Monitoring the health of selected eastern arc forests in Tanzania

Abstract

The eastern arc mountains (EAMs) are a chain of isolated mountains (534,000 ha) in Kenya and Tanzania surrounded by arid woodlands and influenced by the Indian Ocean. In 1900 there was three times the amount of forest cover there is today. Much of the original forests have been converted into agricultural crops. These mountains are recognized as a globally important 'hot spot' by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and World Conservation of Union (IUCN) for forest biodiversity and are major national, regional and local sources of hydropower, water and wide array of forest-based benefits and agricultural production. In February 2000 we began a 3-year evaluation of forest health, land-use change and information sharing in the EAMs. Permanent sample plots were used to evaluate forest health. This paper summarizes the baseline data from eighteen permanent sample plots in the east Usambara's and nine in Ulugurus. The eastern arc web site (http://www.easternarc.org) was established, continues to expand and contains some detailed information on the project. Information gathered will assist land managers, planners, policy makers, interested communities (villages) and individuals in decision-making. These data can also provide an early warning system of stresses on forest catchments.

Evaluation of Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Remotely Sensed Evapotranspiration to Infer Information about Hydrological Behaviour in a Data-Scarce Region

“…Despite being in the same area, some natural forests did not exhibit deteriorating land cover because they are within the conservation areas [42,76,77], thus they were not affected by anthropogenic activities. Currently, the vast majority of natural forests in the EAMs are under different forms of legal protection, with most falling within the category of "National Forest Reserves" managed for protection of water resources, soil erosion prevention, and biodiversity conservation [78][79][80].…”

“…The area of the EAMs is a globally important eco-region [38,39] and one of the world's hotspots of biological diversity [40,41]. Madoffe et al [42] reported that in the year 1900 there was three times the amount of natural forest cover compared to the 2000s. In order to reduce further losses of biodiversity, logging was banned in the EAMs in the mid-1980s and 1990s and forest boundaries were restored in most reserves [42].…”

“…Madoffe et al [42] reported that in the year 1900 there was three times the amount of natural forest cover compared to the 2000s. In order to reduce further losses of biodiversity, logging was banned in the EAMs in the mid-1980s and 1990s and forest boundaries were restored in most reserves [42]. Other activities such as agriculture development, fuel wood collection, and charcoal burning were also prohibited in the protected areas.…”

Methodology for Forest Ecosystem Mediating Indicator - Case Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

“…Burgess et al (2007) analyse the biological importance of Eastern Arc Mountains. Studies from Kilimanjaro and neighbouring mountain forests (eastern arc) have included inventories suitable for supporting monitoring of the forests ecosystem services and contain data which are suitable to some degree for performance indicators, but they are mainly dealing with distribution of tree species, density of trees and timber volume including regeneration (Hall, 1991;Huang et al, 2003;Jakko Pöyry, 1978;Madoffe et al, 2005Madoffe et al, , 2006Malimbwi et al, 2001;). Water management of the Pangani river basin, which is a very important regional and national concern, is tightly connected to the management of the catchment forest at Mt.…”

Native Tree Species Regeneration and Diversity in the Mountain Cloud Forests of East Africa

“…In the Eastern Arc Mountains, a Y design developed by USDA 35 (Fig.2) and modified for Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania 36,37 have been used. Once the study plots are identified, sampling for vegetation entails enumerating the individual tree found in each plot by species.…”