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Wuta, Menas. "Nutrient dynamics in miombo woodlands in Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/27719.
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Miombo woodlands are tropical savanna formations dominated by genera Brachystegia, Julbernardia and Isoberlinia and are widespread in central and southern Africa. These woodlands are an important resource providing among other things, grazing and browse for livestock and wildlife, medicines for local people, food like mushroom and honey and timber for building and fuel. Understanding the structural and functional characteristics of miombo ecosystems and the factors affecting and controlling production is therefore important, both for their significance in understanding the environment and also for their value to local communities. In addition to soil moisture, herbivory and fire, soil nutrients are known to be an important determinant of savanna ecosystems. Nutrient dynamics have been studied at two Zimbabwean sites providing a range of representative miombo environments - the Henderson Research Station near Mazowe and the Mukuvisi Woodlands in Harare. The aim of the research has been to assess the major inputs and outputs of macronutrient nutrients (principally N, P, K, Ca and Mg) in miombo woodlands and to determine the effects of fire on nutrient cycling. The quantities of nutrients added in rainfall and throughfall were measured during the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 rainy seasons. Additions of mineral N in rainfall were 14.7 and 7.4 kg/ha/yr at the Mukuvisi Woodlands experimental sites for the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 rainy seasons respectively. Mineral N added at the Henderson Research Station experimental sites was 12.3 and 5.7 kg/ha/yr for the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 rainy seasons respectively. Cation input in rainfall was very low at Henderson compared to Mukuvisi, a result which can be explained by the high level of pollution in and around Harare. The amount of cations added during the 2000/2001 ranged from 0.8 to 7.8 kg/ha/yr and 0.2 to 1.2 kg/ha/yr for Mukuvisi Woodlands and Henderson Research Station experimental sites respectively, with K being the highest added in rainfall at both study areas. Nutrients were altered significantly by the canopy. Most of the N was absorbed and/or adsorbed whereas cations were significantly increased. Stem flow was measured only at Henderson Research Station sites and nutrient additions were very low (< 0.3 kg/ha/yr) compared to throughfall. Dominant miombo tree species were found to conserve nutrients by re-absorbing them from senescing leaves. Phosphorus had the largest percentage withdrawn for all the dominant tree species and this ranged from 48 to 75 % of the total P in mature leaves (in November 1999). Total N, K and Mg withdrawn ranged from 22 to 33, 22 to 31 and 12 to 21 % respectively. Litterfall at the study sites ranged from 2.20 to 4.44 t/ha/yr. Litterfall (< 2 cm) is the largest nutrient cycling pathway in miombo woodlands, transferring between 36.6 to 65.2 kg N/ha/yr; 5.5 to 10.2 kg P/ha/yr; 15.3 to 26.7 kg K/ha/yr; 28.7 to 53.8 kg Ca/ha/yr; 4.9 to 8.6 kg Mg/ha/yr and 1.2 to 2.1 kg Na/ha/yr to the woodland floor. Litter decomposition was faster at the Henderson sites where there is evidence of high termite activity. K and Na were released fastest from decomposing litter compared to other nutrients. Nutrients leached from miombo soils were in the order K (1.24-2.52 kg/ha/yr) > N03_-N (1.11-2.30 kg/ha/yr) > Ca (0.82-1.49 kg/ha/yr) > NH4+-N (0.39-0.83 kg/ha/yr) > Na (0.28-0.54 kg/ha/yr) ≈ Mg (0.32-0.52 kg/ha/yr). Potassium was the most easily leached nutrient from litter and it was also found to be the highest cation in leachate collected from 100 cm depth. Losses of N in the form of N2O were also measured and were found to range from 0.29 to 0.60 kg/ha/yr and 0.27 to 0.62 kg/ha/yr at Mukuvisi Woodlands and Henderson Research Station experimental areas respectively. Compared to nutrient additions, losses through this pathway are low. Early burning resulted in loss of nutrients N, P, Ca, Mg, K and Na from herbaceous vegetation and, from litter, only N was lost in significant amounts. From the study it can be concluded that rainfall is an important nutrient input. Throughfall also contributes substantially to nutrients added to soils in miombo woodlands especially bases. The results from this study seem to indicate that miombo woodlands cycle nutrients efficiently with minimum losses. The internal nutrient cycling comprising mainly litterfall is able to re-circulate the largest proportion of nutrients. Losses through gaseous N20 emissions and leaching losses relative to the sum of throughfall and stem flow were found to be low. Fire resulted in some nutrient losses confirming the hypothesis that burning miombo woodlands results in significant loss of nutrients.
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Bowers, Samuel Jonathan. "Fire dynamics and carbon cycling in miombo woodlands." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/28804.
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Savannah ecosystems play a prominent role in the global carbon (C) cycle, yet fluxes are poorly quantified, and the key processes regulating vegetation dynamics are uncertain. Insight is particularly deficient in southern Africa’s miombo woodlands, a woody savannah that is home to over 100 million people. This biome is heavily disturbed, with widespread deforestation and degradation associated with agriculture, charcoal and timber extraction, and frequent fires from anthropogenic sources. In this thesis I combine plot inventory data with remote sensing and modelling techniques to improve our understanding of the miombo woodland C cycle. Using a network of forest inventory plots, I characterise floristic and functional diversity in a savannah-forest mosaic in southeastern Tanzania. Divergent vegetation structures are associated with variation in fire frequency, water supply, and soil chemo-physical properties. Corresponding differences are noted in fire resilience, water-use, and nutrient acquisition plant functional traits, suggesting that multiple interrelated environmental filters act to assemble heterogeneous tree communities. Re-inventory of forest plots was used to quantify key aspects of the woody C cycle. Tree growth rates are slow, calling for careful management of woodland resources, and significantly reduced where stems were damaged. Stem mortality is rare, though elevated in the smallest trees and where damage was recorded. Contemporary strategies to incentivise the conservation of miombo woodland ecosystems, such as the REDD+ programme of the United Nations, advocate payments for sustaining ecosystem services such as C sequestration. I report on a pilot REDD+ project aiming to reduce woodland degradation from frequent high intensity fires in southeastern Tanzania. Model simulations suggest that woody biomass is being gradually lost from the region, and that setting early season fires has the potential to reverse this trend. Realising substantial changes in C storage requires a demanding reduction to late fire frequency, and uncertainty in model predictions remains high. I quantify the C cycle of southern African woodlands by combining observational data with a diagnostic C cycle model under a model-data fusion framework. Model outputs show substantial variation in primary production, C allocation patterns, and foliar and canopy traits, which are associated with differences in woody cover, fire, and precipitation properties. C cycle dynamics correspond poorly to conventional land cover maps, indicating they may be unsuited to upscaling measurements and models of the terrestrial C cycle.
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Lusambo, Leopold Pascal. "Economics of household energy in miombo woodlands of eastern and southern Tanzania." Thesis, Bangor University, 2009. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.506171.
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Woollen, Emily Skovmand. "Carbon dynamics of African miombo woodlands : from the leaf to the landscape." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/11676.
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Africa’s carbon (C) cycle is one of the least well understood components of the global C cycle. Miombo woodlands are the most common woodland type in southern Africa, but despite their vast extent and importance in the biogeochemical cycles of Africa, their C dynamics are not well understood. This thesis addresses a set of science questions related to miombo woodland C dynamics that cover a range of scales, from the leaf to the landscape. The questions are related to seasonal controls on C uptake at the leaf level, to spatial distributions and scales of variation of C stocks in the landscape, and to the drivers and spatial patterns of deforestation and degradation at the regional scale. In miombo woodlands, the seasonality of productivity remains poorly understood, and it is unclear whether stomatal limitations or variations in leaf traits cause seasonal changes in productivity. I use data of leaf gas exchange and leaf traits collected in dry and wet seasons to assess the response of photosynthesis to seasonality. I found a large degree of inter-specific responses, where photosynthetic capacity was maintained between seasons in some tree species but not in others. This was linked to inter-specific stomatal regulation on leaf gas exchange, access to soil water and varied leaf traits, indicating differing timing of leaf development during the dry season. Differing timing of leaf flushing can create niche separation, facilitating the co-existence of miombo woodland tree species. I use data collected along a 5 km transect through miombo woodland to characterise the spatial distributions and scales of variation of C stocks in woody biomass and soils, and assess the links between them. I found that on the scale of a few meters, soil C stocks varied in relation to soil texture. At the kilometre scale, surface soil and woody C stocks were coupled, and varied in relation to topography. By understanding the scales of variation I was able to make recommendations for optimal sampling of C stocks in a miombo woodland landscape for improved C stock assessments. I developed and tested a simple spatial model of deforestation and degradation, using a rule-based approach, to produce risk maps of areas more likely to be affected by deforestation and degradation for a study site in central Mozambique. I found that my model was able to accurately predict the locality of high risk areas, and that roads were the major axis for forest biomass loss. Risk maps created from this method are useful for exploring the drivers of deforestation and degradation in a region dominated by miombo woodland, and for targeting policy and management efforts. Overall, this thesis has contributed significantly to our understanding of natural and human driven miombo woodland C dynamics over a range of scales, from the leaf to the landscape. In the final chapter, I discuss the implications of each chapter for our understanding of miombo woodland C dynamics, and suggest areas for further research.
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Vinya, Royd. "Stem hydraulic architecture and xylem vulnerability to cavitation for miombo woodlands canopy tree species." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2010. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9028b995-5379-4969-8a7b-59a7aa7ab533.
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Africa's miombo woodlands constitute one of the most important dry tropical forests on earth, yet the hydraulic function of these woodlands remains poorly researched. Given the current predictions of increased aridity by the end of this century in the miombo ecoregion, understanding the likely response of miombo woodlands tree species to water stress is crucial in planning adaptation strategies. Predicting the response of miombo woodlands to future climate trends is hampered by a lack of knowledge on the physiology of the common miombo woodlands tree species. In particular, plant-water relations for this woodlands type are not well understood. An understanding of plant-water relations for this woodlands type will provide insights into how water limits tree species distribution in this ecosystem. This will also improve our prediction model on the likely response of this ecosystem to predicted climate change. For this reason, the overall objective of this research was to evaluate the hydraulic architecture and xylem vulnerability to cavitation for nine principal miombo woodlands tree species differing in drought tolerance ability and habitat preference. This was achieved by; examining the hydraulic properties and evaluating the extent to which each hydraulic design was vulnerable to water stress-induced xylem cavitation; investigating how seasonal changes in plant-water relations influences seasonal patterns of leaf display and; analyzing the relationship between stem hydraulic supply and leaf functional traits related to drought tolerance ability. This research has found that drought-intolerant tree species with mesic specialization have more efficient stem hydraulic systems than co-occurring habitat broad ranging species. Broad ranging tree species attain wider habitat distribution by adjusting their hydraulic supply in response to changing ecosystem water availability. The finding that hydraulic properties differ significantly between tree species with contrasting habitat preference suggests that tree hydraulic design may have some adaptive ecological role in influencing species habitat preferences in miombo woodlands. The evaluation of xylem vulnerability to cavitation revealed that mesic specialized tree species were more vulnerable to water stress-induced cavitation than habitat broad ranging tree species. Vulnerability to cavitation in individuals from the same broad-ranging species growing in contrasting habitats showed only marginal and statistically insignificant (P > 0.05) differences between wet and dry sites. In the investigation of the influence of seasonal changes in stem water relations on seasonal leaf display, seasonal rhythms in stem water status were found to exert significant controls on leaf phenology. Mesic specialists had strong stem water controls throughout the year in comparison to broad ranging tree species. An analysis of the relationship between stem hydraulic supply and leaf functional traits suggests that stem hydraulic supply constrains leaf biomass allocation patterns among miombo tree species. Mesic specialists tend to invest more in leaf longevity than broad ranging tree species. This thesis has uncovered some interesting relationships between plant-water-relations and the distribution of miombo woodlands tree species. These results lead to the conclusion that in an event of increased ecosystem drying under future climate trends, tree species with mesic specialisation are at a greater risk of experiencing cavitation related species mortality than broad ranging ones.
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Cruz, Maria (Maria Regina Torres). "The impact of plant product harvesting on Derre Miombo woodlands, Mozambique / by Maria Cruz." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/53124.
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Thesis (MScFor)--Stellenbosch University, 2002.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates how information on plant products can be used to incorporate local users into joint forest management planning by developing guidelines for sustainable collaborative management in Derre miombo woodland in the Zambézia Province in Mozambique. From the participatory appraisal, it was found that 46 woody miombo species were used in the five villages for at least 29 different purposes. Five of these species (Brachystegia boehmii, B. spiciformis, Pterocarpus angolensis, Terminalia sericea and Swartzia madagascariensis) were selected for analysis because of their multiple uses and the unknown impact of their harvesting on the future survival of those hardwood trees species. In order to determine the impact of human resource extraction on the forest and on the dynamics of tree canopy populations an inventory of woody plants was.carried out for two categories of forest land-use, namely selective harvesting and fallow land (approximately 15 years old). This was done for Golombe and Arame villages and for selective harvesting only for Mphoto village, on 23, I-ha random selected plots in the woodland adjacent to the three villages. The population structure of the five species T sericea, S. madagascariensis, P. angolensis, B. boehmii and B. spiciformis showed different trends in each of the three villages. Size class distribution of the first tree species gave evidence that the species were being harvested for building poles. This study has shown that, through plant species products, miombo contribute to the livelihoods of the local communities living in Derre woodlands. In this study it was found that usually more than one species were used for one product as well as most of the species being trees with multiple uses. This study has also provided some evidence that P. angolensis and S. madagascariensis can benefit from shifting cultivation and fire, which encourages coppice regeneration. More research is required to further validate this evidence.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek die moontlikhede wat inligting oor spesifieke plantprodukte bied, in die betrekking van plaaslike gemeenskappe in die proses van gesamentlike bosbestuurs- en beplanningspraktyke. Verder word riglyne opgestel aangaande die volhoubaarheid van die gesamentlike bestuurs- en beplanningspraktyke in die Derre miombo bosveld, in die Zambézia Provinsie in Mozambique. Inligting verkry vanuit die deelnemende opname dui aan dat in die vyf nedersettings wat ondersoek is, 46 houtagtige miombo spesies vir ten minste 29 verskillende doeleindes aangewend word. Vyf van die spesies (Brachystegia boehmii, B. spiciformis, Pterocarpus angolensis, Terminalia sericea en Swartzia madagascariensis) is geselekteer vir gebruik in analises as gevolg van hul benutbaarheid deur plaaslike inwoners en die feit dat minimale inligting beskikbaar is oor die impak van gebruik van die harde hout spesies op hul volhoubare benutting en voortbestaan. 'n Opname van houtagtige spesies is uitgevoer in areas wat val in een van twee bosgrondgebruiks kategoriee nl. areas wat selektief geoes en benut word, en braaklande (ongeveer 15 jaar oud). Dit is gedoen om die impak wat verwydering van boshulpbronne deur mense op die boomkruin populasies het, vas te stel. Die opname strategie is gevolg in 23 ha persele, uitgelê in die gebiede wat die Golombe, Arame en Mphoto nedersettings omring - in die geval van laasgenoemde nedersetting is slegs die impak van selektiewe benutting ondersoek. Die populasie struktuur van die vyf studiespesies (T sericea, S. madagascariensis, P. angolensis, B. boehmii en B. spiciformis) het verkil vir elk van die drie nedersettings wat ondersoek is. Die verspreiding van grootte klasse vir die eerste spesie, het aangedui dat die spesie vir gebruik as konstruksie pale geoes word. Die miombo bosveld plantegroei-tipe dra by tot die lewensonderhoud van plaaslike gemeenskappe in die vorm van plant produkte, in die Derre omgewing. Daar is verder gevind dat meer as een spesie dikwels vir dieselfde doel aangewend kan word en die meeste van die spesies wat benut word is boomagtig met meer as een gebruik. In die studie is verder aanduidings gevind dat P. angolensis en S. madagascariensis kan baatvind by grondverbouings praktyke wat gereeld verskuif word en ook brande, omdat beide praktyke kreupelhout regenerasie stimuleer. Verdere navorsing word egter benodig om dié bevinding te ondersteun.
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Ryan, Casey Merlin. "Carbon cycling, fire and phenology in a tropical savanna woodland in Nhambita, Mozambique." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/4345.
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In the savanna woodlands of Southern Africa, locally know as miombo, carbon cycling is poorly quantified and many of the key processes remain obscure. For example, seasonal constraints on productivity and leaf display are not well understood. Also, fire is known to be a key process, with around 50% of the annual global area burned occurring in Africa, but detailed understanding of its ecological effects is lacking. Land use change and woodland degradation are changing the structure and functioning of these tropical woodlands, which cover 2.7 million km2 of Southern Africa and provide ecosystem services which support the livelihoods of over 100 million people. In this thesis I quantify the major carbon stocks of the woodlands in Nhambita Regulado, Gorongosa District in Sofala Province, Mozambique. I also examine processes that affect these stocks, including fire and clearance for agriculture. Furthermore, I quantify the seasonal cycle of leaf display, and its relationship to climate. I conducted a series of experimental burns and found that fire intensity was strongly related to rates of top-kill and root stock mortality. Top-kill rates decreased as tree diameter increased up to 10 cm DBH. After this point increased size did not affect top-kill rates, possibly because of accumulated wounds and rottenness. I then extrapolated these results to long term predictions of tree populations and carbon stocks by modelling the interactions of fire, mortality and tree growth. The model was able to successfully predict woody vegetation structure at two sites with known fire regimes, including a 50-year fire experiment in Marondera, Zimbabwe. The results show that annual fires in miombo suppress all woody vegetation. Low intensity fires every 2.5 years are required to maintain observed stem biomass in Nhambita. High intensity fires lead to high top-kill rates (12%), even among large stems. Manipulating fire intensity rather than frequency seems to be the most practical approach to limiting degradation by fire in these ecosystems. Using a three year time series of hemispherical photographs of the tree canopy, combined with satellite data, I find that tree leaf phenology is not directly related to seasonal rainfall patterns, both in Nhambita and across Southern Africa. Pre-rain green-up is the dominant phenology, from the semi arid savannas of the south of the continent to the wet miombo of the Congo basin. Wet miombo woodlands have longer periods of green-up before rain onset (mean 60 days) compared with dry miombo (37 days). Green up-dates show little interannual variability but large spatial variability. The importance of pre-rain green-up in determining how these ecosystems will respond to changing rainfall patterns is unknown, but is an important area for future study. I quantified carbon stocks in the Nhambita woodlands in the soil (69% of total carbon stocks of 111 tC ha-1), tree stems (19%) and roots (8%) as well as other smaller pools. An allometric relationship between root and stem biomass and stem diameter was developed, and used to evaluate the uncertainties in stem carbon estimation at plot and landscape scale. We find that the uncertainty (95% confidence intervals) at plot scale can be quite large (60% of the mean) but this is reduced to around 25% at landscape scale. Strategies for effective inventories of miombo woodland are presented. Using a chronosequence of abandoned farmland, we estimate that stem biomass recovers from clearance after around 30 years of abandonment. Changes in soil carbon stocks are less well understood and need further work. This thesis concludes by outlining further work needed to model the carbon cycle of these woodlands, as well as discussing the implication of pre-rain green-up for satellite observations of land cover changes and biomass mapping.
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Nelson, Ingrid, and Ingrid Nelson. "A Feminist Political Ecology of Livelihoods and Intervention in the Miombo Woodlands of Zambézia, Mozambique." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/12509.
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Three recent global economic trends are shifting forest livelihoods and ‘development’ intervention in Mozambique. These trends are China’s growing influence in Africa, large–scale land grabbing and climate change politics. Based on eighteen months of mixed–methods research between 2009 and 2011, this dissertation examines the interactions of these global trends with day–to–day social, political and ecological processes in two rural communities in Zambézia Province (central Mozambique)—one in the miombo woodlands of Maganja da Costa district and the other near expanding timber plantations in Gurué district. The community in Maganja da Costa is at the center of clashes between conservation groups and illegal loggers selling precious hardwoods to China. The community in Gurué is responding to a Presidential mandate for every local leader to establish ‘forests’ (predominantly exotic monocultures) that represent a dispersed form of land grabbing.
Drawing on recent agendas within the field of feminist political ecology, the author highlights key encounters or ‘place–events’ (following Doreen Massey) that explain the complex historical, political and ecological dynamics shaping contemporary forest transformation in Zambézia. These place–events can only be understood through attention to bodies and identity performance, key sites where assemblages of power and meaning are enacted and negotiated. This approach provides insight into less visible dimensions of landscape change by moving beyond commodity chain analysis and local/national/global hierarchies of causality. Examples of place–events examined include: girls becoming women through scarification with battery acid in a forest grove; men singing about their boss’ wife as they haul timber; NGO staff distributing pesticide spray information pamphlets in an anti–malaria campaign and elite women beating their husbands for planting ‘government’ trees.
Attention to bodily performances that fundamentally constitute these place–events demonstrates how interventions in the name of sustainable development play out and often fail. It also elucidates how some loggers are able to extract valuable timber more than others. In fact, local community members see all of these outsiders—despite their distinct ideologies—as equally foreign based on similar ‘outsider’ bodily comportment. Such embodied dynamics are political and cultural, and they should be a key concern for anyone involved in shaping the future of Mozambique’s forests.10000-01-01
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Halperin, James J. "Monitoring miombo woodlands of Southern Africa with multi-source information in a model-based framework." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/60664.
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Acquiring forest resources information for tropical developing countries is challenging due to financial and logistical constraints, yet this information is critical for enhancing management capability and engaging in initiatives such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). In this dissertation, I investigated innovative approaches to monitoring forest resources and deepened understanding of multi-source information (i.e., remote-sensing, environmental, and disturbance data) needs by examining methods using a model-based framework for assessment of a jurisdictional landscape in the miombo ecoregion of Zambia. I focused on percent canopy cover (CC) and above-ground biomass (AGB) within a National Forest Inventory (NFI) context because both are important for land management and REDD+. First, I compared multi-source information and four modeling methods to estimate CC and total forest area. Landsat outperformed RapidEye and a generalized additive model was most precise. Available soil water content (AWC), slope, distance to district capital, and texture of remotely sensed data were crucial predictor variables in improving estimates. Second, I used multi-source information and compared methods with and without predicted CC in three modeling methods to estimate total AGB. A nonlinear sigmoidal model was most precise when using predicted CC, AWC, pH, occurrence of late season fire, and the Normalized Difference Moisture Index as predictor variables. Third, I developed an innovative monitoring framework using time series classification and a stock-difference approach to estimate change in land cover and AGB over a 16-year annual time series of Landsat data. Forest/nonforest change trajectories were used to develop change classes relevant to underlying biotic and abiotic factors and provided ecologically meaningful context for land cover change and AGB change. Overall, predictor variables related to soil moisture, topography, shortwave infrared bands and texture of vegetation indices from remotely sensed data are vital to accurate models of CC and AGB. Genetic algorithms provide an opportune method for predictor variable selection across a diversity of modeling methods. Further, robust change estimates are feasible when using annual monitoring methods based on freely available, multi-source information. In conclusion, the model-based framework provides a precise, statistically sound, approach to estimating and mapping forest attributes within an NFI context.Forestry, Faculty of
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Abbot, Joanne Irene Olive. "Rural subsistence and protected areas : community use of the Miombo woodlands of Lake Malawi National Park." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1996. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1349603/.
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This study examines the utilisation of miombo woodland by fishing communities in Lake Malawi National Park (LMNP). Combining methodologies from the natural and social sciences, patterns of use of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and the impact of harvesting practices on the resource base, are described. The main focus is the commercial and subsistence use of primary woodland resources including: fuelwood, construction materials and grass thatch. Aerial photographic analysis and a quadrat based vegetation survey are used to examine the impact of local utilisation practices on the miombo woodland. Multivariate analyses assess the importance of different environmental variables in explaining the floristic composition of the woodland vegetation. A range of NTFPs are used locally but market surveys indicate that few products are traded outside the villages. A marketing analysis suggests that urban trade is constrained by the low economic value of woodland resources compared to the high cost of rural transport. Specific patterns of collection and use are apparent for each resource. This thesis explores the impact of different harvesting practices on the miombo woodlands. Using household surveys and time allocation, the effects of children on patterns of wood collection and use are examined. The role of daughters in fuelwood collection is discussed in relation to theories of fertility and family size. Furthermore, behavioural ecology approaches are used to examine the decision making in wood collection. This research provides a useful framework for investigating resource use because it combines concurrent studies of village and woodland communities. The quantitative and rigorous approach enables the factors that influence resource use, and their impact, to be defined. This study contributes to theories of conservation and the practice of integrated management of natural resources. Furthermore, the research demonstrates the importance of woodland resources to the subsistence strategies of rural communities within a protected area system.
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Boom, Arthur. "Diversification, evolution and population dynamics of the genus Brachystegia, a keystone tree of African miombo woodlands." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/331717.
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Miombo woodlands are vast wooded savannas covering 2 million km2 in East and Southern Africa. The main feature of these landscapes with closed but not overly dense canopy is the dominance of Brachystegia, Isoberlina, and Julbernardia legume trees genera. The timing of the onset of such vegetation, mainly understood through pollen fossils remains unclear. Dated molecular phylogeny calibrated with fossils for the aforementioned genera has the potential to provide details regarding the origin of species that nowadays dominate the current woodlands and possibly of miombo vegetation as a whole. The Brachystegia is a taxonomically complex genus and is compared to the other aforementioned genera, rich in species with 21 savanna species and eight species in the African Guineo-Congolian rain forests. We aim through the thesis to identify the diversification history of Brachystegia using dated phylogenies.We first reconstruct the Brachystegia phylogeny using nearly full plastome sequences in addition to ribosomal DNA sequences. Both sequences were obtained using a genome- skimming approach. In plastid phylogeny, species represented by multiple specimens appear rarely monophyletic while plastid clades display strong geographical structuring, independently of the species. Ribosomal phylogeny conversely allowed to identify morphological clades, but the lack of DNA polymorphism prevents the reconstruction of a well-resolved Brachystegia phylogeny. The strong spatial structure detected in plastid phylogeny suggests hybridization among the different species leading to recurrent chloroplast captures. Plastomes proved very informative for tracking the past dynamics of the genus and suggest a historical westwards expansion of miombo Brachystegia during the Plio-Pleistocene. We subsequently reconstructed the evolutionary history of the genus using targeted enrichment sequencing. Phylogenetic inferences were conducted using supermatrix and summary-method approaches on a dataset encompassing around 200 individuals loci for more than 200,000 base pairs. Opposite to previous reconstructions, most species appear as monophyletic groups even if high levels of gene tree conflict between the species trees and individual gene trees are reported, suggesting either incomplete lineage sorting (ILS) and/or reticulate evolution. Introgressed plastomes, and signature of ILS and reticulation for nuclear genes when species are nevertheless relatively well delineated by nuclear genome support to some extent that Brachystegia may behave a group of interfertile but still relatively well-delineated species (i.e. syngameon). Molecular dating analysis supports a Pliocene origin for the genus, with most of the diversification events occurring during the Plio-Pleistocene. We also conducted preliminary investigations to explore the potential of the genomics approaches used in this thesis to delineate problematic species or to reconstruct the past spatial dynamic of Brachystegia in current miombo regions.Overall, through this thesis, we clarified many aspects of the taxonomically complex Brachystegia genus. Genomic data support hybridization and plastid introgression on large spatial scales, giving credit to a Brachystegia syngameon that remains yet to be furthered characterised and validated. Moreover, results indicate a fairly recent origin of dominant species of the miombo congruently with their spatial expansion documented by plastid data, giving possibly insights into the temporal and spatial evolution of the miombo woodlandsDoctorat en Sciences
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Mbwambo, Lawrence Richard. "Species utilisation preferences and resource potential of miombo woodlands : a case of selected villages in Tabora, Tanzania." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/51918.
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Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2000.Full text to be digitised and attached to bibliographic record.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Miombo woodland occupies the greater portion of the Zambezian phytoregion where communities derive products and services for their livelihood. The managers of these resources have for many years neglected these crucial needs, which has important implications for silvicultural systems and management interventions. The overall objective of this study was to document the miombo species utilisation preferences by local communities in Tabora, Tanzania. This information was obtained using individual interviews and village meetings. A simple line transect inventory survey was carried out to assess the miombo resources adjacent to the studied villages. The villagers in Tabora have knowledge of the importance of their woodland resources and put different species to different uses, with some overlap where a species has multiple uses. The surveyed villages differ in the utilisation of miombo resources, where the choice and quantities used depend on their proximity to urban areas. There is strong preference for suitable species for building poles and due to scarcity some people now use mud bricks for house construction. Suitable timber tree species are scarce in the Urumwa Forest Reserve and now low quality species such as Sterculia quinqueloba are used. For firewood live trees are cut and dried, however any combustible material is used. Not surprisingly the community's use priorities differ from the management priorities of the Forest Department. The use of miombo products for income generation in the studied villages is influenced by the proximity to urban areas and villagers do not perceive commercialisation of these products as depriving them of resources. The use of woodlands for cultural and religious purposes in Tabora, though important to the spiritual wellbeing of people, has declined over the years. The fact that the villagers choose particular miombo trees for different purposes is an indication of some kind of local knowledge and management. The Urumwa Forest Reserve is now an open access resource as villagers have depleted wood resources adjacent to their settlements. Awareness of the causes of miombo resource depletion in these villages is positively correlated with the proximity to urban areas and wood scarcity. Community participation in management of natural resources is still new in Tabora as few villagers were aware of the new government management interventions of the Urumwa woodlands, and awareness seems to be limited largely to males and leaders. There is active management of indigenous trees protected on farms for various uses and exotic tree-planting mainly for fruits and shade, is done around homesteads, but with no de jure rights of ownership. Tree planting in this area is severely hindered by drought, insects and termite attack to seedlings and this has made people depend entirely on the miombo for their wood requirements. The simple wood resource inventory survey carried out in this study has showed that the Urumwa miombo woodland is heavily utilised. This has resulted in poor tree diameter distribution and species composition. The smaller tree diameters recorded in the Urumwa Reserve indicate that the potential of this woodland for timber production is low compared to other products. The priority products documented in this study form base-line information for management plans and silvicultural systems suitable for sustainable management and utilisation of these woodlands in future.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Miombo bosveld beslaan die grootste gedeelte van die Zambezi vegetasiestreek waarin 'n groot menslike bevolking produkte en dienste uit hierdie bioom genereer om 'n bestaan te maak. Bestuurders van hierdie bronne verwaarloos al jare hierdie kritiese behoeftes, en dit het belangrike implikasies vir boskundige sisteme en bestuurstussentredes. Die hoofdoel van hierdie studie was om die miombo spesiesbenutting-voorkeure van plaaslike gemeenskappe in Tabora, Tanzanië te bepaal. Inligting is bekom deur individuele onderhoude en dorpsvergaderings. 'n Eenvoudige lyn-transek opname is uitgevoer om die miombo-bronne langs die bestudeerde dorpies te bepaal. Die dorpsbewoners in Tabora dra kennis van die belangrikheid van hul bosveld bronne en gebruik verskillende spesies vir verskillende doele, met oorvleuling waar spesies meervoudige gebruike het. Die dorpies wat ondersoek is verskil in die benutting van miombo bronne waar die keuses en kwantiteite wat gebruik word bepaal word deur die nabyheid aan stedelike gebiede. Daar is 'n sterk voorkeur vir spesies geskik vir boupale en as gevolg van skaarste van die spesies gebruik sommige inwoners nou klei bakstene vir huiskonstruksie. Geskikte spesies vir die produksie van hout is skaars in die Urumwa Forest Reserve en lae kwaliteit spesies soos Sterculia quinqueloba word gebruik. Lewende bome word gekap en gedroog vir brandhout alhoewel enige brandbare materiaalook gebruik word. Dit is nie verbasend dat die gemeenskap se gebruiksprioriteite verskil van die bestuurs-prioritiete van die Departement Bosbou nie. Die gebruik van miombo-produkte vir inkomste-generasie in die bestudeerde dorpies word beinvloed deur die nabyheid aan stedelike gebiede en dorpsbewoners beskou nie dat die kommersialisering van sulke produkte hul van hulpbronne ontneem nie. Die gebruik van bosveld vir kulturele en godsdienstige doeleindes in Tabora, wat belangrik is vir die geestelike gesondheid van die inwoners, het oor die jare afgeneem. Die feit dat dorpsbewoners besondere miombo-bome kies vir verskillende gebruike is 'n aanduiding van 'n mate van plaaslike kennis en bestuur. Die Urumwa Bosreserwe is nou 'n vrye toegang hulpbron omdat dorpsbewoners houtbronne na aan hul dorpies uitgeput het. Bewustheid van die oorsake van die uitputting van miombo hulpbronne naby die dorpies is positief gekorreleerd met die nabyheid aan dorpsgebiede en houtskaarste. Gemeenskapsdeelname by die bestuur van natuurlike hulpbronne is 'n nuwe konsep in Tabora omdat min dorpsbewoners bewus is van nuwe bestuursintredes deur die regering by die Urumwa bosveld en bewustheid blyk beperk te wees tot mans en leiers. Daar is aktiewe bestuur van inheemse bome wat vir spesefieke gebruike beskerm word op plase en uitheemse boomaanplantings, hoofsaaklik vir vrugte en skadu, word by huise gemaak. Daar is geen de jure regte in die geval nie. Boomaanplantings in die gebied word ernstig beperk deur droogte, insekte en termietaanvalle op saailinge en dit veroorsaak dat mense uitsluitlik op miombo staat maak vir hul houtbehoeftes. Die eenvoudige houthulpbron-opname wat in die studie onderneem is het bewys dat die Urumwa miombo bosveld strafbenut word en dat daar geen balans tussen aanwas en hout benutting is nie. Dit veroorsaak swak boomdeursnit-verspreiding en spesies samestelling. Die kleiner boomdeursnitte wat in die Urumwa Bosreserwe aangeteken is dui daarop dat die potensiaal van hierdie bosveld vir houtproduksie laag is en slegs beperk is tot ander produkte. Die voorkeur-produkte wat in hierdie studie gedokumenteer is vorm kerninligting vir bestuursplanne en boskundige sisteme wat geskik sal wees vir die toekomstige volhoubare bestuur en benutting van hierdie bosvelde.
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Skidmore, Allison Mae. "Landscape heterogeneity by termitaria and its effect on ant community composition in the miombo woodlands of Chizarira Naitonal Park, Zimbabwe." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4761.
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Fane-Hervey, Angus. "Why governance matters : a comparative study of the causes of deforestation in the miombo woodlands of Zambia and Mozambique, 1990-2010." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2012. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/709/.
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Between 1990 and 2010 sub-Saharan Africa experienced some of the highest levels of deforestation anywhere in the world. The problem has been particularly acute in what are known as the miombo woodlands of southern Africa. These occupy a unique ecological niche and are crucial to the livelihoods of millions of people in the region, yet are disappearing rapidly. The aim of this thesis is to identify the structural causes of this phenomenon in two of the miombo countries, Zambia and Mozambique. Standard ‘resource based’ explanations for deforestation in both countries tend to focus primarily on demographic and economic factors, emphasising the impact of economic reforms, population growth, rural migration, poverty, minimal access to electricty and a lack of institutional resources. However I argue that these explanations do not account for Mozambique’s relatively better record on deforestation during the period in question, and that a more convincing account is offered by a ‘governance based’ explanation, which emphasises different forms of forest governance and institutional arrangements affecting the forest sector in each country. Specifically, Mozambique has fared better than Zambia thanks to its more secure system of traditional land tenure, the implementation of more progressive legislation and a sustained commitment to community based natural resource management. The implication is that future initiatives to curb deforestation in these countries should concentrate on addressing institutional and policy based shortcomings before implementing market based mechanisms designed to encourage conservation.
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Mngomba, Simon Alfred. "Development of clonal propagation protocols for Uapaca kirkiana and Pappea capensis, two southern African trees with economic potential." Thesis, University of Pretoria, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/26848.
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Experiments were carried out with the objectives of developing propagation protocols for Uapaca kirkiana and Pappea capensis tree species of southern Africa, and evaluating the graft compatibility within U. Kirkiana tree clones, provenances and species. Reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), Folin-Ciocalteau reagent, fluorescence microscopy and callus fusion methodologies were used to diagnose graft compatibility. Results indicated that U. Kirkiana culture asepsis was achieved with 0.1% w/v mercuric chloride HgCl2) and using pre-conditioned grafted trees. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) improved P. Capensis seed asepsis and germination, and discarding floating seeds improved germination. Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 2.0 mg l-1 benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.3 mg l-1 casein hydrolysate (CH) was superior in shoot multiplication and 0.5 mg l-1 indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) for rooting of P. Capensis microshoots. For somatic embryogenesis, three quarter strength MS medium with 0.05 mg l-1 thidiazuron (TDZ) and 0.3 mg l-1 CH, or 0.2 mg l-1 BAP with 0.3 mg l-1 CH, were effective in germination of P. Capensis somatic embryos. For U. Kirkiana lateral shoot explants, shoot multiplication was superior on three quarter strength MS medium with 0.1 mg l-1 BAP and 0.3 mg l-1 CH. Rooting of micro-cuttings (36%) was achieved on ½ MS with 2.5 mg l-1 IBA. RP-HPLC, fluorescence microscopy and callus fusion studies showed that phenolic compounds play a major role in U. Kirkiana graft incompatibility. Less graft compatible combinations showed an increase in phenol deposits above the union and graft incompatibility was more pronounced above the union than below the union. Proliferation of parenchymatous tissues was better below the union than above the union. Fluorescence microscopy showed presence of flavonoids and polymers above the union of less graft compatible combinations. The chromatograms showed that ferulic acid was abundant and responsible for wood discolouration. The chromatograms also isolated ρara-coumaric acids which were predominant above the union of the less compatible combinations. Therefore, ρara-coumaric acids, flavonoids and polymers were implicated in graft incompatibility of U. kirkiana trees. CopyrightThesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008.
Plant Production and Soil Science
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Joseph, Grant Stuart. "Understanding pattern-process relationships in a heterogeneous landscape effects of large termitaria on diversity and disturbance regimes in Miombo woodlands of Northern Zimbabwe." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6064.
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Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.
Spatial heterogeneity has been shown to influence ecosystem processes and important ecosystem properties like resilience and biodiversity, allowing species with specific habitat needs or weaker competitive abilities to persist in disturbed systems that might otherwise have excluded them. Miombo covers 2.7 million km² and is Africa’s largest savanna woodland. Much of this is characterized by Macrotermes termitaria, which can be hotspots of both plant (primary) productivity and animal abundance (secondary and tertiary productivity). To investigate the modulating influence of spatial heterogeneity in the form of large Macrotermes termitaria on woody plant and avian diversity in the face of herbivore impacts and fire (the two disturbances most amenable to management), research progressed in stages.
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Remane, Ivan Abdul Dula. "ANALYSIS OF ANNUAL GROWTH PATTERNS OF MILLETTIA STUHLMANNII, IN MOZAMBIQUE." OpenSIUC, 2013. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/1237.
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The tropical hardwood forests of Mozambique are among its most important natural resources. Long-term sustainable management of these resources will require proper forest management, which depends on understanding the growth rates and the life history of important commercial species as well as the impacts of natural forces (e.g., climate variability) and human management. This study analyzes radial growth rate dynamics and climate-growth relationships of Millettia stuhlmannii and examines its dendrochronological potential. This tree locally known as Panga-panga or Jambirre is one of the most important timber species in Mozambique. Ranked as a first class commercial timber in Mozambique, it is frequently harvested in an unsustainable way and sustainable management of the species is urgently needed for the continued utilization of this resource. Five different methods demonstrate that the semi-ring porous tree rings of M. stuhlmannii are annual: (1) Ring structure and anatomy; (2) Successful cross-dating within and between trees; (3) Ring counting in trees with known age (young trees collected from an experimental "plantation") (4) Cambial wounding and (5) Correlation between ring width and climate data. Through these methods, M. stuhlmannii trees showed distinct reaction to pinning, adding one annual ring after one year. Cross dating of annual ring width growth was successful within and among selected M. stuhlmannii trees, which indicates that this species forms annual rings and that growth responds to an external climate variability. M. stuhlmannii annual growth ring boundaries were characterized by alternating patterns of parenchyma and fibre vessels and marginal parenchyma. Precipitation during previous December (r= 0.30; p<0.05), current February (r=0.30; p<0.05) and the entire rainy season (NDJFM; r=0.43, p<0.01) over a long period (1900-1996) showed a significant influence on Panga-panga tree ring growth. Declining rainfall has caused a growth increment decrease since 1940. The results of this study show that the mean annual increment of M. stuhlmannii is 0.51 cm/year and it takes about 75 years for an average M. stuhlmannii tree to reach the minimum lawful cutting diameter of 40 cm DBH (diameter at breast height). Temporal differences in movement through increasing diameter classes are large among and within classes. The median time necessary for trees to grow into the next diameter class was not statistically significant (Kruskal-Wallis chi-squared = 9.568, p>0.001). The relationship between stem diameter and percentage of heartwood is significantly high (R2 = 0.9701, p < 0.0001) and results suggest that from 33cm diameters on, the HW% remain stable. Partial correlation coefficients show that significant effects on growth to minimum cutting diameter occur while stems move through the 20-30 cm DBH class. This indicates the specific sizes at which silviculture treatments have to be started in order to maximize the productivity of this species. Correlation analyses revealed that heartwood width (HW) is positively correlated with total stem diameter (TSD), cambial Age (Ac), number of rings in heartwood (HWR), heartwood area (HWA), Total stem diameter area (TSDA) and Mean annual increment (MAI). This study suggests that further studies to improve diameter growth rate models as well as volume increment models need to be carried out. Strong correlation with precipitation during the rainy season suggests that this species is potentially useful for future climate reconstruction studies in Mozambique.
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Tripathi, Hemant Gangaprasad. "Biodiversity of the African savanna woodlands : how does it change with land use?" Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/28965.
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The savanna woodlands of Southern Africa, colloquially termed the miombo, are poorly described in terms of biodiversity compared to other biomes. They have therefore been underrepresented in the wider understanding of how land use intensification is shaping global biodiversity. Land use change is known to reduce biodiversity and disrupt intactness of ecological communities with consequences for ecosystem functioning, resilience, and services. Miombo woodlands are described as biodiversity hotspots due to a high endemism of species and the presence of megafauna. At the same time, they are also considered dynamic socio-ecological systems shaped by disturbances and the land use activities of people. The patterns of biodiversity change in these tropical ecosystems may, therefore, have their own unique contexts, understanding of which will be essential for biodiversity and land use management in these ecosystems. In this thesis, I identified the patterns of biodiversity change in response to the two major land use practices in the two dominant woodland types in southern African woodlands: the selective logging due to charcoal production in the mopane woodlands, and agricultural expansion in the miombo. I also examined the impact of two main disturbance agents, humans and elephants, on habitat structure and biodiversity in mopane woodlands. Across all chapters in this thesis, I investigated the effects of land use change and habitat modification on biodiversity empirically using chronosequences. To understand biodiversity change, I employed a hierarchical multilevel modelling approach making inferences at the three levels of ecological communities: species, community, and meta-community (set of ecological communities at different sites). I selected six villages in the charcoal production hotspot of southern Mozambique and carried out field surveys for three taxonomic groups: trees, mammals and ground beetles. I modelled the counts of trees and beetles and incidence of mammals using meta-community occurrence models in a Bayesian framework with the intensity class of the villages, above-ground biomass and land cover type as predictors. The results suggested that the species richness of trees and mammals declined by 12 and 8.5 % respectively while that of beetles increased by 3.5%, albeit non-significantly. In addition, the beta diversity of trees decreased while that of mammals increased. The results show that while both trees and mammals reduced in richness, they responded differently to charcoal production in terms of community organisation. The trees underwent subtractive homogenisation (decrease in alpha and beta diversities) primarily because of deterministic processes induced by selective harvesting of tree stems for charcoal. Mammal communities, on the other hand, showed subtractive heterogenization (decrease in alpha, but increase in beta diversity) mainly due to random extinctions. In the agriculture frontier of miombo-dominated northern Mozambique, I investigated the effects of fragmentation and habitat loss caused by agricultural expansion on diversity and composition of trees and mammals. I modelled the occurrences of trees and mammals using occupancy models with the fragmentation and quantity of woodland cover as predictors. The model showed that most tree species (n=10), mainly the timber and firewood species, linearly declined in population size as fragmentation increased. Mammals, on the other hand, showed a nonlinear response. Seven mammal species increased at the lower levels of fragmentation. However, at the higher levels, none of the mammal species increased while two declined. Similarly, the species richness of trees linearly declined, while that of mammals increased up to a fragmentation level of 55-65% and declined above this limit. The beta diversity of trees increased with fragmentation while that of mammals decreased. The results suggest that, although fragmentation reduces species richness of both trees and mammals, it affects their species compositions in different ways. Trees undergo subtractive heterogenization due to random species losses while mammals experience subtractive homogenisation mainly due to the combined effects of fragmentation-led habitat loss and intensified hunting. Finally, this study concludes that, above 75% fragmentation or below 26% habitat quantity, both taxonomic groups endure biodiversity loss. The threshold results here corroborate similar habitat quantity thresholds (20-30%) observed elsewhere in different ecosystems. However, they differ with the widespread notion that above 30% habitat quantity, the effect of fragmentation is non-existent. The results here emphasize that taxonomic groups respond differently, the diversity and population size of mammals reduced only after the habitat threshold, whereas, those of trees showed linear decrease with fragmentation most likely due to fragmentation-led habitat loss. Lastly, I examined the effects of disturbance by humans and elephants on habitat structure and bird diversity by conducting a space for time substitution comparison in the mopane woodlands of Zambia. To examine the woodland structure, I modelled the structural attributes of habitat (stem diameter, stand density, and basal area) using mixed models with the proportion of affected stems by humans and elephants as explanatory variables. I found that elephant disturbance was associated with higher stem diameters, low stand densities, but no change in basal area. Human disturbance, on the other hand, was related to reductions in stand density and basal area, but no change in the stem diameter. Further, I tested species and functional diversity of birds against the covariates of habitat structure and disturbance. I found that bird communities reduced in species richness in both, human as well as elephant disturbed areas. However, the functional diversity did not change with elephant disturbance. I concluded that human disturbance reduces woody biomass (basal area is correlated with woody biomass) of mopane woodlands and functional diversity of birds whilst elephants do not. In this thesis, I conclude that human driven land use change in the miombo woodlands erodes alpha diversity of all taxonomic groups. However, increases in beta diversity of mammals with charcoal land use and trees in agricultural land use may maintain their diversities at the meta-community level.
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Syampungani, Stephen. "Vegetation change analysis and ecological recovery of the copperbelt Miombo woodland of Zambia." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/4833.
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Thesis (PhD (Forest and Wood Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The study aimed at developing a new understanding of the Miombo woodland recovery dynamics when exposed to single tree selection, slash & burn agriculture and charcoal production. Five specific studies were conducted to examine different parts of this overall study: Miombo woodland utilization, management and conflict resolution among stakeholders; speciesstem curves as a tool in sampling the development of Miombo woodland species richness in charcoal and slash & burn regrowth stands over time; the impact of human disturbance on the floristic composition of Miombo woodland; regeneration and recruitment potentials of key Miombo woodland species after disturbance; and age and growth rate determination using selected Miombo woodland species. Different methods were developed for each specific study. The study of woodland utilization and management employed semi-structured and key informant interviews. STATISTICA statistical package version 6.0 was used for data collation and analysis. Chi-square tests were used to show levels of significance in differences that existed between different user groups. Species-stem curves were used to determine the sample size to assess Miombo woodland dynamics in regrowth stands after slash & burn and charcoal production, and a fixed-area method was used for the mature woodland stands. The study sites in each of three study areas were selected to represent ages ranging from 2 to 15+ years since each disturbance was terminated. The undisturbed woodland was chosen to act as a control. Various analyses using the STATISTICA statistical package and CANOCO version 4.0 were conducted to understand responses of Miombo woodland to these different disturbances. The research revealed that single tree selection, slash & burn agriculture and charcoal production are the main forms of Copperbelt Miombo woodland utilization which will always be there. Additionally, the the Miombo woodland stands were characterized based on the size class profile they exhibit on exposure to human disturbance factors through forest utilization. The characterization has revealed that the woodland is dominated by light demanding species. As such single tree selection harvesting does not support the regeneration and establishment of the timber species which are canopy species under shade conditions. This implies that selection harvesting of timber species, although it appears to be a non event in terms of disturbance at stand level may be a disaster at population level. The study also revealed that clearing of the woodland for either slash & burn agriculture or charcoal production results in enhanced regeneration and establishment of the dominant Miombo woodland species. The study concludes that charcoal production and slash & burn agriculture are important components to which the woodland ecosystem is adapted. As such these disturbance factors may be considered as incorporated disturbances. It is recommended from the study that woodland utilization and management should integrate charcoal production and slash & burn agriculture into forest management. Cutting cycles should be based on growth rate of the selected species. Timber species harvesting should go side by side with these disturbance factors so as to open up the canopy in order that maximum sunlight can reach the regeneration stock. The study also brings out the other management and utilization opportunities (such as managing for Uapaca kirkiana and Anisophyllea boehmii fruits) that arise from different development stages of the woodland. Lastly, it is recommended to ascertain the optimum gap sizes for both charcoal production or slash & burn agriculture which would still support the Miombo woodland recovery.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie is gedoen om ‘n nuwe begrip te ontwikkel vir die hersteldinamika van Miombo boomveld na onderwerping aan enkelboomseleksie, kap & brand lanbou en houtskoolproduksie. Vyf spesifieke studies is gedoen om verskillende komponente van die total studie te ondersoek: benutting, bestuur en konflikresolusie tussen gebruikers van Miombo boomveld; species-stam kurwes as ‘n instrument in die bemonstering van die ontwikkeling van Miombo boomveld species-rykdom oor tyd na afloop van houtskoolproduksie en kap & brand landbou; die impak van menslike versteuring op die floristiese samestelling van Miombo boomveld; verjongingspotensiaal van sleutelsoorte in Miombo boomveld na versteuring; en bepaling van ouderdom en groeitempo in ge-selekteerde Miombo boomveldsoorte. Verskillende metodes is ontwikkel vir elke spesifieke studie. In die studie van boomveldgebruik en –bestuur is semigestruktureerde en sleutel-informant onderhoude gebruik. Die STATISTICA statistiese packet weergawe 6.0 is gebruik vir dataverwerking en -ontleding. Chi-kwadraat toetse is gebruik om vlakke van betekenisvolheid te toon wat bestaan tussen verskillende gebruikersgroepe. Speciesstamkruwes is gebruik om monstergrootte te bepaal vir die evaluering van Miombo boomvelddinamika in hergroeiopstande na kap & brand en houtskoolproduksie, terwyl vastegrootte persele gebruik is vir volwasse boomveldopstande. Die studieplekke in elk van drie studiegebiede is geselekteer om verskillende ouderdomme tussen 2 en 15+ jaar na be-eindiging van die versteuring te verteenwoordig. Onversteurde boomveld is gebruik as kontrole. Verskeie ontledings, met die STATISTICA statistiese pakket en CANOCO weergawe 4.0 is gedoen om die reaksie van Miombo boomveld op die verskillende versteurings te verstaan. Die navorsing het getoon dat enkelboomseleksie, kap & brand landbou en houtskoolproduksie is die hoof vorme van Copperbelt Miombo boomveld benutting wat altyd daar sal wees. Verder is die Miombo boomveldopstande gekarakteriseer gebaseer op die grootteklasprofiel wat hulle vertoon na menslike versteuringsfaktore in die vorm van boomveldbenutting. Die karakterisering het getoon dat die boomveld gedomineer word deur ligeisende soorte. Daarom ondersteun enkelboomseleksie nie die verjonging en vestiging van die dominante houtsoorte wat kroonsoorte is onder skadutoestande. Dit impliseer dat selektiewe inoesting van houtsoorte, alhoewel dit voorkom as ‘n onbelangrike gebeurtenis in terme van versteuring op opstandsvlak, ‘n ramp is op populasievlak. Die studie het ook getoon dat skoonmaak van die boomveld vir of kap & brand landbou of houtskoolproduksie, lei tot verbeterde verjonging en vestiging van die dominante Miombo boomveldsoorte. Die studie lei tot die gevolgtrekking dat houtskoolproduksie en kap & brand landbou belangrike komponente is waarby die boomveldsisteem aangepas is. Daarom kan hierdie versteuringsfaktore beskou word as ingeslote versteurings. Vanuit die studie word daarom aanbeveel dat boomveldbenutting en –bestuur houtskoolproduksie en kap & brand landbou binne die bosbestuur integreerd moet word. Kapsiklusse moet gebaseer word op die groeitempos van geselekteerde soorte. Inoesting van houtsoorte moet saamloop met hierdie versteuringsfaktore sodat die kroondak oopgemaak kan word sodat maksimum sonlig die verjonging bereik. Die studie bring ook na vore die bestuur en benuttingsgeleenthede (soos bestuur vir die vrugte van Uapaca kirkiana en Anisophyllea boehmii) wat voorkom in verskillende ontwikkelingstadiums van die boomveld. Laastens word aanbeveel dat die optimum openinggroottes vir beide kap & brand en houtskoolbereiding wat herstel van Miombo boomveld ondersteun, bepaal.
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Goncalves, Francisco Maiato Pedro [Verfasser], and Norbert [Akademischer Betreuer] Jürgens. "Effect of shifting cultivation and charcoal production on structure, dynamic and above-ground biomass in the Angolan miombo and dry woodlands / Francisco Maiato Pedro Goncalves ; Betreuer: Norbert Jürgens." Hamburg : Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg, 2019. http://d-nb.info/117724179X/34.
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Goncalves, Francisco Maiato Pedro Verfasser], and Norbert [Akademischer Betreuer] [Jürgens. "Effect of shifting cultivation and charcoal production on structure, dynamic and above-ground biomass in the Angolan miombo and dry woodlands / Francisco Maiato Pedro Goncalves ; Betreuer: Norbert Jürgens." Hamburg : Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg, 2019. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:18-95478.
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Simonsson, Louise. "Environmental Assessments of Landscape Changes : Interdisciplinary studies in rural Tanzania." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala University, Department of Earth Sciences, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-4054.
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This thesis aims to show how biogeophysical and social processes are interlinked in landscape change, and to propose approaches for interdisciplinary environmental assessments (such as EIAs), concentrating on developing countries’ situations, and representation of findings from such studies.
Landscape in its holistic sense is a very good concept and basis for intellectual and practical use in environmental dialogues. However, landscapes are valued and assessed differently, depending on cultural background along with individual characteristics.
Methods of conducting interdisciplinary environmental assessments need to vary, but it is important to follow a structure to avoid too broad and general studies that only assemble a few factors and present them without an integrated synthesis. This thesis has suggested one research sequence and structure that has proven to be practical and possible to execute in areas where data is scarce and where local involvement is a major component. It extends the observation period in time and space where remote sensing analyses are integrated with interviews, archive material, land-cover assessments and soil analyses.
Case studies from Tanzania have been used to investigate how perceptions of land and resources manifest themselves at local scales and how this information can contribute to sustainable environmental planning. Preferences and perceptions of land as being ‘important’ and ‘good’ do not always correlate with favourable biogeophysical conditions, indicating that both social services, such as health care, access to markets, education and employment, as well as “non-rational” factors are essential to consider in environmental planning and management.
This study has partly been part of a larger research project investigating the links between human livelihood and biodiversity in miombo woodlands. It has been shown how miombo woodland is important to local populations as it provides material goods as well as many intangible services. However, it is also associated with problems and dangers, which are important to consider and understand in planning for the environment and sustainable development.
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Sharp, Cathy. "Macrofungi in a miombo woodland in Central Zimbabwe." Thesis, Available from the University of Aberdeen Library and Historic Collections Digital Resources, 2008. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?application=DIGITOOL-3&owner=resourcediscovery&custom_att_2=simple_viewer&pid=25501.
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Abbot, Patrick G. "The supply and demand dynamics of Miombo woodland : a household perspective." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 1998. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk/R?func=search-advanced-go&find_code1=WSN&request1=AAIU094745.
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This thesis is concerned with the way householders use their woodland and tree resources in the face of physical and socio-economic resource constraints. Its rationale is the belief that the identification of the characteristics that control the supply and demand dynamics of small holders' woodland and tree use will contribute to the understanding of how forestry interventions can more positively influence the way they manage their environment. The study takes the form of a case-study of a smallholder farming community in North Kasungu District, Central Malawi. It uses a range of research methodologies in an attempt to broaden the scope of analysis and accommodate a multi-disciplinary approach to the dynamics of household miombo utilisation. The research methods used are a participatory woodland inventory, a questionnaire survey, participatory household and household tree resource survey and a 25-month programme of monitoring household woodland and tree utilisation. The analysis is based on statistical interpretation of cross-tabulated data and supported by correlation and multivariate analysis techniques. Whilst perceptions of environmental change and utilisation constraints reflected the availability of the woody resource, the availability of household resources - particularly labour - influenced household collection and tree-planting strategies. The findings of the research indicate that socio-economic, as opposed to physical, supply constraints influence the patterns of woodland utilisation between and within household types. Resource availability and seasonality exacerbate the household differentiation, reducing the capacity of the poorer, smaller and female-headed households to adapt. The 25-month monitoring of firewood and woodland food utilisation revealed the extent of the intra-household division of labour, which was largely manifested along the lines of either age class or gender. Modelling the results of firewood collection indicated that whilst the wife remained the main collector, the relative labour supply elasticity of the household members to collection related to the marginal valuation of their labour. This was shown to be influenced by season, gender, social differentiation and employment opportunity.
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Vermeulen, Sonja Joy. "Distribution of mistletoes in a patchy habitat." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/11219.
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Grundy, Isla Mary. "Regeneration and management of Brachystegia spiciformis Benth. and Julbernardia globiflora (Benth.) Troupin in Miombo woodland, Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1995. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:2207086c-328c-4200-a243-f1391be3b1ce.
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Miombo is dry deciduous woodland dominated by leguminous tree species, covering a significant area of Africa south of the equator, including large parts of Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This woodland type reaches its driest, most species-poor limit in Zimbabwe. Brachystegia spiciformis and Julbernardia globiflora are the two main dominants of the drier form of miombo. Miombo woodland represents a rich and diverse resource base for small-scale farmers throughout the region, the importance of which has been ignored in the past by managers and policy-makers. The development of sustainable management strategies for this resource has therefore been hampered by a lack of knowledge. For this reason, the overall objective of this research was to define the basis for sustainable management of these woodlands, firstly by developing techniques for measuring biomass and monitoring woody growth; secondly, by examining the effect of site conditions on productivity; and thirdly, by investigating biological and social aspects of the management of these woodlands. This research has found that good estimations of standing wood biomass of these two species can be derived from diameter and stem length measurements, thus providing woodland managers with a means of assessing the standing stock. The finding that B. spiciformis forms annual rings can be used in ageing the trees, projecting future yields more accurately, as well as monitoring the effects of management on growth. In the investigation of the effects of climatic and edaphic conditions on tree growth, soil depth was found to have the greatest influence, followed by mean annual rainfall and clay content. Dominant height was found to be the best morphological variable to estimate site potential, in the absence of detailed studies of soil characteristics. The experimental findings from silvicultural trials have important implications for management. Regrowth from coppice stools was vigorous even in dry years, and greatest from medium to large stools. Productivity in general was extremely variable, both of coppiced and uncoppiced trees, due to site effects. The most productive sites are also potentially the best for agriculture and are therefore unlikely to be left exclusively for woodland management. The silvicultural techniques of coppice reduction and water harvesting were not found to enhance coppice regrowth. Browsing by livestock was found to severely reduce coppice regrowth, particularly of J. globiflora, at least in the initial stages, so that protection from browsing in the first year or two after felling is recommended if maximum regrowth is desired. An assessment of the use and management of the indigenous wood resources in a resettlement area in central Zimbabwe suggests that the present harvesting of wood products is unsustainable, due largely to the lack of any woodland management policy for these areas. Local villagers feel powerless to exclude outsiders from their resource, and thus the incentives to manage it sustainably are low. Major changes in government legislation are necessary to alter this situation. In the interim, resource-sharing schemes are suggested as a method of improving the sustainability of use. Some of the results reported here have a direct application in miombo management; these are summarised at the end of this work in the form of guidelines for management. Others identify the need for further work to expand these initial findings. One of the outcomes of this research has been the reminder of how little is known of the appropriate management of this important vegetation type.
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Gou, Yaqing. "Analysing the spatial pattern of deforestation and degradation in miombo woodland : methodological issues and practical solutions." Thesis, University of Edinburgh, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/1842/31456.
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Although much emphasis has been given to the analysis of continuous forest conversion in tropical regions, our understanding in detecting, mapping and interpreting the spatial pattern of woodland deforestation and degradation is still limited. This thesis focuses on two factors contributing to this limitation: uncertainties in retrieving woodland change from remote sensing imagery, and the complex processes that may cause woodland deforestation and degradation. Firstly, I investigate approaches to minimising uncertainty in ALOS PALSAR-derived biomass maps by modifying a widely used processing chain, with the aim of provide recommendations for producing radar-based biomass maps with reduced uncertainty. Secondly, to further improve the retrieval of woody biomass from ALOS PALSAR imagery, the semi-empirical Water Cloud Model (WCM) is introduced to account for backscattering from soil. In wooded areas with low canopy (such as the miombo woodland which dominates the study area) the effect from soil moisture on the received backscattered signal is critical. Thirdly, based on the biomass maps retrieved from the refined radar-remote-sensing-based methodology discussed above, the influence of driving variables of the woodland deforestation and degradation, and how they alter the spatial patterns of these two processes, are analysed. The threshold for defining woodland deforestation and degradation in terms of biomass loss intensity is generated through integration of radar-based biomass loss maps, an optical forest cover change map and fieldwork investigation. Multi-linear model simulations of the spatial variation of deforestation and degradation events were constructed at a district and 1 km resolution respectively to rank the relative importance of driving variables. Results suggest that biomass-backscatter relationships based on plots of approximately 1 ha, and processed with high resolution DEMs, are needed for low uncertainty biomass maps using ALOS PALSAR data. Although plots sizes of 0.1 - 0.5 ha lead to large uncertainties, aggregating 0.1 ha plots into larger calibration sites shows some promise even in hilly terrain, potentially opening up the use of common forest inventory data to calibrate remote-sensing-based biomass retrieval models. Such relationships appear to hold across the miombo woodland ecoregion, which implies that there is a consistent relationship at least in the miombo woodland. From this I infer that random error, different processing methods and fitting techniques, and data from small plots are the source of the differences in the savanna biomass-backscatter relationships seen in the literature. The interpreted WCM presented in this study for L-band backscatter at HV polarisation improves biomass retrieval for areas with a biomass value less than 15 tC/ha (or 0.025 m2/m2 in backscatter). Use of the WCM also results in better quality regional biomass mosaics. This is because the WCM helped to improve the correlation of biomass estimation for overlay areas by reducing bias between adjacent paths, especially the bias introduced by changes in soil moisture conditions between different acquisition dates for different paths. Result shows that active and combined soil moisture datasets (from the Climate Change Initiative Soil Moisture Dataset) can be used as effective soil moisture proxies in the WCM for biomass retrieval. This quantitative analysis on the driving variables of woodland deforestation and degradation suggests that large uncertainty exists in modelling the occurrence of deforestation and degradation, especially at a 1 km scale. The spatial patterns of woodland deforestation and degradation differ in terms of shape, size, intensity, and location. Agriculture-related driving variables account for most of the explained variance in deforestation, whereas for degradation, distance to settlements also plays an important role. Deforestation happens regardless of the original biomass levels, while degradation is likely to happen at high biomass areas. The sizes of degradation events are significantly smaller than those of deforestation events, with 90% of deforestation events sharing boundaries with degradation events. This thesis concludes by outlining the importance and difficulties in integrating 'distal' (underlying) drivers in modelling the spatial dynamics of deforestation and degradation. Further work on the causal connection between deforestation and degradation is also needed. The processing chain and biomass retrieval models presented in this study could be used to support monitoring and analysis of biomass change elsewhere in the tropics, and should be compatible with data derived from ALOS-2 and the future SAOCOM and BIOMASS satellite missions.
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Iida, Eriko. "Behavioral and ecological studies of bush hyraxes (Heterohyrax brucei) in miombo woodland, Ugalla area, western Tanzania." 京都大学 (Kyoto University), 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/200487.
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Bauman, David. "Analyses spatialement explicites des mécanismes de structuration des communautés d'arbres." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/276814.
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La compréhension des processus écologiques qui sous-tendent l’assemblage des communautés végétales et la coexistence des espèces est un objectif central en écologie. Ces processus sont potentiellement nombreux et de natures contrastées. Ainsi, la composition d’une communauté de plantes dépend de processus déterministes liés aux conditions environnementales abiotiques (climat, conditions physiques et chimiques du sol, lumière) et d’interactions biotiques complexes, positives (facilitation, symbioses) comme négatives (compétition, prédation, pathogènes). En outre, les communautés sont influencées par des processus stochastiques (capacité de dispersion limitée, dérive écologique). Si les mécanismes à l’origine de ces processus sont très différents, ils ont néanmoins en commun la génération de motifs (patterns) spatiaux de distribution d’espèces dans les communautés. L’analyse de la structure spatiale des communautés permet ainsi une étude indirecte des processus régissant les communautés. La nature complexe de ces patterns spatiaux a mené au développement de nombreuses méthodes statistiques de détection et de description de patterns. Les méthodes basées sur des vecteurs propres spatiaux sont parmi les plus puissantes et précises pour détecter des patterns complexes et multi-échelles. Ces vecteurs propres, utilisés comme prédicteurs spatiaux, peuvent être combinés à un ensemble de variables environnementales dans un cadre de partition de variation. Celui-ci permet, en théorie, de démêler les effets uniques et l’effet conjoint des variables environnementales et spatiales sur la variation de composition d’une communauté. Il mène ainsi à une quantification de l’action des processus déterministes et des processus stochastiques sur l’assemblage de la communauté. Néanmoins, je montre dans cette thèse qu’un certain flou méthodologique concernant deux étapes déterminantes des analyses basées sur les vecteurs propres spatiaux a mené une proportion élevée d’études à utiliser ces méthodes de manière sous-optimale, voire fortement biaisée. Ceci compromet la fiabilité des patterns spatiaux détectés et des processus écologiques inférés. Une autre limitation de ce cadre d’analyse concerne la fraction de la partition de variation décrivant l’effet environnemental spatialement structurés qu’aucune méthode ne permet de tester.Cette thèse présente des solutions non biaisées, puissantes et précises à ces différentes limitations méthodologiques et permet d’élargir le cadre de l’inférence de processus écologique à partir de patterns spatiaux de communautés. Les différentes étapes d’amélioration de ces méthodes ont également été illustrées dans la thèse au travers de trois cas d’études fournis par deux communautés d’arbres tropicale et tempérée et une communauté de champignons symbiotiques des arbres.Doctorat en Sciences
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished
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Kalaba, Felix Kanungwe. "Forest ecosystem services, rural livelihoods and carbon storage in Miombo woodland in the Copperbelt region of Zambia." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2013. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/5873/.
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This study examines the linkage between rural livelihoods and forest ecosystem services under different land uses in Miombo forest socio-ecological systems of Zambia to understand the potential for carbon-based payment for ecosystem service schemes. The research develops and adopts an integrated research methodology in a new framework for ecosystem assessment (FESA) that combines livelihood surveys, ecological surveys and policy analysis to provide an interdisciplinary, multi-level case study analysis. Findings show that forest provisioning ecosystem services (FPES) are vitally important to rural livelihoods as a source of food, medicine, construction material and fodder, and make the highest contribution to household income among diverse livelihood strategies. FPES provided 43.9% of the average household’s income and contributed a 10% income equalisation effect among study households, as revealed by the Gini-coefficient analysis. Poorer households received a lower mean annual income from forests than did their intermediate and wealthy counterparts, but in relative terms, forest income made the greatest contribution to their total household incomes. The study indicates that wealth, rather than gender, was the key determinant of a household’s engagement in the sale of FPES. Results also show that households face multiple shocks and that FPES are the most widely used coping strategy used by households facing idiosyncratic shocks such as illness, death of family members and loss of household assets which changes household consumption patterns. In terms of carbon storage, the study shows that Miombo woodlands are an important carbon store and that carbon storage can recover quickly through regeneration of cleared forests. After forest clearance for charcoal production and slash and burn agriculture, aboveground carbon stocks accumulate rapidly showing no significant differences in carbon stocks between undisturbed woodlands and ≥ 20 year old fallows. Findings however indicate low species similarities suggesting that though Miombo systems recover relatively fast in terms of carbon storage, species composition and biodiversity takes longer to recuperate. Findings of this research show a lack of multi-stakeholder involvement in forest governance, which is hindered by the absence of legislation to ensure stakeholder participation and cost and benefit sharing mechanisms. Policy analysis show inconsistencies between Zambia’s national agricultural, forestry, energy and climate change policies and national statements to multilateral environmental agreements in efforts to address forest loss. Additionally, although national statements to Rio Conventions share common ground on measures to address deforestation, they are poorly mainstreamed into national policies and broader development policies at national level. The agricultural policy’s focus on expanding agricultural land by providing fiscal incentives and subsidised credit provides incentives for deforestation, indicating negative horizontal interaction with the forest policy, while the mutually supportive link through conservation farming is poorly developed. A more holistic landscape management approach would be useful to bridge sectoral divides. A research contribution to the evidence and knowledge base for forests and rural livelihoods is made by this thesis, and empirical findings are detailed on how socio-economic differentiation affects contribution of Miombo FPES to total livelihood portfolios and household incomes. This analysis feeds into broader debates on forest conservation and development by linking FPES and livelihood strategies, which is important in designing long-term forest management strategies and providing national/international policy guidance for similar socio-economic contexts. This study further provides new understanding of the opportunity that carbon storage can bring to increasing financial gains from ecosystem services in local communities who practice slash and burn cultivation and charcoal production, once the carbon stores/changes in the recovery trajectory are established and monitoring schemes initiated. This study makes an applied contribution to forest-based climate change mitigation initiatives such as REDD+ debates by providing a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges of its implementation in view of Miombo woodland use for livelihoods, improved ecological understanding and current policy discourses that converge in the forest sector.
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Heermans, Ben Cooper. "Large vegetated termitaria and fire impacts on reptilitan community assemblage in a miombo woodland system heavily impacted by elephants." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/4750.
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Fujita, Tomohiro. "Encroachment of Tropical Montane Forest into Miombo Woodland in South-East Africa:Importance of Seed Dispersal and Facilitative Effects on Tree Establishment." 京都大学 (Kyoto University), 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/2433/175200.
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Jew, Eleanor Katherine Kezia. "Rapid land use change, biodiversity and ecosystem services in miombo woodland : assessing the challenges for land management in south-west Tanzania." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2016. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/12380/.
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The miombo woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa contain valuable wildlife populations, support the livelihoods of millions of people and contribute vital ecosystem services across local, national and international scales. Rapid conversion of woodland to agriculture is common, but knowledge gaps exist regarding what drives this land use change, how biodiversity responds, and how these responses affect the availability and accessibility of resources to communities. Such information is needed to make appropriate land use management decisions. This thesis aims to advance understanding by addressing these gaps using a case study from the Mbeya Region of south-west Tanzania, a remote region undergoing rapid land use change. An interdisciplinary, mixed methods approach was used to collect ecological and social data from the Kipembawe Division. The thesis provides new contemporary insights on the context and nature of rapid change in this area, demonstrating that cultivation of the main cash crop tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is the significant driver of land use change. The thesis examines the impact that land cover change has on the availability of goods, services and biodiversity, providing new data on the interdependencies between local communities and woodland resources. The availability of crucial services such as firewood and water is perceived to be decreasing due to agricultural expansion and increased demand. Tree and butterfly species richness, abundance and diversity also decrease with increasing woodland utilisation; although an intermediate disturbance effect was identified, indicating that moderate levels of disturbance can be tolerated. Finally, the thesis draws together empirical insights and related studies to outline five contemporary challenges for the sustainable management of the miombo woodland landscape. These include the lack of knowledge about where the ecological ‘tipping point’ lies in relation to utilisation of miombo woodland, a lack of alternative livelihoods and products, high immigration rates, the remoteness of the area, and weak governance. To develop and implement sustainable land use management strategies an integrated landscape approach is suggested. Due to the ecological and social challenges identified land use management would need to be adaptive and encourage participation at differing governance levels, for which an adaptive co-management approach is appropriate.
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Walker, Sarah Margaret. "Nutrient response to land management alterations in the Miombo Woodlands region." 2008. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/3362901.
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Ransom, Caitlin. "Contrasting elephants and humans as agents of disturbance in Miombo woodlands." Thesis, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/29665.
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A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2019The Miombo woodlands are “disturbance driven savannas”, where people, elephants and fire prevent canopy closure and maintain tree-grass coexistence. Since the end of the 18th century, the woodlands have undergone dramatic changes to their disturbance regimes, through increases in human and decreases in elephant populations. This has resulted in a high concentration of human-driven disturbances in some areas of the woodlands and low disturbances in other areas. Consequently, in the areas affected by humans, there are high levels of biomass loss, while other areas experience woody plant encroachment. The ecological impacts of humans and elephants are comparable, but there are important differences. Although both remove woody biomass, they might impact vegetation composition and structure differently. The aim of this study was to investigate whether people can perform a similar functional role to elephants, with regards to biomass removal and potential changes to savanna structure and composition. Aboveground woody biomass estimates were obtained from Synthetic Aperture Radar backscatter and used to (1) compare biomass change at different levels of human (2010 human population density) and elephant influence (2009 Niassa elephant density); and (2) identify how the intensity of biomass loss differs for humans and historical elephant densities (1.4 elephants/km2) under different rainfall and initial biomass conditions. Biomass change was calculated between 2007 and 2010 and compared across equal areas inside and outside of Niassa National Reserve. For human influence, a regional analysis was also done. Published estimates of past elephant densities without poaching for Niassa National Reserve were used as the historical elephant density. Biomass loss increases with population density, for both people and elephants. However, rainfall responses show opposite patterns: biomass loss decreases with rainfall within Niassa National Reserve (under elephant influence) but increases outside of protected areas (under human influence). Under more mesic conditions, humans tend to remove more biomass than elephants. This suggests that woodlands with low rainfall and low human influence have more trees and higher biomass than if elephants were still present at their historical densities, and that some harvesting by people may be beneficial. People and elephants both remove woody biomass; however, they do not necessarily select the same stems. Therefore, species and size class preference of humans and elephants were compared, to identify potential differences in their impacts on vegetation structure and composition. I found that humans prefer a wider range of species than elephants, so might filter the canopy layer more strongly. Elephants’ preference for slightly larger stems suggests that areas utilised by elephants might result in a more left-skewed size-class distribution than humans in areas without a charcoal industry. The high regeneration ability of many species, the large overlap in stems used by people and iii elephants and the relative flexibility in what stems can be used for a specific purpose, suggests that many of these differences in impacts on composition and structure could be mitigated. While elephants and people clearly have different impacts on woody vegetation, people are a totally novel ecological and evolutionary force due to some similarities in how both use woody biomass. The type of human utilisation will determine the stems used and I suggest that since almost all aboveground woody biomass can be utilised for charcoal, the human impact on the woodlands could be reduced by decentralising the charcoal industry. Encouraging small scale production in low rainfall, low human impact areas, could alleviate the pressure on the hotspots of biomass loss. This could provide rural populations with an additional source of income, and the woodlands with a disturbance necessary in maintaining, to some extent, the ecosystem structure and functioning. However, care needs to be taken as increasing accessibility in remote areas could result in rampant deforestation. Results from this thesis suggest that forest management principals developed in other ecosystems, which haven’t had mega-fauna for thousands of years, need to be tailored to African ecosystems. African forest managers therefore need to develop policies that consider the past and present disturbance regimes of these ecosystems.
TL (2020)
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Ribeiro, Natasha Sofia. "Interaction between fires and elephants in relation to vegetation structure and composition of miombo woodlands in northern Mozambique /." 2007. http://wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/3294814.
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Kalumanga, Elikana. "How elephants utilize a miombo-wetland ecosystem in Ugalla landscape, Western Tanzania." Doctoral thesis, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-116286.
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African elephants are ‘keystone’ species with respect to biodiversity conservation in Africa since they maintain habitats that support several animal communities by changing vegetation structure through foraging and by dispersing seeds between landscapes. Elephants are also ‘flagship’ species because, given their impressive size, they can make people sympathetic and stimulate local and international concerns for their protection. Economically, elephants contribute to national revenues as tourists are willing to pay to watch them. Despite all these factors, little is known however about elephant movement and how they utilize resources, especially in miombo-wetland ecosystems. This thesis investigates how elephants utilize resources in a miombo-wetland ecosystem in the Ugalla landscape of Western Tanzania over different protected areas containing different resource users. Using Global Positioning System (GPS) collars fitted to six elephants, it was observed that some elephant families are not confined in one protected area in the Ugalla landscape. Rather, they moved readily between different protected areas. Elephant movements were restricted to areas near the rivers, especially the Ugalla River, during the dry season and were dispersed widely during the wet season. As they move, elephants in the miombo woodlands of Ugalla selected the most abundant woody plants for browsing. Common to many woody plants, the browsed plants were short of mineral nutrients (e.g., sodium, calcium). Elephants obtained additional minerals by eating soils from certain termite mounds. Soils from termite mounds are richer in mineral elements (e.g., sodium, calcium, iron) compared to soils from the surrounding flood plain or compared to the browsed plants. However, the recorded termite mounds from which elephants eat soils were not evenly distributed in the landscape but confined mainly to the flood plains in the Ugalla Game Reserve. The Ugalla River, which is the main source of water for the elephants and other animals and also supports fishing activities by the local people in Ugalla during the dry seasons, is infested by the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). Such infestation potentially limits access to these precious surface water supplies. In addition at the regional level, the Ugalla River is among the major rivers that flow into the Lake Tanganyika which is shared by the countries of Tanzania, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. Thus, the spread of water hyacinth if left unchecked threatens to impact Lake Tanganyika, affecting many countries and ecosystem services. This thesis highlights that sustainable conservation of biodiversity in different protected areas in the Ugalla landscape requires an integrated management approach that will embrace conservation of different interrelated landscape resources required by both wildlife and the rural poor populations for their livelihoods. Regular coordinated wildlife anti-poaching patrols should be initiated across the entire Ugalla landscape because the elephants, among other wildlife, utilize different protected areas in Ugalla. Local communities should also be engaged in conservation initiatives (e.g., controlling the spread of the water hyacinth) as these directly impact local livelihoods.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 1: Manuscript. Paper 2: Manuscript. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript.
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Pienaar, Brenden. "The biogeography of brachystegia woodland relicts in Southern Africa." Thesis, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/18519.
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dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the academic requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
May 2015In this study I investigated the climate ecology and population biology of Brachystegia spiciformis (miombo) woodland at the distributional range edge in southern Africa. The main aim of the study was to exploit miombo relict populations, isolated well beyond contemporary distribution, to establish likely spatial and population dynamic response to future global climate change. Miombo woodlands have expanded and contracted across the central African plateau over geological time, with palynological evidence supporting an extensive latitudinal range during the Holocene altithermal. It is hypothesised that small shifts in climate may have major impacts on woodland dynamics and distribution. However, miombo relict populations in southern Africa, one in Mozambique and one in South Africa, suggest refugia; physiographic settings that support a once prevalent regional climate that has been lost (or is being lost) due to climatic shifts. Inclusion of relict populations has been shown to improve the performance of model-based projections elsewhere and have value as natural laboratories for investigating how populations react to on-going climatic change. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of miombo woodland - an ecologically and economically significant savanna community - response to global climate change in southern Africa. A niche modelling approach was used to produce present-day and select future B. spiciformis woodland ecological niche models. Precipitation of the wettest quarter and temperature seasonality were identified as the two most important bioclimatic variables explaining B. spiciformis woodland distribution in southern Africa. Both variables displayed a relatively narrow range of optimal suitability for the species; 422 - 576 mm and 2.6 - 3.0 °C, respectively. In addition, significantly high temperature seasonality and maximum temperature of the warmest month were identified as limiting factors at the periphery of the contemporary miombo woodland distribution. Considering future regional climate change projections, it is suggested that the B. spiciformis climate niche could retract by between 30.6 - 47.3% in southern Africa by 2050. v In addition, a meta-population analysis of miombo woodland at the southern distributional range edge was carried out to elucidate patterns in population dynamics that could validate theorized climate response. Whilst the continuous miombo woodlands occurring to the north of the southern African range edge are internally relatively homogenous in community composition, relict populations reflected a loss of natural biota and a restructuring of the vegetation unit resulting in clear divergence from the core and range edge communities, and from each other. Although B. spiciformis reproduction, population density and structural dimensions were significantly low at the recently discovered relict population in South Africa relative to populations occurring to the north, we suggest that the medium-term persistence of this population is plausible based on the longevity of genets, their historic resilience, and a traditional management regime. The vicariant B. spiciformis relict population located in southern Mozambique is greater in extent than its South African counterpart and data suggest suitable reproduction dynamics for medium-term persistence. However, this population is currently heavily impacted by unsustainable habitat transformation under a lack of formal ecological or conservation protection. This study uniquely highlights B. spiciformis woodland as a climate (precipitation) sensitive component of savanna ecosystems in southern Africa and provides important baseline data for population dynamics at the distributional range edge.