Serengeti General Management Plan
Serengeti General Management Plan
Serengeti General Management Plan
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<strong>Serengeti</strong> National Park <strong>General</strong> <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Plan</strong><br />
36<br />
1.3.2-3<br />
The Riverine Forest is ranked as being the most threatened from fire, with the potential that<br />
it could be eliminated throughout the <strong>Serengeti</strong> within the 10-year period of this GMP. There<br />
are two different types of broad-leaved Riverine Forest within SENAPA (Bayona and<br />
Sharam, 2001), under various degrees of threat as described below:<br />
� The first forest type grows along the tributaries of the Mara River. This forest is characterised<br />
by an open canopy of Euclea, Diospyros, Otea, and Croton species. This forest is<br />
rapidly being replaced by grassland, with a loss of 75-85 percent in the past 25 years.<br />
� The second forest type grows along the Orangi and lower Grumeti rivers. This forest is<br />
composed primarily of species derived from central Africa. Its canopy is composed<br />
largely of Lecaniodiscus, Eckebergia, Zziphus, and Ficus species. This forest appears to<br />
be relatively stable compared to the Mara Riverine Forests, having decreased in size by<br />
25-35 per cent in the past 20 years.<br />
The threat from fire to the Acacia and Terminalia woodland is ranked according to the type<br />
of fire. The hot late-season fires pose the greatest threat and have the potential to seriously<br />
degrade the woodlands throughout the <strong>Serengeti</strong>. The “cool” fires are less severe a threat to<br />
the woodlands and are expected to only moderately degrade the woodlands on a localised<br />
basis.<br />
Kopje habitat is inherently fire resistant and therefore fire only poses a low threat. However,<br />
little is known whether fire is an important factor in their ecology. The ranking of the threat for<br />
the next 10 years identifies a moderate level of degradation (medium severity) of kopje habitat<br />
on a localised scale (low scope).<br />
This management target will address the threats to these four habitats, which in turn will address<br />
the fire threat to the natural habitat for the Black rhino Conservation Target. Threats to<br />
the Migration from early dry season fires, relate to the availability of dry season grassland<br />
forage, and are therefore dealt with separately.<br />
The management actions designed to address these threats and enhance the conservation<br />
status of the habitat Conservation Targets are as follows:<br />
Action 1.3.1: Prioritise critical habitats and areas for fire protection within the Riverine<br />
forest, Acacia woodland, Terminalia woodland and Kopje habitat<br />
SENAPA does not have the financial or personnel resources to actively protect against fire<br />
across all four habitats. Instead sensitive, representative and important areas within these<br />
habitats will be selected for concentrating efforts in fire management, as identified in the<br />
SENAPA Fire <strong>Management</strong> <strong>Plan</strong>.<br />
Action 1.3.2: Identify and preserve adequate areas of dry season forage for migrant<br />
species<br />
Within SENAPA there are critical areas of forage that need to be preserved to support the<br />
Migration. The critical dry season forage includes areas in the north of SENAPA, including<br />
Kogatende, Lamai, Nyamalumbwa, Bologonja, Tabora B and Ndasiata. The critical early dry<br />
season forage includes the western corridor and central SENAPA.