The structure and status of forest fragments outside protected areas in central Uganda

Abstract

Given the extent of tropical forest deforestation and as a number of conservation programmes and local communities rely on forest fragments, it has become important to understand how fragment exploitation by local communities affects forest structure and function. The effects of forest exploitation on forest structure and status of forest fragments were investigated in 20 nonreserved forest fragments in central Uganda. Enumeration of plots showed that tree species composition of the forest fragments was 60.0%, 23.7% and 6.3% for under‐storey, middle and top canopy trees respectively. The major activity was fuel wood extraction (65%), followed by brick making (10%), cultivation and livestock paddocks (10%), charcoal burning (5%), local brew distillation and others (5%). These extractive processes caused drastic structural changes, habitat degradation and destruction. Tree stumps enumeration indicated that under storey trees formed the highest proportion for wood extraction. There was no significant difference in the level of forest exploitation (basal area loss) among forest patches of varying sizes.

The Influence of Seasonal Variation on Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) Fallback Food Consumption, Nest Group Size, and Habitat Use in Gishwati, a Montane Rain Forest Fragment in Rwanda

“…In addition, primate populations living in fragments may be compressed into unnaturally high densities (Boyle and Smith 2010), which could lead to more competition for preferred foods and, presumably, higher fallback food use. Consequently, it is important to examine how primates deal with fragmentation, both for our understanding of evolutionary processes and for implementing conservation strategies (Baranga et al 2009;Gibbons and Harcourt 2009;Onderdonk and Chapman 2000).…”

“…Because most tropical forests are not legally protected, many populations will increasingly depend on fragmented forests to sustain them (Baranga et al 2009;Oates 1996;Redford 1992). However, fragmented habitat can often lead to shifts in forest dynamics, including alterations in plant species richness and abundance (Laurance et al 2002.…”

Genetic Sampling of Unhabituated Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) in Gishwati Forest Reserve, an Isolated Forest Fragment in Western Rwanda

“…Although studying primates in fragments is important for conservation and management of these populations (Baranga et al 2009;Gibbons and Harcourt 2009;Onderdonk and Chapman 2000), individuals in fragmented populations of primates are often wary and highly mobile, making them difficult to study. In addition, habituation may not be desirable for populations experiencing hunting pressure in the absence of effective law enforcement.…”

Protected Apes, Unprotected Forest: Composition, Structure and Diversity of Riverine Forest Fragments and Their Conservation Value in Uganda

“…Thus, basal areas or densities of large fruiting trees are often lower in fragments relative to continuous forest [14,15]. In East Africa levels of human disturbance in small fragments, particularly those with little or no real protection, are typically high [10,16,17]. Evidently, where over-harvesting of resources and agricultural expansion leads to depletion and clearance, the conservation value of small unprotected forests including riverine corridors is limited [18,19].…”

“…These are often highly degraded due to over-use by local people [17,18,31,32]. Research at Budongo and elsewhere in mid-western Uganda (notably at Kibale National Park [33]) has yielded valuable data on the ecology of this region's main forests.…”