradation, they exhibit a high degree of plant diversity and endemism, and therefore are regarded as a biodiversity hotspot. In spite of their distinct importance to the biodiversity of the region as well as supporting the livelihoods of the surrounding communities, floristic studies in these hills have been finite. Through repetitive floral expeditions, herbarium records from the East African Herbarium (EA), Global Biodiversity Information (GBIF), and the Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigbio) databases, as well as plant lists from literature and monographs, we provide a comprehensive checklist of 1594 taxa representing 159 families, 709 genera, 1530 species, 39 subspecies, 27 varieties, and 2 hybrids. Out of these, 75 are endemic or near-endemic, 59 are exotic, and 83 are listed as either endangered or near endangered as evaluated in the IUCN Redlist. Zehneria tuberifera G.W.Hu & Q.F.Wang, a new species to science, which has previously been described, was also discovered from the Ngangao forest fragment. Information on the habit(s), habitat(s), and altitudinal range of each taxon is provided in this study. This checklist is an updated inventory of the vascular plants of the Taita Hills. It confirms the high plant diversity of the hills and provides a clear baseline for strategic conservation and sustainable management of plant resources and diversity under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

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Section: Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain

Watuma¹,

Kipkoech²,

Melly³

et al. 2022

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“…In this study, interviews held with the elders, who were considered the custodians of the IEK, there were 48 indigenous plant species belonging to 24 families which suggest occurrence of high diversity of indigenous species comparable to several parts of the tropical environment (Ojelel et al, 2019;Abebe, 2019;Medley et al, 2017). The high indigenous species diversity is not surprising since the area has favorable afro-montane type of environment for optimal growth of such plants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Ecological Knowledge of indigenous plants among the Marakwet Community (Embobut Basin), Elgeyo Marakwet County (Kenya)

et al. 2020

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Background:Sustainable utilization and conservation of indigenous plants requires information on the Indigenous Ecological Knowledge (IEK). This study assessed IEK on plant species identification, use and management of indigenous non-medicinal plants among the Marakwet Community in Embobut Basin in Kenya, which has a wealth of such knowledge.Methods: Plant inventories for this study were done through interviews with seven elders from the Marakwet Community who are considered to have immense IEK. The same knowledge was also evaluated among 116 local community members using checklist-based questionnaires.Results: There were 48 indigenous plant species inventoried by elders, where 4 plants (8.3%) had up to 3 indigenous names for the same plant while nine plant species (18.75%) had two names for the same plant among elders. The number of plant species that had a single and consensus name among the elders were 66.67%%. The average identification index of the species among the local was only 47.7%. Up to 58.3% of the local community members identified at least over 50% of the plant species, while 41.7% were able to identify below 50%.Conclusions: This study demonstrates loss of IEK in the Marakwets Community of Kenya. The results of the study could be used to develop culture specific sustainable utilization and conservation strategies to preserve indigenous plants of cultural value to the rural communities. This may form the first strategy in co-management of plant resources for sustainable ethnobotanical and environmental management.

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“…Other studies have shown that disruptions not only change species composition and structure but can result in the extinction of sensitive species altering ecosystem functionality (Elijah et al, 2015.;Pellikka et al, 2013). Over-harvesting, deforestation, and replacement by non-native plants have further exacerbated these impacts affecting animal species composition and ecosystem functions (Medley et al, 2017;Watuma et al, 2022;Habel et al, 2023). Based on this study, the following research questions were addressed; How does the abundance of pollinators vary in the three ecosystem types?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Evaluation of Ecosystem Functions Across Three Ecosystem Types in Afromontane Forest in Kenya

Mwania,

Muriu,

Gichuru

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Ecosystem functions play a crucial role in providing essential goods and services to humans, either directly or indirectly. However, anthropogenic activities have significantly impacted species composition, affecting key processes like predation and pollination. This study aimed to evaluate ecosystem functions across three ecosystem types in Taita-Taveta County, Coastal Kenya. The study focused on cloud forest (Chawia), exotic plantation (Fururu), and agricultural land in Taita Hills. Vegetation characterization and Proxies for ecosystem functions including pollination and predation activities were assessed. Twenty transects, each measuring 256m, were established per ecosystem type. Pollination was evaluated using daily pan traps, and arthropods were morphotyped. Predation was assessed using artificial caterpillar dummies set up for 24 hours over 15 days per ecosystem type. Statistical analyses, including the Kruskal-Wallis test, were performed to compare pollinator diversity and predation activity, across the ecosystem types. Results showed that Chawia forest had the highest pollinator abundance (7.71 ± 0.68), followed by agricultural land (7.16 ± 0.51) and Fururu forest (4.67 ± 0.76). Dipterans (n = 2,951, 77.97%), were the predominant pollinators, followed by Hymenopterans (n = 553, 14.61%) and Coleopterans (n = 281, 7.42%). Predation activity varied across ecosystems, with the highest activity in Chawia forest (3.97 ± 0.16), followed by agricultural land (3.56 ± 0.16), and Fururu forest (3.05 ± 0.12). In conclusion, the Chawia forest exhibited greater diversity and played a vital role in providing ecosystem functions. Exotic plants in the Fururu forest led to reduced ecosystem processes. Therefore, conserving natural forests by planting native flowering plants maintains forest integrity and promotes ecosystem functions.

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Conservation of Woody Plant Diversity in Kenya

Cited by 4 publications

References 55 publications

An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain

An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain

Ecological Knowledge of indigenous plants among the Marakwet Community (Embobut Basin), Elgeyo Marakwet County (Kenya)

Evaluation of Ecosystem Functions Across Three Ecosystem Types in Afromontane Forest in Kenya

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Conservation of Woody Plant Diversity in Kenya

Cited by 4 publications

References 55 publications

﻿An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain

﻿An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain

Ecological Knowledge of indigenous plants among the Marakwet Community (Embobut Basin), Elgeyo Marakwet County (Kenya)

Evaluation of Ecosystem Functions Across Three Ecosystem Types in Afromontane Forest in Kenya

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An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain

An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of Taita Hills, Eastern Arc Mountain