Population Structures of Uapaca Kirkiana (Euphorbiaceae) in the Miombo Woodlands of Malawi: Status and Management Prospects for Fruit Production
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Journal of Tropical Forest Science1 12(3)47 - 9 :45 POPULATION STRUCTURE F UAPACAO S KIRKIANA (EUPHORBIACEAE) IN THE MIOMBO WOODLANDS OF MALAWI: STATU MANAGEMEND SAN T PROSPECTR FO S FRUIT PRODUCTION Mzom Ngulub. aR e Forestry Research Institute of Malawi, P.O.270,Box Zomba, Malawi Received January 1998 NGULUBE, M. R. 2000. Population structures of Uapaca kirkiana (Euphorbiaceae) in the miombo woodlands of Malawi: status and management prospects for fruit production. A stud asseso yt e populatiosth n structure f Uapacao s kirkiana Mull. Arg. n importana , t indigenous fruit tree of African miombo woodlands, was undertaken in 19 sites covering 5 major silvicultural zones in Malawi. The species was well represented, with stems ha-1 >1 cm dbh exceeding 100 in 17 of the 19 sites. Uapaca kirkiana regenerates readily from seed and recruitmen highs i t . Mortalit mostlys i y attribute seasoy dr o dt n fires which frequently affect e woodlandsth promoto T . e successful recruitmen establishmend an t . kirkiana,U f o te th woodlands shoul e subjectedb annuao dt l burnin seasoy dr g avoio e nt earl th dn yi litter fuel accumulation. Where densit highys i , thinning operations shoul undertakee db opeo nt n canope th p improvu o yt e fruiting. Key words: Uapaca kirkiana - population structures - miombo woodlands - indigenous fruit trees - natural regeneration - Malawi NGULUBE, M. R. 2000. Struktur populasi Uapaca kirkiana (Euphorbiaceae) di dalam hutan jarang miombo di Malawi: prospek status dan pengurusan bagi pengeluaran buah. Kajian untuk menilai struktur populasi Uapaca Kirkiana Mull. Arg., sejenis pokok asli berbuah yang pentin i hutad g n jarang miomb i Afrikaod , diusahaka tapa9 1 i knd yang meliputn zo 5 i silvikultur utam i Malawid a . Spesies diwakili dengan garis pusat aras dada1 batan> 1 - gha cm melebihi 100 dalam 17 daripada 19 tapak. Uapaca kirkiana tumbuh semula daripada biji beni penokokan hda n adalah tinggi. Kematian kebanyakannya disebabkan oleh kebakaran pada musim kemarau yang selalu mempengaruhi hutan jarang. Untuk menggalakkan kejayaan penokokan dan penubuhan U. kirkiana, hutan jarang tersebut mestilah bergantung kepada kebakaran tahunan pada awal musim kemarau untuk mengelakkan penumpukan baha i sarapnap . Operasi penjarangan mestilah dijalankan apabila kepadatan tinggi untuk membuka sudur bagi menggalakkan pembuahan. Introduction The distribution of the miombo woodlands of southern Africa corresponds roughly Zambeziae th o t n Regional Centr Endemisf eo Whitmf o e (1983). The recognisee yar d for their floristic richneswidespreae th d an s d occurrenc e treth e f genero e a Brachystegia, Julbernardia and Isoberlinia (Malaisse 1978). The woodlands cover large areas of Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe and have for a long time been a useful source of various forest products and services for the subsistence needs of rural communities. Among the most important are edible fruits, many of which serve as food reserves during seasonal food shortages and in time f famino s e that frequently affec regioe th t n (Campbell 1987) e fruite Th . sar nutritionally rich in sugars, essential vitamins, minerals, vegetable oils and protein 459 460 Journal of Tropical Forest Science 12(3): 459 - 471 (Malaiss Parene& t 1985, Sak Msontha& i 1994). Utilisatio tradd n an f fruit eo e ar s integral component f locao s l economie culturd san plad ean y important rolen si household welfare (Kwesiga & Mwanza 1995, Lowore et al. 1995, Minae et al. 1995). Miombo woodlands offer little commercial logging interest and as a result have attracted limited ecologica silviculturad an l l attention (Lawton 1982). However, this view is rapidly changing and the importance of forest products other than timber — collectively referred to as non-timber forest products (NTFP) — is being widely acknowledged. As local peoples' resource needs and livelihood come to the forefront, miombo woodland management increasingly needs to revolve around producing a wide variety of NTFP. Indeed, efforts to manage miombo woodland resources have been revived and much intensified in the last few years though they still remain in their infancy t appearI . s that most silvicultural problems affecting miombo species relat lifo et e cycl d growtean h phase s sapline prioth o t r g stage numbea n I . f o r miombo tree species, there are problems of seed dispersal and problems of seed dormancy and seedling check or die-back following germination. To these biological features must be added the environmental problems of the general harshness of the miombo climat annuad ean l fires. Over 50 indigenous tree species of the miombo ecosystem of southern Africa bear edible fruits (Campbell 1987) Malawin I . , Uapaca kirkiana Muell. Arg dioecioua ( . s species mose th )f tqualifie o value e on ds sa indigenou s frui fruits t it tree d s shavan e always been appreciated as NTFP (Ngulube et al. 1996). The fruits have high nutritional value and play an important dietary role (Sufi & Kiputo 1977, Palgrave 1981, Malaiss Parene& t 1985, Sak Msontha& i 1994). Indeed recognition i , s it f no importance as a resource of great potential, it was declared a protected food tree in Barotseland (Western Province, Zambia) as early as the 1950s (Palgrave & Palgrave 1957). Throughout muc f southerho n Africa fruite collecteth e , ar s d fro wile mth d and sold at the roadside and in town centres and city markets, serving as a significant rural source of income (Ngulube 1995). In recent years, the development of cottage wine industries in Malawi and Zambia has opened an attractive additional market for the fruit. Large quantities of fruits are now required to sustain these winery industries as mee o welt growine s a lth t g deman wholr dfo e fruit urban i s citd nyan markets. e stat knowledgf Th eo kirkiana. U vegetatioa n eo s a n componen miombe th f o t o woodland f southero s n Afric limites i a d largeldan y inconsisten forn i d t man representativeness (Ngulub 1995)al. definitiveet No . e stud beeyhas n tracethe don population structures or dynamics of the species. In most field studies traced, attention is centre vegetation do n communitie referencs— kirkiana. U o et onls i y incidental, as a community member (Trapnell 1959, Rattray 1961, Lawton 1978, et al. 1982). Data on the population structures of U. kirkiana should provide a picture of the existing e specie e wildstatbasia th th r s f identifyin eo A fo n s. i s g appropriat situn i e management options for the species, a pilot population-level study in the miombo communities throughout Malawi was therefore undertaken in 1995. The work reported in this paper is based on the results of the study and discusses possible managemen kirkiana.. U f to Journal of Tropical Forest Science 12(3): 459-471 461 Material methodd san s Study sites A stud 9 tota1 f yo l sites coverine majoth f ro gsilvicultura5 l zone f Malawo s i (Hardcastle 1978) were selected base reconnaissanca n do e survey that identified both major concentrations of U. kirkiana and populations under extreme conditions of altitude and rainfall in Malawi. During selection, priority was placed on sites with minimal disturbance varioue . th Detail sitee d th ssan f studieso s conducte eacn di h are summarised in Table 1. Table 1. Details of sites used for studies of Uapaca kirkiana population structures in the miombo woodland Malawn si i Site Zone* Locality Elevatio) n(m Mean rainfall (mm) Chimarilo, Kasungu D 12°26'S, 33°33'E 1200 900 Chongoni, Dedza E 14° 19'S, 34° 16'E 1632 1000 Mtangatanga, Mzimba E 11°54'S, 33°43'E 1650 1000 Thazima, Rumphi E 10°50'S, 33°35'E 1500 1000 Chikumbeni, Zomba G 15°24'S, 35°19'E 900 1125 Chimpeni, Zomba G 15°25'S, 35°19'E 750 1125 Malosa, Machinga G 15°15'S, 35°19'E 900 1125 Michesi, Mulanje G 15°48'S, 35°39'E 900 1125 Nandiwo, Mulanje G 15°46'S, 35°43'E 950 1125 Sadzi, Zomba G 15°24'S, 35°20'E 900 1125 Zomba Outer Slopes G 15°23'S, 35°19'E 1000 1125 Livingstonia, Rumphi J 10°38'S, 34°10'E 1371 1400 Misuku Hills, Chitipa J 09°40'S, 334°4'E 1400 1400 Tsamba, Mwanza J 15°20'S, 34°37'E 1000 1400 Uzumara J 10°51'S, 34°07'E 1800 1400 Litende, Nkhata Bay L 11°55'S, 34°04'E 500 1640 Kakwewa, Nkhaty aBa M 11°53'S, 33°59'E 1050 1450 Kaning'ina, Nkhata Bay M 11°27'S, 34°02'E 1254 1450 Mazamba, Nkhata Bay M 11°43'S, 33°55'E 1300 1450 * Hardcastle's (1978) silvicultural zones based on mean temperature and rainfall. Population structure Sampling coincided with the fruiting period of U. kirkiana (April-October 1995), facilitating identificatio male femald th f ean no e plants eact A . h site baselina , a n eo set compass bearing was initiated at the site boundary. Along each transect, the first sample centre point was positioned 20-30 m inside the population (to avoid boundary effects) and thereafter, at 100 m intervals. Following the procedure described by Hall (1991)neares0 2 e th ,t trees (all species e samplth o t )e centre points with hdb >10 cm were recorded. The genders of all U. kirkiana trees were identified and recorded where possible. From the centre point, the distance to the 20th tree was measured and any additional trees equidistant to the 20th nearest tree were recorded. Ove aree th r a occupie circle th y edb passing throug 20te hth hkirkiana.