Mt Namuli, Mozambique: Biodiversity and Conservation
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Darwin Initiative Award 15/036: Monitoring and Managing Biodiversity Loss in South-East Africa's Montane Ecosystems MT NAMULI, MOZAMBIQUE: BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION February 2009 Jonathan Timberlake, Francoise Dowsett-Lemaire, Julian Bayliss, Tereza Alves, Susana Baena, Carlos Bento, Katrina Cook, Jorge Francisco, Tim Harris, Paul Smith & Camila de Sousa ABRI african butterfly research instit Forestry Research Institute of Malawi Biodiversity of Mt Namuli, Mozambique, 2009, page 2 of 115 Front cover: Namuli peaks with Ukalini forest below (JT). Frontispiece: Mts Pesse & Pesani above Muretha plateau (JT, top); campsite. Muretha plateau (JT, middle L); dwarf chameleon (JB, middle R); Pavetta sp. nov? (TH, bottom L); Mt Namuli & Ukalini forest from air (CS, bottom R). Suggested citation: Timberlake, J.R., Dowsett-Lemaire, F., Bayliss, J., Alves T., Baena, S., Bento, C., Cook, K., Francisco, J., Harris, T., Smith, P. & de Sousa, C. (2009). Mt Namuli, Mozambique: Biodiversity and Conservation. Report produced under the Darwin Initiative Award 15/036. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London. 114 p. Biodiversity of Mt Namuli, Mozambique, 2009, page 3 of 115 LIST OF CONTENTS LIST OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... 3 LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................... 5 SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 7 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 9 2. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY AREA................................................................................ 10 2.1 Geomorphology and Geology ...................................................................................... 10 2.2 Climate ......................................................................................................................... 12 2.3 Soils.............................................................................................................................. 14 3. HISTORY AND EARLY COLLECTING ...................................................................... 15 3.1 Administration.............................................................................................................. 15 3.2 Local Economy and Land Use ..................................................................................... 15 3.3 History.......................................................................................................................... 16 3.4 Early Explorers and Collectors .................................................................................... 17 3.5 Recent Biological Survey............................................................................................. 23 4. VEGETATION ................................................................................................................ 26 4.1 Previous Studies........................................................................................................... 26 4.2 Vegetation Types.......................................................................................................... 26 4.3 Vegetation Mapping..................................................................................................... 35 5. PLANTS........................................................................................................................... 40 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 40 5.2 New and Endemic Species ........................................................................................... 40 5.3 New Species Records for Mozambique ....................................................................... 43 5.4 Red Data Status ............................................................................................................ 45 5.5 Use of Plant Species on Namuli................................................................................... 46 6. BIRDS ............................................................................................................................ 47 6.1 Historical Background.................................................................................................. 47 6.2 Methods........................................................................................................................ 48 6.3 Annotated Bird List...................................................................................................... 49 6.4 Bird Breeding Records................................................................................................. 49 6.5 Densities of Forest Species .......................................................................................... 51 6.6 Biogeographical Considerations.................................................................................. 53 6.7 Conservation Issues...................................................................................................... 54 7. OTHER VERTEBRATES & INVERTEBRATES.......................................................... 57 7.1 Previous Studies........................................................................................................... 57 7.2 Local Hunter Records................................................................................................... 57 7.3 Small Mammals............................................................................................................ 58 7.4 Reptiles and Amphibians ............................................................................................. 60 7.5 Lepidoptera................................................................................................................... 62 7.6 Odonata ........................................................................................................................ 64 7.7 Coleoptera and Hemiptera............................................................................................ 65 Biodiversity of Mt Namuli, Mozambique, 2009, page 4 of 115 8. CONSERVATION........................................................................................................... 67 8.1 Conservation Threats.................................................................................................... 67 8.2 Conservation Issues...................................................................................................... 70 9. RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................................ 71 10. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................ 72 11. BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES............................................................................. 73 ANNEX 1a. Participants on Mt Namuli expedition, May/June 2007..................................... 79 ANNEX 1b. Participants on Mt Namuli expedition, Nov 2007.............................................. 79 ANNEX 2. Plant checklist for Mt Namuli above 1300 m. ................................................... 81 ANNEX 3. List of plant species recorded from the Gurué / Namuli area in Flora Zambesiaca, but not listed in Annex 2. .............................................................. 94 ANNEX 4. Annotated list of birds recorded from the Namuli massif above 1200 m .......... 97 ANNEX 5. Birds caught in nets, Namuli November 2007 ................................................. 109 ANNEX 6. List of small mammal species collected or recorded from the Namuli massif 111 ANNEX 7. Butterfly species collected on Mt Namuli........................................................ 113 Biodiversity of Mt Namuli, Mozambique, 2009, page 5 of 115 LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Approximate extent of study area above different altitudes. .................................... 11 Table 2. General soil characteristics of samples from the Namuli massif. ............................. 14 Table 3. List of botanical and zoological collectors/recorders from the Namuli area. ........... 24 Table 4. Extent of vegetation types from airphoto interpretation. .......................................... 36 Table 5. Extent of main vegetation types in Namuli area from 2005 Landsat imagery.......... 37 Table 6. Endemic plant species from the Mt Namuli and Gurué area. ................................... 42 Table 7. List of plant type specimens originally collected from Mt Namuli area................... 43 Table 8. Taxa collected under this project representing new records for Mozambique according to Flora Zambesiaca or recent literature.................................................. 44 Table 9. Global conservation assessments for taxa from Mt Namuli. .................................... 45 Table 10. Territory sizes of 14 bird species measured in small patches on Muretha Plateau.. 51 Table 11. Animals trapped or hunted by local hunters in the Namuli area.............................. 58 Table 12. Bat sampling locations and effort, Namuli November 2008.................................... 60 Table 13. Reptiles and amphibians collected from the Namuli region. ................................... 61