Miombo Ecoregion Vision Report - Biodiversity Foundation for Africa

Miombo Ecoregion Report, page 55
Vegetation is very varied as would be expected from such a gradient of altitude and climate. It
ranges from fynbos-like low montane shrublands, upland grassland (including unique grasslands
on quartzite-derived soils), high and medium altitude rainforest, high and medium altitude
miombo woodland (Brachystegia spiciformis, Parinari curatellifolia, Pterocarpus angolensis),
and lowland rainforest with affinities to the East African coastal plains. The latter are very
extensive in Mozambique, but restricted to small patches in Zimbabwe (Rusitu Valley). Chirinda
Forest is the best and most extensive example of medium altitude rainforest in the region. The
area spans what is effectively three ecoregions.
Total plant diversity is likely to be over 1500 species; a checklist of the non-forested parts of the
Chimanimani massif shows 860 species. Nutrient-poor upland grasslands on quartzite support
over 50 plant endemics. The lowland rainforests on the eastern and southern slopes are likely to
support over 600 plant species; a provisional list of trees and shrubs shows 103 species. While
the medium altitude Chirinda Forest and margins supports over 500 species. Mammal diversity is
low with only 14 species of large and medium-sized mammals recorded from the Chimanimani
massif, but 44 species are recorded from Chirinda Forest (most of them small). The only nearendemics
are rodents restricted to forests and margins of the Eastern Highlands. There is a small
population of forest-dwelling elephants which move through the eastern part of the area. Four
IBAs are found in the Zimbabwe section – Banti Forest, Chimanimani Mountains, Haroni-
Ruisitu junction and Chirinda Forest – but the range-restricted and globally threatened species
present are mostly associated with forests and uplands, not Caesalpinoid woodlands. The
herpetofauna is rich with 42 species around Chirinda. A rich butterfly fauna, including some
endemics, is again mostly associated with forests or forest margins.
There are a number of smaller protected areas, including Chimanimani National Park, Chirinda
Forest, Banti Forest and two small Botanic Reserves in Zimbabwe. The status of the forest
reserves and national park is good. The Mozambican part of the Chimanimani plateau is being
viewed for protection, to become part of a proposed transfrontier Chimanimani conservation
area. There are also two protected forest areas in Mozambique – Maronga and Zomba.
A significant form of upland use is commercial timber production, and a number of valuable
grassland areas were cleared for this in the 1950s. Much of the Chipinge Uplands and lower parts
of Chimanimani in Zimbabwe is commercial farmland, especially for tea, coffee, dairy or timber.
It is an important water catchment area. Tourism potential is high, particularly associated with
walking in the Chimanimani Mountains. Population pressures are high in the fertile communal
land of the Rusitu Valley, where remnant forest patches are being rapidly cleared. The major
threat to the uplands in Zimbabwe is expansion of commercial timber production, while at
medium altitude much of the vegetation has already been cleared for commercial farming, with
just remaining patches on hillsides. Habitat destruction from subsistence farming or cashcropping
in the lower lying valleys is a important concern in both countries.
13. GORONGOSA / MARROMEU
An very diverse area in central Mozambique extending from Mt Gorongosa on the plateau,
across the rift valley and forests of the Cheringoma plateau, to the wetlands of Marromeu, the
Zambezi Delta, mangroves, dunes and coastal forests. Vegetation types (excluding those of the
Afromontane portion on Mt Gorongosa) include dry miombo and Acacia–Combretum
woodlands, Acacia woodlands in the valley, coastal forest with Brachystegia spiciformis on the
Cheringoma plateau, grasslands and swamps, as well as mangroves and littoral vegetation. The
area is a prime regional candidate for conservation action as it covers an enormous range of
habitat ("mountain to mangrove") and straddles what is effectively three or four ecoregions
within a comparatively small area.