Mangrove biodiversity survey south of the Onilahy River - Frontier ...

CHAPTER THREE: THE LOVOKAMPY MANGAL
Introduction
This mangal is one of the core zones for the proposed Man and Biosphere Reserve for the Toliara
region (Cellule Environnement Marin et Côtier (Office National pour l’Environnement), 2001)
however there has been very little research published to date as to its biodiversity or cartography. It
is situated between the village of Soalara and the Onilahy river, Southwest Madagascar (see Figure
2) and is subject to human exploitation for firewood and building materials. It is also grazed by
livestock from the nearby village of Lovokampy (Frontier-Madagascar, unpublished data). This
mangal, although it has a creek is likely to have an unusual or absent zonation pattern due to the
creek having been being blocked from 1990-1995 an occurrence that appears to be repeated
intermittently over the years (Frontier-Madagascar, unpublished data). The fresh water source
appears to emanate from the cliffs surrounding this mangal, however it does not become a creek
until further into the mangal. This mangal is protected from wave action due to its position, set
back from the mean high water mark by approximately 70m. All these factors make this zone ill
suited to mangal formation.
Methods
Surveys carried out in the Lovokampy mangal between May and June 2002 were conducted using
methods similar to those used for Lavadanora with three exceptions.
1. All mapping was completed using a GPS.
2. Transect lines were marked out approximately every 100m as this mangal has not been surveyed
previously and dominance was less obvious.
3. As the creek ended before the edge of the mangal a bearing was taken from the end to the
freshwater source in the cliffs and the transects continued as before along this imaginary
freshwater gradient. This ensured that the entirety of the mangal was represented in the surveys.
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