Biodiversity of Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania | Report ...

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Biodiversity of Mahale Mountains National Park throughout the 1960s, the Kyoto University Africa Primatological Expedition (KUAPE) worked to establish a permanent research presence in Mahale with a focus on chimpanzees. Their success led to one of the longest running field research projects in existence. This work continues today led by Prof. Toshisada Nishida, through collaboration between the Mahale Mountains Wildlife Research Centre and the Tokyo Ape Expedition to Africa (Nishida 1990). A detailed summary of work done by Japanese researchers on chimpanzees and other biota, and a comprehensive bibliography of published research on terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity in Mahale, is provided by Prof. Nishida (1990). This book is a good starting place for anyone planning a field research project in Mahale Mountains National Park. 2.3 ANTHROPOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE MAHALE PENINSULA AND HINTERLAND The anthropological history of the Mahale peninsula and hinterland is one of successive waves of immigration from across the lake in Congo, south from the Malagarasi River basin and north from Ufipa and northern Zambia (Hatchel 1941). In most cases, the immigrants either conquered or absorbed the inhabitants that they found in the area. Up to 1974 the Baholoholo or Wasowa people inhabited many parts of the Mahale Peninsula. These people came from what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo 16 generations ago, having been driven out by the Wemba tribe who were being driven north by the Angoni. The Baholoholo drove the original inhabitants, the Wamahare (Wanyakungwe) from the lake shore up into the Mahale Mountains and later on, absorbed them entirely (Hatchel 1941). The area to the south and east of Mahale from the Lubugwe to Karema and inland to Katavi, was formerly know as Ubende or Ukabende. The people of this area originated from Congo or came south from the Malagarasi Valley (Hatchel 1928). The area north of Ubende and east of Mahale was known as Tongwe. The Waganza and Wagalawa who also came across the lake from Congo around the same time as the Baholoholo inhabited this. In 1925 when the British Administration established governmental control over Tongwe and Ubende, there were dozens of small chieftainships in the area and no cohesive tribal identity. This has changed considerably, and today the Baholoholo, Waganza and Wagalawa speak a common language know as Tongwe and are collectively know as the Watongwe. However, dialectal differences are still evident in slightly different names and/or pronunciations used for animals and plants in disparate parts of Mpanda and Kigoma districts inhabited by Tongwe speaking people. Many parts of the Mahale Mountains National Park were once inhabited and under cultivation and, nowhere does one have to look far to find the evidence of this. The Kasoge Forest was formerly covered in cultivation and evidence of this can be seen in the old cultivation mounds on the flatter ground. Many exotic and cultivated plants remain in Kasoge to this day. The most obvious are oil palm, mango, guava, lemon, sisal and the invasive Senna. The Senna has become the focus of an eradication campaign by Tanzania National Parks (Wakibara and Mnaya 2002). In the 1960’s there were at least 5 hamlets in the eastern areas of the park. Ilumbi was located at the source of the Kabezi, Ntondo was further down along the ridge from Ilumbi to the present day village of Mgambo, Ujamba was on the western side of the Mahale Ridge at 2000m, and Kasangazi was on the path from Ujamba to Kapala on the shore of Lake Tanganyika (Itani 1990). Indirect and direct evidence of cultivation is obvious in the mosaic of habitats along the Mahale Ridge between Wamasuku and Burungu peaks and in the southern and eastern sectors. Itani (1990) postulates that areas of the park covered by lowland bamboo (Oxytenanthera abyssinica) and montane bamboo (Sinarundinaria alpinum) are secondary following past clearing of woodland and forest for cultivation. Whereas, this is likely in highland areas covered by montane bamboo, it is more likely to be related to edaphic factors at medium and lower altitudes covered in Oxytenanthera bamboo. Generally, traditional Chitemele slash-and-burn cultivation of finger millet in Miombo woodland is non-intensive and shifting. Poor soils under this vegetation type do not allow intensive agriculture leading to a Wildlife Conservation Society 3
Biodiversity of Mahale Mountains National Park long-term change in vegetation cover. Therefore, cultivated areas in Miombo tend to regenerate to the original vegetation type because living rootstock and stumps facilitate rapid re-growth of trees from coppice. In areas covered by evergreen forest, clearing and cultivation cause much longer--term changes. These will pass through several stages of succession before regenerating to forest. Itani (1990) states that fields abandoned for over 50 years were still covered in bracken fern and Hyparrhenia grasses and showed little sign of forest regeneration. It may be that in current climatic conditions, and with periodic wildfires, areas cleared of montane forest in the past will never regenerate to their original condition without active management intervention. Much evidence of past intensive hunting activities can be seen in the many pitfall traps throughout the highland forests. It may be that the present low numbers of animals in the park is a reflection of this, and that sufficient time has not yet elapsed to allow recovery of the large mammal populations. However, Grant (1949) and Itani (1990) mention the very low densities of large mammals in this area as early as the 1930’s. So other factors, such as blocking of dispersal and migration corridors may be slowing down the recovery of ungulate populations. 2.4 THE STUDY SITES Fieldwork for this survey was carried out at three sites, Kasoge, Kabezi and Mfitwa. These sites were very in different habitats to maximize the number of species recorded. Kasoge Camp was established at Kabanda (Flycatcher camp) on the shore of Lake Tanganyika (S6°9’53”–E29°44’21”, 780m). Large parts of Kasoge forest are secondary. These are covered in regenerating lowland forest on relatively flat (for Mahale) ground. Forest on steeper slopes, and north of Kabanda, was in much better condition but still contained large areas of thicket indicative of clearing for cultivation in the past. To the south of Kasoge, and on some ridges near the lake, the forest gave way to Miombo woodland. Stands of ‘matete’, Phragmites mauritanius and ‘elephant grass’, Pennisetum purpureum are found along the lakeshore and some of the larger streams running through Kasoge. Access was by boat from park HQ at Bilenge. Kabezi The Kabezi site was in riverine forest along the Kabezi River and about 14 km SE of the airstrip at Kalolwa (S6°6’47”–E29°49’54”, 1180m). Access was a 6-hour walk from Kalolwa along the Kabezi Ridge. Habitat at Kabezi was diverse but most of the area was covered in mature Miombo woodland. There was riverine forest along the Kabezi and on many of the smaller streams that flow into the Kabezi from the Mahale Ridge and the Kabezi Ridge. To the southeast of the camp, and in parts of the Kabezi Ridge, there were extensive stands of Solid-stemmed bamboo, Oxytenanthera abyssinica. (This species appears throughout the miombo zone as constituent of the understory, but in the Mahale ecosystem, it forms pure stands that cover hundreds of square kilometres in some places.) Higher up on the Mahale Ridge the miombo gives way to tall montane grassland dominated by Hyparrhenia sp., and Themeda triandra with scattered Protea gauguedi, Erythrina abyssinica, Cusonia arborea and isolated Parinari curatelifolia. Mfitwa The Mfitwa site was in montane forest on the SE side of Mfitwa Peak (S6°7’54"–E29°47’38”, 2440m). Access to this area from Kabezi is on overgrown game trails running up the ridge between Sibindi and Mfitwa, or along the ridge running up from Kabezi to Sisaga. The distance is not far but this is a very difficult and steep climb with no water along the way once the smaller tributaries of the Kabezi have been crossed. There are extensive areas of montane grassland along the Mahale ridge. The dominant species there is a tussock grass that is very difficult to walk through except along game trails. The montane forest is mature and reaches a height of 30 m in sheltered valleys. Most of the forest understory is dominated by nearly impenetrable stands of montane bamboo, Sinarundinaria alpinum, but some areas have a diverse understory with species of Dracaena, Piper, and Psychotria dominating. Wildlife Conservation Society 4
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Page 29 and 30: 8. REFERENCES Biodiversity of Mahal
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Baikaea insignis Baphiopsis parvifl
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Drypetes natalensis Erythrococca at
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Gladiolus erectiflorus Gladiolus gr
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†Thecacoris lucida Orchidaceae Ae
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Rothmannia longiflora Rothmannia ma
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Biodiversity of Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania | Report ...

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