Frontier Tanzania Environmental Research REPORT 110 ...

Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserve
iv
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserve encompasses a 3550ha area of East African Coastal Forest. It
lies at an altitude of 120 to 280 m a.s.l., on the Pugu Hills in the District of Kisarawe, Pwani
Region, some 20 km south-west of Dar es Salaam.
As part of the Coastal Forest Research Programme, Frontier Tanzania conducted a baseline
biodiversity survey of the northern half of Kazimzumbwi FR between June and August 2001.
The floral diversity of Kazimzumbwi FR was surveyed using a combination of systematic
vegetation plots, regeneration sub-plots and opportunistic botanical collections. Mature trees
and shrubs were sampled within the vegetation plots at an intensity equal to 0.06% of the total
reserve area. Faunal diversity was assessed through surveying the following target taxa;
mammals (including bats), reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, molluscs and millipedes.
Surveying was achieved through a combination of standardised, repeatable methods at
‘zoological trapsites’, surveys of dung and other animal signs along specific transects and
opportunistic collection and observation. An investigation of forest use and human impact
within the reserve was made through systematic transect surveys and observations on an
opportunistic basis. This report provides inventories of tree and shrub species recorded within
plots and through opportunistic collection, and of all the targeted faunal taxa. Each species
listed is described in terms of its ecological requirements, endemic status and conservation
status. These criteria are used to assess the uniqueness of biodiversity within the reserve and
its vulnerability to human disturbances. A summary of these findings is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Summary of biodiversity surveyed within Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserve.
Taxon Total number Number of Number of Number of
of species forest dependent endemic species not
species species ^ previously recorded
in Kazimzumbwi FR
Plants 111 * 11 (10%) 21 (19%) 13 (12%)
11 ** 1 (10%) 3 (27%) 0
50 *** 5 (10%) 8 (16%) 7 (14%)
Mammals 32 7 (22%) 4 (13%) 9 (28%)
Reptiles 28 5 (18%) 4 (14%) 14 (50%)
Amphibians 23 6 (26%) 7 (30%) 8 (24%)
Butterflies 140 42 (30%) 12 (9%) 81 (58%)
Total 395 77 (20%) 59 (15%) 132 (33%)
^ Endemic species: Trees and shrubs endemic to the Swahilian Regional Centre of Endemism
Fauna endemic to Coastal Forests and/or Eastern Arc forests and/or a few other East African forests
* Recorded in vegetation plots
** Recorded in regeneration sub-plots
*** Recorded through opportunistic botanical collection
Kazimzumbwi Forest Reserve encompasses a diverse assemblage of vegetation communities
and rich floral and faunal species diversity. The reserve comprises a mosaic of closed dry
forest, Brachystegia forest, scrub, woodland, wooded grassland and riverine/swamp forest.
The relatively low number of forest dependent species, and subsequently high number of
ecological generalists, is thus to be expected.
Thirty-two species of plant and thirty species of animals recorded in Kazimzumbwi Forest
Reserve are restricted in range and are considered endemics. The link between endemism and
forest-dependency is demonstrated within all taxa surveyed. The liane Milletia puguensis is
endemic to the Pugu Hills and the tree species Baphia puguensis is endemic to the Pugu Hills
and Gongolamboto area. The record of the Montane agama Agama montana alters the
endemic status of this species which has previously only been recorded in selected Eastern