PLANT BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT FOR COMMUNITY BASED FOREST MANAGEMENT IN VILLAGE LAND FOREST RESERVES OF LUDEWA, NJOMBE, TANZANIA Samora A. Macrice (PhD) FORCONSULT 2012017777 i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents empirical findings from ecological surveys carried out to document plant biodiversity of six village forests potential for establishment of Community Based Forest Management (CBFM) between 2015 and 2016 in Ludewa, Njombe Tanzania. Ludewa District was not covered by Participatory Forest Management (PFM) and only about 20% of natural forests are formally protected in the District. Forests of Ludewa provide wood and non-wood products, act as water catchment areas and provide a wide range of cultural and recreational benefits. However, they are currently managed under village governments which lack effective management plans and relevant information on their natural capital. Knowledge on plant biodiversity in natural forests is important for CBFM establishment and sustainable biodiversity conservation and protection. The findings in this report are based on 83 randomly selected plots of 10 x 10 m each in six village forests (i.e. Mawengi, Masimavalafu, Iwela, Mvava, Kimelembe and Nkomang’ombe) of dry miombo woodlands. Data was summarized and analysis of biodiversity indices i.e. abundance, richness, diversity, density, basal area and carbon stocks was computed in MS Excel. Overall results show that a total of 221 plant species and 51 families were registered from all the forests. The overall single most frequent plant species was Brachystegia spiciformis. Nkomang’ombe forest had the highest plant species richness (91 species) and 26 families while Iwela forest had the lowest richness of 38 species and 21 families. In terms of species diversity Masimavalafu forest had the highest Shannon-Wiener species diversity (H´=2.38) while Iwela had the least (1.17). Iwela forest had the overall highest stem density (3211 stems/ha) while Mvava forest had the least (382). Mvava forest had the highest basal area of individual species with 3344 cm 2/ha while Litumbi had the least with 120 cm 2/ha. Impatiens gomphophylla (Balsaminaceae) and Duosperma trachyphyllum (Acanthaceae) are endangered species (according to IUCN) recorded in the area. Duosperma livingstoniense (Acanthaceae) a vulnerable species and Pterocarpus angolensis (Leguminosae) a near threatened species were also recorded in the forests. In addition, two national concern species i.e. Osyris lanceolata (Rubiaceae) and Syzygium cordatum (Myrtaceae) were also recorded in Ludewa. This demonstrates clearly a significant role played by miombo woodlands under local communities’ management in supporting important biodiversity. It is therefore recommended that current and future improved management strategies in village forest reserves consider CBFM as a viable option for sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation in Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot and beyond. Keywords: Participatory forest management; joint forest management; sustainable forest management; community based conservation; village forest reserve; biodiversity; miombo; diversity; richness; density; carbon; basal area; importance value index; national concern species; trigger species ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This study was funded by Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) through “Mapping of the Remaining Un-protected Natural Forests and Assessment of their Resources and Threats as a Roadmap to Conserve Eastern Afromontane Biodiversity Hotspot in Ludewa, Tanzania” project (CEPF GEM Number 65709). The author is deeply indebted for their financial support. Besides, this research work would not have been completed without the technical inputs of Dr Neduvoto P. Mollel from the Arusha National Herbarium of Tanzania and Mr Canisius J. Kayombo from the Forestry Training Institute in botanical identification. The author would like to thank very much Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) for granting permission to travel and be away from the work station. Regional and Natural Resource Office gave permission to work in the forests. District Administrative Officers for Ludewa and District Natural Resource Officers provided logistical support. Gumbo Mvanda, Gilbert Ngailo, Lucas Makonobe, Dennis P. Mollel, Aggrey Uwiso, Obote Msemakweli and George Bulenga helped with the fieldwork. Paul Lyimo helped with data entry, coding and analysis. Village Governments and Village Natural Resource Committee members for Mawengi, Masimavalafu, Iwela, Mvava, Kimelembe and Nkomang’ombe provide local knowledge, access to the forests and helped with data collection. Sternson D. Mwakidunda and Kassim B. Urasa drove tirelessly and carefully for thousands of Kilometers but without a single accident in rough roads of Ludewa, Njombe Tanzania. Thank you all!! iii TABLE OF CONTENCONTENTTTTSSSS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. vi ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................................................ vii 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS ..................................................................................... 3 2.1 Study site ............................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Plant biodiversity sampling ................................................................................... 4 2.3 Statistical analysis ................................................................................................. 5 3. RESULTS .................................................................................................................... 6 3.1. Overall plant community structure for the six forests ................................................ 6 3.2. Mvava Forest Reserve, Mvava Village ..................................................................... 8 3.3 Litumbi Forest Reserve, Mawengi Village ................................................................. 10 3.4 Litwang’ata Forest Reserve, Nkomang’ombe Village ............................................. 11 3.5 Kimelembe Forest Reserve, Kimelembe Village ........................................................ 13 3.6 Intake Forest Reserve, Masimavalafu Village ............................................................ 15 3.7 Iwela Forest Reserve, Iwela Village ......................................................................... 17 3. BRIEF DISCUSSION ................................................................................................... 19 APPENDIX 1: REFERENCES .............................................................................................. 22 APPENDIX 2: LIST OF SHRUBS, HERBS, GRASSES AND REGENERANTS AT SIX VILLAGE FORESTS IN LUDEWA, NJOMBE TANZANIA .................................................................. 24 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1 : Plan t community structure in six Village Forest Reserves of 6 Ludewa Njombe Tanzania. (n = 83)………………………………………… Table 2: Abundance of woody plant species in Mvava Forest Reserve, 8 Ludewa Tanzania....................................................................................... Table 3: Stem density, basal area, important value index and carbon stocks 9 of Mvava Forest Reserve, Ludewa Tanzania…………………………………. Table 4: Abundance of tree s pecies in Litumbi Forest Reserve, Ludewa 10 Tanzania………………………………………………………………………… Table 5: Stem density and basal area of Litumbi Forest Reserve, Ludewa 11 Tanzania…………………………………………………………………………. Table 6 : Abundance of tree species in Litwang’ata Fores t Reserve, Ludewa 11 Tanzania ………………………………………………………………………... Table 7 : Stem density , basal area and carbon stocks of Litwang’ata Forest 12 Reserve, Ludewa Tanzania……………………………………………………. Table 8: Abundance of tree s pecies in Kimelembe Forest Reserve, Ludewa 13 Tanzania……………………………………………………………………….... Table 9: Stem density and basal area in K imelembe Forest Reserve, 14 Ludewa Tanzania……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Table 10: Abundance of tree species in the Intake Forest Reserve, Ludewa 15 Tanzania………………………………………………………………………... Table 11: Stem density and basal area of Intake Forest Reserve, Ludewa 16 Tanzania…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Table 12: Abundance of tree species in Iwela Forest Reserve, Ludewa 17 Tanzania………………………………………………………………………..... Table 13: Stem density and basal area of Iwela Forest Reserve, Ludewa 18 Tanzania…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The location of study forests in Ludewa, Njombe, southern- 4 highlands Tanzania……………………………………………………………… Figure 2. Summary of stand variables in six Village Forests of Ludewa, 7 Tanzania………………………………………………………………………… Figure 3. Summary of stocking in six Village Forests of Ludewa, Tanzania... 7 LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: REFERENCES ........................................................................................