Miombo Woodland is the major Land use/land cover with important ecological functions in Africa. In Malawi, government-management was designed to manage Woodlands. However, when illegal activities continued, Participatory Forest Management (co-management) in forest reserves was institutionalised for woodland sustainability. Currently, information on co-management mitigating deforestation and degradation is scant. This study assessed woodland/forest through Land use/land cover (LULC) classification across the country (Malawi); compared forest cover within and between strategies using 11 co-management and 12 government-management forest reserves across the country between 1999 and 2018. Overall accuracies were >90%. Woodland net loses 8.4% (4.39-3.39 million ha) were to Plantation, Grassland and Agriculture transition intensities. Agriculture net gains 9.6% (1.87-3.00 million ha) were from Grassland, Settlement and Woodland transitions for the whole Malawi. Forest cover within co-management and government-management indicated loses. Sustainable management of degraded woodlands, integrated Agriculture and monitoring is encouraged. Further interpretation of transitions is recommended.

Comparative information on the composition and diversity in tree species associations in Miombo woodland is limited. This study assessed how tree species associations across forest reserves of Miombo woodland in Malawi varied in composition and diversity concerning site factors and resource use disturbances under co‐management versus government management. Eighty nested circular plots, randomly selected in ArcGIS, were sampled to record stem diameter at breast height (DBH) of tree species: 0.04 ha for stems 5–29.9 cm DBH and 0.16 ha for stems ≥30 cm DBH. The recorded 109 tree species grouped into communities and 14 sub‐communities, using stem counts by species in TWINSPAN analysis. Sub‐divisions to level 5 showed eigenvalues ≥0.3, symbolising the stability of sub‐divisions. North/South sub‐divisions related to site factors; historical/current resource use influenced differences at levels 3–5. Species importance differed, indicating few important species in each sub‐community. Brachystegia and Julbernardia species showed importance across sub‐communities while Uapaca sansibarica in government management. Disturbances stimulated high species diversity. Recommendations include the need for a policy review towards group‐felling mature stands to stimulate regeneration and selective thinning of suppressed stems in stand development stages to maintain species diversity, productive recovery, diverse resource use value, and monitoring of harvesting impacts.

Interventions through co-management (CM) and government-management (GM) for forest reserves can mitigate degradation and deforestation. Few studies have investigated the driving forces of Land Use/Cover Change (LULCC) using Remote sensing and socioeconomic data to assess the impact of management strategies on woodlands. This study investigated factors influencing LULCC in two co-managed and two governmentmanaged forest reserves (FR) between 1999 and 2018 in Malawi. Images from the Environment for Analysing Images and data from respondents representing 30% of the communities surrounding four FR were analysed in SPSS. Woodland loss to grassland, agriculture was observed in Liwonde CM, Kaning'ina and Thambani GM FR. Communities' perceptions confirmed woodland conversion. Population increases and poverty exacerbated agriculture and wood energy use. Up-scaling CM requires improved empowerment processes and capacity building. There is a need to curb corruption, monitor licensing, and develop forest plans and law enforcement in GM FR. Promoting geospatial and socioeconomic analysis tools will enhance forest monitoring.