Woodlands degradation in the Southern Highlands, Miombo of Tanzania: Implications on conservation and carbon stocks

Sawe, Thomas; Munishi, Pantaleo K. T.; Maliondo, S. M. S.

doi:10.5897/ijbc2013.0671

Cited by 21 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 12 publications

(16 reference statements)

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“…Based on the vegetation survey, the findings of the study indicated that, on average, there were 56 tree stumps per hectare. The obtained average number of stumps per hectare was very low as compared to other studies conducted in Miombo woodland, Tanzania [17,67]. However, these studies covered a bigger area with many sampled plots.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 64%

Woodland Extraction Rate Estimation in the Savanna Ecosystem (Case Study of Foley and Makomoto in Central-East Botswana)

et al. 2021

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Savanna woodlands make a significant contribution to rural households’ livelihoods, providing a wide range of resources as well as generating income. However, the sustainability of the woodland ecosystem is generally affected by the human harvesting intensities. This study aimed at quantifying the woodland resource extraction rates and its effects on woodland structure and density. Data were collected from households using a semi-structured questionnaire, key informant interviews, and from 128 rectangular plots measuring 30 m × 30 m. Vegetation parameters, such as tree density, tree height, diameter at breast height, species, stump density, and stump diameter, were recorded. The results of the study revealed that a total of 649 woody stumps were recorded, with an average of 56 trees removed per hectare. The findings showed that the intensities of stumps varied widely, with a high number of stumps recorded at a distance of 10–15 km from the settlements, where major land-use activities are fuelwood extraction, cultivation, and livestock farming. The results also showed that the increased commercial fuelwood production led to cutting of large mopane trees, which is an indicator of unsustainable harvesting. Based on the harvest rates provided by the respondents, results showed that large quantities of fuelwood were harvested for trading, which could put pressure on the woodland ecosystem, consequently resulting in woodland degradation. This study provides forest and range resource managers with valuable information on the quantities of stumps as an indication of tree removals and could be useful in developing effective monitoring strategies and promoting sustainable forest and woodland management.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 64%

Woodland Extraction Rate Estimation in the Savanna Ecosystem (Case Study of Foley and Makomoto in Central-East Botswana)

et al. 2021

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“…from wet Miombo woodland of Angai Village Land Forest Reserve, Tanzania reported a value of 658 ± 143 stems ha -1 ; Kalaba et al (2013) from wet Miombo woodland of Copperbelt Province in Zambia, reported a value of 592 ± 28.01 stems ha -1 ; Mwampashi (2013) from wet Miombo woodland of Iwuma Forest Reserve in Mbozi District, Tanzania reported a value of 553 stems ha -1 and Shirima et al (2011) from Nyanganje Forest Reserve in Tanzania reported two values of 382 stems ha -1 and 376 stems ha -1 . The mean stem density values in this study fall within the range of density values found in Miombo woodland of 232-1,988 stems ha -1(Sawe et al, 2014; …”

supporting

confidence: 79%

Structure, regeneration and carbon stocks of woody plants in the Litwang’ata village land forest reserve, Southwest Tanzania

Mwakalukwa,

Andrew

2024

Folia Oecologica

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The plant biodiversity status of many village land forest reserves is little known to support meaningful implementation of sustainable forest management objectives in Tanzania. This study was conducted to assess the status of Litwang’ata village land forest reserve in Ludewa district, Southwest Tanzania through 20 square sample plots of 10 × 10 m. A total of 20 woody plant species belonging to 12 families and 19 genera with DBH ≥ 5 cm were identified in the study forest. The most important species with their importance value index were Brachystegia spiciformis (78.02), Brachystegia boehmii (22.05), Faurea saligna (15.18), Uapaca kirkiana (14), Acacia amythethophylla (13.07), Pseudolachnostylis maprouneifolia (12.76) and Gardenia ternifolia (10.36). The forest had a Shannon diversity index (H´) of 2.27, indicating medium diversity. Stand structure comprised 1,330 ± 523 stems ha–1, basal area of 18.97 ± 6.81 m2 ha–1 and stand volume of 142.36 ± 52.17 m3 ha–1. The mean above- and belowground carbon stocks were 46.97 ± 17.23 Mg ha–1 and 23.90 ± 8.58 Mg ha–1 respectively. The higher tree densities, basal area, stand volume and carbon stocks recorded in this study compared to other Miombo woodlands indicate that Litwang’ata forest is still in good condition, and managment efforts should be strengthened to bolster biodiversity conservation for present and future generations.

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“…In other parts of Chunya, 88.3% of harvested timber is converted to charcoal (Sawe, Munishi, & Maliondo, 2014). The remoteness of Kipembawe and high availability of firewood contribute to the low extraction of charcoal.…”

Section: Tobacco Cultivation Inmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tobacco cultivation as a driver of land use change and degradation in the miombo woodlands of south‐west Tanzania

2017

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Miombo woodlands support agriculture, biodiversity, and multiple ecosystem services across an extensive part of sub-Saharan Africa. Miombo is frequently overutilised with deforestation and degradation resulting in significant land use and land cover change (LULCC). Understanding the drivers of LULCC is essential to achieving sustainable land management in miombo woodland regions. Within a remote miombo area of south-west Tanzania in the Kipembawe Division, Mbeya Region, social survey and ecological data were used to identify the direct and indirect drivers of LULCC. Our findings show that tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) production results in an estimated annual deforestation rate of 4,134 ± 390 ha of undisturbed miombo woodland, of which 56.3 ± 11.8% is linked to the post-harvest curing process. This deforestation represents 0.55 ± 0.06% of the wooded area of the Kipembawe Division. The perception of high incomes from tobacco cultivation has encouraged migration of both agriculturalists and pastoralists into the area, resulting in higher livestock numbers that lead to further degradation. Higher human populations need more woodland resources such as fuelwood and building materials and more farmland for food crops. Continued deforestation will reduce the long-term profitability of tobacco cultivation due to a lack of fuel to cure the crop and could render production unviable.Action is urgently needed to conserve globally important biodiversity resources while enabling agricultural and pastoral activities to continue. Improved governance, together with sustainable land management strategies and diversification of livelihood strategies, can reduce dependence on tobacco cultivation and contribute to a sustainable future for this ecoregion. (Foley et al., 2005). A driver of change can be natural or anthropogenic, and it causes a change in the state of something else (MEA, 2005). When a driver unequivocally has an influence, it is described as a direct driver, and when they underlie or lead to a direct driver, they are described as an indirect driver (MEA, 2005). Indirect drivers can be classified into five categories (sociopolitical, religious and cultural, demographic, scientific and technological, and economic), which can influence direct drivers (Nelson et al., 2006). Deciduous miombo woodlands cover 2.4 million km 2 of sub-Saharan Africa (Frost, Timberlake, & Chidumayo, 2003), are home to over 100 million people (Campbell et al., 2007), and contain numerous endemic and threatened species (Conservation International, 2012). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Woodlands degradation in the Southern Highlands, Miombo of Tanzania: Implications on conservation and carbon stocks

Cited by 21 publications

References 12 publications

Woodland Extraction Rate Estimation in the Savanna Ecosystem (Case Study of Foley and Makomoto in Central-East Botswana)

Woodland Extraction Rate Estimation in the Savanna Ecosystem (Case Study of Foley and Makomoto in Central-East Botswana)

Structure, regeneration and carbon stocks of woody plants in the Litwang’ata village land forest reserve, Southwest Tanzania

Tobacco cultivation as a driver of land use change and degradation in the miombo woodlands of south‐west Tanzania

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