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SOUTH NGURU MOUNTAINS: a Description of the Biophysical Landscape

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TANZANIA FOREST CONSERVATION GROUP TECHNICAL PAPER 11 SOUTH NGURU MOUNTAINS: a description of the biophysical landscape Nike Doggart and David Loserian (Ed.) 2007 Participatory Environmental Management Programme (PEMA) Suggested citation: Whole report Published by the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group © Tanzania Forest Conservation Group All rights reserved. All material appearing in this publication is copyrighted and may be reproduced with permission. Any reproduction in full or in part of this publication must credit the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group as the copyright owner. Doggart, N. and D. Loserian (eds.) (2007). South Nguru Mountains: A Description of the biophysical landscape. TFCG Technical Paper No 11. DSM Tz pp 1 – 71. Sections within the report: Kiure, J. & N. Doggart (2007). Birds of the South Nguru Mountains. In: Doggart, N. and D. Loserian (eds.) (2007). South Nguru Mountains: A Description of the biophysical landscape. TFCG Technical Paper No 11. DSM Tz pp 1 – 71. ISSN 0856-8618 ISBN 9987-8958-2-4 Key words: Biodiversity, endemic, South Nguru Mountains, Eastern Arc Mountains, Mvomero, Tanzania, Kanga Forest Reserve, Mkindo Forest Reserve. Front cover photographs (clockwise from top left): Callulina sp. nov. is one of the new species of amphibian recorded during the surveys. Photo by Michele Menegon, 2005. Charcoal harvested from woodland near Kanga. Photo by David Loserian 2005. Leopard caught on a camera trap in Kanga. View of the South Nguru landscape from Kanga F.R. Photo by Andrew Perkin. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................................... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................... 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................................ 6 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................................................. 7 1.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 ABOUT THE EASTERN ARC MOUNTAINS ....................................................................................................... 7 1.3 ABOUT THE SOUTH NGURU MOUNTAINS ...................................................................................................... 7 1.4 ABOUT THE PEMA PROGRAMME ................................................................................................................ 8 1.5 DEFINING KEY TERMS USED IN THE REPORT.................................................................................................. 8 2 GEOLOGY AND SOILS ................................................................................................................................ 10 2.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 10 2.2 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................... 10 2.3 RESULTS................................................................................................................................................. 10 2.4 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................ 10 3 HYDROLOGY................................................................................................................................................ 11 3.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 11 3.2 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................... 11 3.3 RESULTS................................................................................................................................................. 11 3.4 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................ 11 4 CLIMATE....................................................................................................................................................... 12 4.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 12 4.2 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................... 12 4.3 RESULTS................................................................................................................................................. 12 4.4 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................ 12 5 VEGETATION................................................................................................................................................ 13 5.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 13 5.2 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................... 13 5.3 SAMPLING INTENSITY ............................................................................................................................... 13 5.4 RESULTS................................................................................................................................................. 13 5.5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................ 16 6 FAUNA .......................................................................................................................................................... 17 6.1 BIRDS ..................................................................................................................................................... 17 6.2 MAMMALS ............................................................................................................................................... 30 6.3 AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES .............................................................................................................................. 36 7 FOREST USE ................................................................................................................................................ 44 7.1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 44 7.2 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................... 45 7.3 SAMPLING INTENSITY ............................................................................................................................... 46 7.4 RESULTS................................................................................................................................................. 47 7.5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................................................ 51 8 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 52 9 RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................................. 53 9.1 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL RESEARCH ....................................................................................... 53 9.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT INTERVENTIONS .............................................. 54 10 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................................. 55 2 List of Tables Table 1. Summary of the species richness and endemism in the South Nguru Landscape. .................................... 4 Table 2. Overview of the forest reserves of the South Nguru Mountains. ................................................................ 7 Table 3. Bird survey sampling intensity and sites. ................................................................................................. 17 Table 4. Checklist of bird species recorded in the South Nguru landscape............................................................ 19 Table 5. Comparison of bird species richness between habitats in the South Nguru landscape............................ 27 Table 6. Number of overlapping bird species between forest and other habitats. .................................................. 27 Table 7. Eastern Arc endemic and near-endemic birds
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