BINDURA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AN ASSESSMENT OF LANTANA CAMARA DISTRIBUTION AND ITS EFFECTS ON SELECTED SOIL PROPERTIES IN WARD 1 OF ZVIMBA DISTRICT, ZIMBABWE ELIZABETH GULUGULU (B1128987) A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE BACHELOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE HONOURS DEGREE IN NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT DATE OF SUBMISSION: 31 OCTOBER 2014 DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to Mrs. Goromonzi for her love and financial support through my academic journey, my granny Ambuya Kaunda who passed away when I was in the middle of data collection of this project and to the late Litah and Sandress, you will always have a special place in my heart mum and dad. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank the almighty God for his strength and guidance for with him the impossible were made possible. My sincere gratitude goes to Mr. T. Nyamugure and Mr. A. Kundhlande my project supervisors who took their time and worked beyond hours assisting me with my project. In a special way I would like to thank Mr. G. Chikorowondo for his advice and assistance, Mr. W. Mhlanga, Mr. L. Jimu, Mr. T. Kaseke, Mr. P. Makumbe, Miss. T. Makuku for their contributions and corrections concerning this project. I extend my acknowledgements to Environmental Management Agency (EMA) for giving me an opportunity of doing this project on their behalf. My special gratitude goes to Mr. A. Chigona for his encouragement, Mr. M. Tendaupenyu District Environmental Officer of Zvimba whom I worked closely with on this project, Mr. L. Hwengwere Quality Environmental Officer of Mashonaland West for assisting me with the selection of soil parameters and literature concerning this study, Melissa Maenza my colleague for assisting me with information for my literature and Mr. K. Kabesa District Environmental officer of Kadoma for giving me time to work on my project during working hours, Mr. M. Nhariswa District Environmental Officer of Chegutu for his assistance towards selection of my project topic. I also want to thank my brother Jah, Godwin for his encouraging words towards my school work, my two lovely sisters Lucia and Liness for their support and prayers towards my school work, God bless you ladies. Lastly I want to thank Mr. and Mrs. Chikwanha for taking their time to assist me with my project and my fiancé Tarisai Emmanuel for assisting me with this dissertation and encouraging me to work hard. ii ABSTRACT This study was conducted in Ward 1 of Zvimba District in Zimbabwe with the aim of assessing the distribution of Lantana camara and its effects on selected soil properties (N, P, K, Mg, Ca, C, pH, soil texture and Na). Field reconnaissance using a Garmin GPS version 2.40 was used to mark areas invaded with L. camara and data were entered in ArcGIS version 10.1 for analysis of the production of a L. camara distribution map. Stratified random sampling was employed for field soil sample collections. Replicate soil samples were collected from different strata which included heavily invaded, moderately invaded and uninvaded, using a soil augur. Soil analyses were done using standard methods at the Department of Research and Specialist Services (DR&SS) in Harare for the determination of various mineral elements which included N, P, K, Mg, Ca, C, Na, pH and soil texture. Oneway ANOVA was used for data analysis and the LSD test was used to separate means of measured parameters at 95% confidence interval. Lantana camara invaded 14.3% of the total land in Ward 1, covering an area of 992.73 ha. Lantana camara was mainly distributed along riverine areas. Results showed that L. camara generally improved soil fertility in areas it had invaded (in terms of N, P, Mg, C and Na) except for K, Ca and clay content, despite the fact that there was low species richness within its environment due to its allelopathic effects. Future studies should focus on other soil properties which were not covered in this study. Researchers are also encouraged to continuously map land cover changes to help monitor areas affected by L. camara within the Ward. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION .................................................................................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... iii LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................vi LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................vii LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS..........................................viii CHAPTER 1....................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY .............................................................................. 1 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT ............................................................................................. 2 1.3 JUSTIFICATION............................................................................................................ 2 1.4 AIM ................................................................................................................................. 3 1.5 OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................. 3 1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ............................................................................................ 3 CHAPTER 2....................................................................................................... 4 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................................. 4 2.1 DISTRIBUTION OF LANTANA CAMARA IN ZIMBABWE ...................................... 4 2.1.1 IMPACTS OF LANTANA CAMARA ON SOILS ....................................................... 5 2.1.2 IMPACTS OF INVASIVE SPECIES ON SOIL ....................................................... 5 2.1.3 SOIL NUTRIENTS ..................................................................................................... 6 2.1.4 SOILS IN ZVIMBA .................................................................................................... 6 2.2 EFFECTS OF LANTANA CAMARA .............................................................................. 7 2.2.1 IMPACTS ON RURAL AGRICULTURE ................................................................ 7 2.2.2 LOSS OF PASTURE .................................................................................................. 7 2.2.3 TOXICITY ON ANIMALS ........................................................................................ 7 2.2.4 DEPLETION OF NATURAL VEGETATION ......................................................... 8 2.2.5 MANAGEMENT OF LANTANA CAMARA ............................................................. 8 iv CHAPTER 3..................................................................................................... 10 METHODOLOGY....................................................................................................................... 10 3.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA ................................................................... 10 3.1.1 DEMOGRAPHY AND RAINFALL....................................................................... 11 3.2. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN ........................................................................................ 11 3.4 METHODS OF DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................ 12 CHAPTER 4..................................................................................................... 13 RESULTS..................................................................................................................................... 13 4.1 DISTRIBUTION AND AREA OCCUPIED BY LANTANA CAMARA ..................... 13 4.2 EFFECTS OF LANTANA CAMARA ON SOIL PROPERTIES .................................. 14 CHAPTER 5..................................................................................................... 16 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................................. 16 5.1 DISTRIBUTION OF LANTANA CAMARA ................................................................ 16 5.2 EFFECTS OF LANTANA CAMARA ON SOIL PROPERTIES ................................. 17 CHAPTER 6..................................................................................................... 19 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS........................................................................ 19 6.1 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................. 19 6.2 RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................................. 19 REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 20 APPENDICES...................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Location map of Ward1 Zvimba district………………………….. 10 Figure 3.2 Steps taken to produce distribution map of L. camara…………….12 Figure 4.1 Distribution map