Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve - Frontier-publications.co.uk

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Mpanga / Kipengere Game Reserve; A Biodiversity Survey 2.3 Climate Whilst the Eastern Arc derives its moisture from inshore breezes from the Indian Ocean, the Southern Highlands receives its rainfall through convectional uplift from Lake Nyasa. Annual rainfall averages 1,500mm across the area, but some areas receive up to 2,900mm a year, the highest in Tanzania. The majority of rain falls between November and April. Temperatures average a maximum of 22 0 C and a minimum of 10 0 C, although frost is common on the highest ground between May and July. Temperatures of –7 0 C have been recorded on the Kitulo Plateau, which neighbours the Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve (SHCP 2002). 2.4 History and status Whilst the highland area of the Kipengere Range remains sparsely populated, people have increasingly taken advantage of fertile soils by clearing areas for cultivation along river valleys and in lower-lying woodland to the north. Immigrants from Mbeya, Mbarali, Rungwe and Makambako have been blamed for such activities (Swai 1999). In areas where unreliable rainfall has meant cultivation is unprofitable, pole and timber extraction, charcoal production and hunting has taken place. Loss of tree cover and soil erosion have been associated with such land-use changes. Five major rivers drain from the highland areas of the Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve, joining to form the Great Ruaha River. This river feeds wetland eco-systems of the Usangu plains and the Ruaha National Park, irrigates agricultural areas, serves the Mtera reservoir and supplies countless human populations with water on it’s path to the Rufiji River and delta. National concern over the sustainability of water supplies from the Ruaha River became evident in 1995 when power rationing was put into operation in response to low water levels at the Mtera reservoir. Along with irrigation schemes and over-grazing in the Usangu plains, land-use changes in upland catchment areas have been blamed for this decrease in water supply predictability. Although the importance of the Kipengere highlands as a water catchment area prompted initial concerns regarding its conservation as early as 1975, budget restrictions meant that it was not proposed as a Game Reserve to the Prime Minister’s Office until 1999. The area received official recognition and government protection only on 21 st August 2002. The ‘Mpanga/Kipengere Game Reserve Project’ is a collaborative undertaking between the Wildlife Division (Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism) and WWF-TPO. The project initiated its work in the area by entering into discussion with District Councils and local communities concerning the location of reserve borders. The project is currently undertaking demarcation of reserve boundaries and aims not only to provide patrols of the area but to develop Community Based Conservation (CBC) efforts in order to integrate the protection of natural resources with the future of local people. Public meetings and discussions with local community leaders have highlighted that Income Generating Activities that do not conflict with the conservation goal are possible. These might include ecotourism, beekeeping, gardening, timber-tree, crop, livestock and fish farming. Building the capacities of Village Environmental Committees will allow them to establish and manage such alternative schemes as tree nurseries, reforestation initiatives and integration of environmental conservation with farming activities. Frontier Tanzania Environmental Research Report 99 3
Mpanga / Kipengere Game Reserve; A Biodiversity Survey 3. METHODOLOGY Fieldwork was conducted during two ten-week ‘phases’, one coinciding with the dry season and one with the wet. During the first phase survey work was carried out from four main ‘basecamps’, each lasting for two weeks. The second phase had two four-week basecamps due to logistical constraints and road access during the wet season. These camps were positioned across the reserve in order to encompass as wide a variety of habitats and altitudes as possible. Work was conducted from each basecamp during day excursions and from a number of ‘satellite camps’. These were located within a days walk from a basecamp and lasted for four or five days, enabling a small number of the survey team to access more remote areas. Survey work concentrated on investigations of the reserve’s flora, fauna and human resource-use. A variety of tried and tested techniques were used to study each of these, with methods based on those employed by FT FRP in the East Usambara Biodiversity Survey (SEE Methodology, 1998). 3.1 Flora • Vegetation plots (VPs) Semi-permanent plots of 50 m x 50 m were temporarily established using four lengths of 50 m rope, aligned north-south and east-west using a compass. Within each VP work concentrated on trees and shrubs of 10 cm or greater diameter at breast height (dbh), in which each stem had to be > 10 cm dbh in order to be recorded. The dbh of all such individuals was measured at 1.3 m using a calibrated dbh tape, from the up-slope side of individuals growing on a hillside and from the under-side of a lean of any individuals that were growing at an angle. Red gloss paint was used to mark the point of dbh measurement and to assign each tree with a plot number (above the line marking the point of measurement) and individual, sequential tree number (below the line). All data were recorded on standard recording forms and included the habitat, altitude, GPS location, soil and rock type, and water association of each VP. Vegetation plots were arranged in a stratified-random pattern across the reserve. Approximately equal numbers of VPs were established from each of the four main work bases and therefore within each of the major habitat types found within the reserve. Exact VP locations were chosen by the botanist or survey leader in order to gather data from sites representative of both habitat and altitude within the reserve. • Regeneration plots (RPs) In order to survey both regenerating trees and shrubs and the ground-layer flora, five plots of 2 m x 2 m were temporarily established within each VP, using red plastic tags in each corner. Within each RP all vascular plants of less than 10 cm dbh were identified. Individuals were not counted nor marked in any way. All data were again recorded on standard recording forms, referenced to those for the VP in which the RP was located. • Opportunistic observations and collection Plant material was observed and collected on an opportunistic basis throughout the reserve. It was hoped that such work would supplement the standard quantitative methods employed by ensuring that those species not recorded in either VPs or RPs were represented in the species inventory. A botanist was employed to identify all individuals recorded in VPs and RPs and on the opportunistic basis. When necessary and if possible, up to six specimens of leaves and preferably flowers and fruits were taken to aid identification of an individual. All specimens were pressed and dried in the field and later identified in the University of Dar es Salaam herbarium and the National Herbarium of Tanzania, Arusha, with specimens also being sent to Missouri Botanical Gardens. Frontier Tanzania Environmental Research Report 99 4
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