The role of land tenure in conservation of tree and shrub species diversity in miombo woodlands of southern Malawi |
| |
| Authors: | Weston F Mwase Åsmund Bjørnstad James M Bokosi Moses B Kwapata Brita Stedje |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, Aas, Norway;(2) Department of Forestry and Horticulture, Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi, P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi;(3) Natural History Museum, Botanical Garden, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1172, Blindern, 0318, Oslo, Norway |
| |
| Abstract: | Biodiversity is declining throughout southern African miombo woodlands due to poor land use practices that are detrimental
to soil, vegetation and habitat. We aimed at examining tree and shrub species diversity and distribution in Uapaca kirkiana-dominated woodlands under three land tenure types; forest reserves, customary and leasehold land. The study was conducted
at different forest sites within similar agroecological zone in southern Malawi. Study sites were located at a range of altitudes
between 900 and 1,200 m a.s.l. Three circular plots each with 32.60 m radius were established at each study site to sample
tree and shrub species composition, structure and distribution under three land tenure types. We found that forest reserves
had higher species diversity with an average of 16 tree families, 27 genera and 34 species as compared to only 10 tree families,
6 genera and 6 species on customary forest lands. Comparisons of diameter at breast height size class distributions showed
that customary land had significantly low numbers of small (5.0–10.0 cm) and very large (≥30 cm) diameter classes suggesting
lower levels of regeneration and high rate of anthropogenic activities. The high species diversity and richness in forest
reserves and leasehold land indicate high potential for protected lands to restore tree species diversity. It is concluded
that levels of human activities as influenced by land tenure type reduce tree species diversity, composition and distribution
at the different sites, and this confirms the hypothesis that open access lands are not compatible with conservation of tree
and shrub species diversity because of high anthropogenic activities. |
| |
| Keywords: | Anthropogenic activities Composition Diameter class Species richness Uapaca kirkiana |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
