Frontier Tanzania Savanna Research Programme

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Figure 3.4. Total cut poles per 100 m 2 in Nambiga Forest Reserve.Furthermore, all specimens of the hardwood Melicia excelsa, which is an importanttimber tree, encountered on the vegetation transects showed evidence of previousexploitation. Exploitation patterns of timber trees and poles both revealed the highestlevel in the north-east corner of the reserve (Figures 3.3 and 3.4). This section of thereserve borders the main road and is also close to Iragua village. The highest index ofpole cutting was 0.84 poles / 100 m 2 for fresh cut and 7.89 / 100 m 2 for old cut poles.These areas were mainly comprised of colonising forest with a high numbers ofsaplings.13
Illegal trapping activities were found in 11 separate locations distributed throughoutthe forest. The types of trapping found were pitfall traps (designed for antelope andbuffalo), snare wires (for duiker) and raised log traps (for cane rats).Of these methods, pitfall trapping presents the most serious threat because they cancontinue to kill animals up to several years after their construction. During the workin Nambiga F. R., a dead young elephant was found in a poachers' pitfall trap.3.4 Discussion3.4.1 Botanical surveyThe varied composition of Nambiga F. R., containing both dry woodland and moistforest species reflects its location as an isolated evergreen forest surrounded byagriculture and miombo woodland. Further evidence for the transitional nature ofareas within Nambiga F. R. was found from the presence of Harrisonia abyssinia, aspecies typical of the dry-evergreen forest transition zones (Palgrave 1983, Beentje1992).The forest was composed mainly of small trees and shrubs, with a noticeable absenceof large trees. The small tree Dichostrchys cinerea was found in 4% of all plots and isconsidered an indicator of over-grazing (Palgrave 1983, Beentje 1992). Other trees inNambiga F. R. also indicated disturbance, with the presence of secondary growth (e.g.Deinbolia borbonica), edge (e.g. Rauvolfia mannii) and weed indicator species(Triumfetta rhomboidea).14
Page 1 and 2: Frontier Tanzania Savanna ResearchP
Page 3 and 4: PREFACEThis section outlines the re
Page 5 and 6: SUMMARY1. Nambiga Forest Reserve is
Page 7 and 8: 4. FAUNAL BIODIVERSITY SURVEY (Grah
Page 9 and 10: Figure 1.1. Sketch map showing the
Page 11 and 12: 2. RESOURCE USE SURVEY2.1 Aims and
Page 13 and 14: y the highest density of farmland a
Page 15 and 16: 3. FOREST COMPOSITION AND DISTURBAN
Page 17 and 18: Figure 3.1 Timber trees (see method
Page 19: Figure 3.3. Total cut timber trees
Page 23 and 24: Table 3.1 (continued).Plant species
Page 25 and 26: Table 3.2. KiSwahili names and uses
Page 27 and 28: 4. FAUNAL BIODIVERSITY SURVEY4.1 In
Page 29 and 30: 4.3.4 ReptilesIn total there were 4
Page 31 and 32: Table 4.5 continuedSpecies Common n
Page 33 and 34: Table 4.7. Summary of the bats foun
Page 35 and 36: forests such as Nambiga F. R. are i
Page 37 and 38: populations in Nambiga F. R. are of
Page 39 and 40: Kremen, C. (1992). Assessing the in

Frontier Tanzania Savanna Research Programme

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