Diversity, abundance, and structure of tree communities in the Uluguru forests in the Morogoro region, Tanzania

Kacholi, D S and Whitbread, A M and Worbes, M (2015) Diversity, abundance, and structure of tree communities in the Uluguru forests in the Morogoro region, Tanzania. Journal of Forestry Research, 26 (3). pp. 557-569. ISSN 1007-662X

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Abstract

Uluguru forests are globally recognized as important biodiversity hotspots, but anthropogenic pressure threatens their value. This study examined species diversity, abundance, and structure of trees in the Uluguru forests. All trees of diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 10 cm were inventoried in seven forests ranging from 3 to 995 ha in area. A total of 900 stems, 101 species and 34 families were inventoried. Fabaceae was the most speciose family. Ehretia amoena Klotzsch was the most abundant species with relative abundance of 9.22 %. The forests differed significantly in species richness (26–93 species ha−1), tree density (85–390 stems ha−1), basal area (3–24 m2 ha−1) and Shannon-Wiener diversity (2.50–4.02). Forest area was significantly and positively correlated with species richness (r = 0.92) and species diversity (r = 0.95). Tree density showed significant positive correlation with species richness (r = 0.80) and basal area (r = 0.85). Milawilila and Nemele forests had highest floristic similarity (0.55) followed by Kimboza and Kilengwe (0.54) while the rest had similarity coefficients of less than 0.50. Despite legislative protection, many forests remain at risk and therefore the possibility to conserve highly valuable tree species via enhanced protection or cultivation must be considered.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	RP-Resilient Dryland Systems
CRP:	CGIAR Research Program on Dryland Systems
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Eastern arc, Biodiversity, Disturbance, Hotspots, Similarity
Subjects:	Others > Agriculture-Farming, Production, Technology, Economics
Depositing User:	Mr B K Murthy
Date Deposited:	08 Feb 2016 07:41
Last Modified:	08 Feb 2016 07:41
URI:	http://oar.icrisat.org/id/eprint/9305
Official URL:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11676-015-0078-0
Projects:	UNSPECIFIED
Funders:	UNSPECIFIED
Acknowledgement:	UNSPECIFIED
Links:	Google Scholar

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