The Biotic Communities and Natural Regions of Kenya
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ISBIC LIBRARY WILDLIFE PLANNING UNIT MINISTRY OF TOURISM AND WILDLIFE H - 1983.17 REPUBLIC OF KENYA Kageninger. The Netherlands tittIC LIBRARY , The Nathnrland* THE BIOTIC COMMUNITIES AND NATURAL REGIONS OF KENYA Based on the Work of P. B. Dean and E. C. Trump Scanned from original by ISRIC - World Soil Information, as ICSU World Data Centre for Soils. The purpose is to make a safe depository for endangered documents and to make the accrued information available for consultation, following Fair Use Guidelines. Every effort is taken to respect Copyright of the materials within the archives where the identification of the Copyright holder is clear and, where feasible, to contact the originators. For questions please contact soil.isrictawur.nl indicating the item reference number concerned. Wildlife Planning Unit Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and Canadian International Development Agency October, 1983 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page I. Introduction 1 II. Biotic Communities of Kenya 3 III. Natural Regions of Kenya 7 IV. Table of National Parks and Reserves 29 V. References 33 LIST OF TABLES Page Table I — Representation of the Major Biotic Communities in the Existing National Parks and Reserves System 30 Table II — Representation of the Natural Regions in the Existing National Parks and Reserves System 31 in I. INTRODUCTION The Biotic Communities and Natural Regions of -provide a rational basis for the identification and Kenya establishment of new parks and reserves. The biotic communities and natural regions were -provide an analysis of local and national factors formulated by the Wildlife Planning Unit of the Wildlife that influence the future development and Conservation and Management Department as a pre management of the Parks and Reserves System. requisite to the preparation of a System Plan for Kenya's National Parks and Reserves. This paper presents the Biotic Communities and Briefly, a System Plan would : Natural Regions of Kenya in the anticipation that they will —ensure that the Parks and Reserves System be of considerable interest and value to all planners con represents Kenya's natural resources in a com cerned with the management of natural resources. prehensive manner. Though originally formulated principally for the wildlife resource it is visualised that this analysis could provide a —provide a rational basis forevaluating the existing rational basis for a wider range of natural resource plan system. ning and management activity. 1 II. BIOTIC COMMUNITIES OF KENYA Biotic communities represent the synthesis of a variety of 5. Evergreen and Semi-Evergreen Bushland ecological factors such as soil, rainfall, altitude and tem 6. Grassland perature which result in the development of a distinctive 7. Semi-Arid Wooded and Bush-Grassland community of fauna and flora. These communities incor 8. Arid Thorn Bushland and Woodland porate the major plant and animal species in the country 9. Semi-Desert and thus are a significant factor in developing a rational 10. Coastal Forest and Woodland basis for the long term growth of Kenya's national park 11. Groundwater and Riverine Forest and reserve system. Nineteen biotic communities are 12. Coastal Evergreen Bushland defined and mapped. 13. Coastal Palm Stands 14. Permanent Swamps The development of the classification follows the 15. Freshwater Lakes work of Lamprey (1975) with a major contribution by D. J. 16. Alkaline Lakes Pratt (pers. comm.). Few countries of equivalent size have 17. Marine Beaches and Dunes quite the variety of landscapes of Kenya, extending from a 18. Mangroves glacial peak across highlands and plateauxtosemi-desert 19. Coral Reefs and Islands and tropical coast. Such diversity represented at the map scale used here requires generalizations that mask numerous small and local communities. 1. Afro-Alpine Glacier and Moorland The mobility and adaptability of the major faunal species make it difficult to delineate boundaries based on This biotic community consists of land above 3200 m faunal characteristics. For that reason, plus a lack of de subject to severe frost and at its highest elevations tailed knowledge and information on the fauna, vegetation (5000 m), covered with permanent ice and snow. Vegeta played an important role in delineating many of the biotic tion is sparse above 4500 m but at lower elevations there is communities. The ecological classification of vegetation grassland and shrubland, with ericaceous species and follows Trapnell (Trapnell and Griffiths, 1960; Trapnell stands of giant Lobelia and Senecio. Wild and domestic and Langdale-Brown, 1962; Trapnell et al 1978) with actual ungulates occasionally penetrate from lower elevations boundaries drawn or extrapolated from a variety of pub but the indigenous fauna comprises a small but distinctive lished and unpublished surveys listed in the references. range of birds, insects and small mammals. Those were supplemented by a satellite colour photo- mosaic of the country. 2. Highland Moist Forest The vegetation surveys from which the biotic com munities map was compiled, were done for a variety of The highland moist forest community consists of purposes, at a variety of scales using different systems forest reserves and protected areas in the higher and and intensities of survey. Considerable difficulty was moister parts of thecountry usually above 2000 m and with experienced in trying to standardise the data and identify mean annual rainfall over 1200 mmcorresponding closely and assign indicator species and types to the appropriate to ecoclimatic zone II (Pratt and Gwynne, 1978). The communities. forest cover is characterised either by Podocarpus, often associated with Olea, Nuxia and other forest trees, or The authors are aware that there may be errors in where the moisture index is negative, by Juniperus interpretation and plotting but those can only be resolved (cedar), Croton megalocarpus or (on Mt. Kenya) with more intensive surveys, revisions and field checking. Newtonia buchananii. Much of the highland areaformerly The map, which is in the jacket at the back of this report, under moist forest is now under cultivation or has lost its also notes those areas for which no data were available. forest cover by other means; the forest areas that remain Below is a listing of the biotic communities followed by a are important not just as a timber resource but as brief description of each. catchment area and habitats fora number of relatively rare mammals such as the bongo, giant forest hog and col obus monkey and some distinctive birds including forest The Biotic Communities species of turaco. 1. Afro-Alpine Glacier and Moorland Narrow zones fringing the highland forest or blocks 2. Highland Moist Forest within the forest are dominated by Arundinaria alpina 3 Guineo — Congolean Rain Forest (Bamboo). They form a very distinct wildlife habitat for 4. Highland Dry Forest species such as the bongo. 3. Guineo-Congolean Rain Forest —alkaline/volcanic ash grasslands —fire induced grasslands This biotic community represents the last surviving — highland grasslands relicts of the Kenya portion of the vast tract of tropical rain forest which once extended from the Zaire basin to Grasslands in seasonal floodplains are most common western Kenya. The Kakamega forest relicts are in eco- in the arid and semi-arid north and eastern part of the climaticzone II and receive a wel I distributed mean annual country with species of Cynodon, Sporobolus and Lin- rainfall of 1923mm. tonia predominating. The soil developing from volcanic ash under dry climatic conditions results in alkaline/sodic Characteristic trees are tall Croton megalocarpus, soils which support Chrysopogon frequently in associ Celtis milbraedii, Chrysophyllum albidum. Aningeria ation with the saltbush Suaeda. The extensive plains of altissima, Fagara milbraedii and Manilkara butugi. The Laikipia, Athi/Kapiti and Loita have been frequently forest trees carry many epiphytes and orchids ferns and burned to keep back bush encroachment and to maintain mosses are abundant. There are many forest lianes — a green flush for grazing. The main genera on thesegrass- often of large size. lands are Digitaria, Cymbopogon and Cynodon while on the coast species of Panicum, Pennisetum and Dacty- Among the rare animals of this community are Flying loctenium dominant, across many of the inland areas. Squirrels. Blue Monkeys, Red-tailed Monkeys, Palm Adropogon and Pennisetum are common in the highland Civets and Pottos. There are many notable birds including grasslands. the spectacular Great Blue Turaco and the African Grey Parrot. 7. Semi-Arid Wooded and Bush-Grassland (Savannah) 4. Highland Dry Forest Only small patches of the biotic community remain outside the settled and cultivated areas of the country. Highland dry forest characterizes the biotic com Presently largely in ecoclimatic zone IV. which represents munity of the higher hills and mountains in the drier parts the limit of arable land, these remaining patches will be of the country to the north and south of the central high come increasingly threatened by the expansion of human lands. Mean annual rainfall is around 1000-1200 mm.The activity. The landscape is predominantly of 'savannah' 'dry cedar forests' include Olea. Teclea and Euclea and aspect with trees of Combretum or Acacia (typically A. under the driest conditions become very stunted and merge into evergreen bushland. The highland dry forest is hockii. A. gerrardii, A. seyal), sometimes with Lannea, a valuable refuge for the wildlife of