Browsing by Author "Mbago, Frank"
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Item Back To Africa: Post Hydropower-Project Mitigation Effects on Wetland Vegetation in Relation To The Conservation of an Endemic Amphibian(Wiley, 2012-07) Maren, Inger E.; Vandvik, Vigdis; Ndangalasi, Henry J.; Taplin, James; Mbago, Frank; Lovett, Jon C.Developing countries are home to much of the world’s biodiversity due to their location in areas of high species richness and their native vegetation has not yet been totally transformed by human activity. Enabling economic and social development to proceed whilst retaining the high environmental values is central to the principle of sustainability, but activities under these three pillars of sustainability are often in conflict. Provision of energy from environmentally sound technologies is critical for economic development in Africa and hydropower offers a reliable way of doing this. The Lower Kihansi Hydropower Project in Tanzania is a model example of the application of technology to minimise environmental impact. However, although the footprint of the project is relatively small, it is located in a biodiversity hotspot where almost any development will have negative impacts on its many restricted range species. Globally, hydropower projects have been associated with negative biological impacts of flooding of the reservoir impounded by the dam. Less attention has been paid to the immediate downstream effects of dams, such as the loss of waterfall spray zones. We analysed the effects of the mitigation efforts by the installment of a sprinkler system to prevent extinction of the Kihansi Spray Toad Nectophrynoides asperginis, which is only known from this short section of the Kihansi River. We analysed re-sampled vegetation plots in the spray wetland habitat over a period of eight years to test if the post-hydropower project mitigation has aided the vegetation composition in approaching similarity to that of the pre-hydropower project conditions, testing two hypotheses dealing with habitat responses to the mitigation measures; (i) Does the instalment of the sprinkler system alter plant species composition in the former waterfall spray zone in relation to the controls? (ii) Do the mitigation measures succeed in restoring the wetland habitat and hence facilitate the re-introduction of the Kihansi Spray Toad? The results clearly show that the post-hydropower mitigations are successful as the vegetation cover and species composition with time approach that of the pre-hydropower project conditions. Overall, the proportion of weedy species decreased and wetland species increased with time since mitigation. However, results suggest that the wetland has not entirely reverted back to pre-project conditions and continued mitigation measures are needed. In conclusion, this positive trend in the wetland habitat development due to the mitigation measures may facilitate the reintroduction of the in situ extinct Kihansi Spray Toad in the near future.Item Correspondence in Forest Species Composition Between The Vegetation Map Of Africa And Higher Resolution Maps For Seven African Countries. Applied Vegetation Science. Article First Published Online:(Wiley, 2012-12) Kindt, Roeland; Lillesø, Jens-Peter B.; Breugel, Paulo V.; Bingham, M.; Demissew, Sebsebe; Dudley, C.; Friis, I.; Gachathi, Francis; Kalema, James; Mbago, Frank; Moshi, Heriel N.; Mulumba, John W.; Namaganda, Mary; Ndangalasi, Henry J.; Ruffo, Christopher K.; Minani, Védaste; Jamnadass, Ramni H.; Graudal, LarsQuestion How well does the forest classification system of the 1:5,000,000 vegetation map of Africa developed by Frank White correspond with classification systems and more extensive information on species assemblages of higher resolution maps developed for Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia? Methods We reviewed various national and sub-national vegetation maps for their potential in increasing the resolution of the African map. Associated documentation was consulted to compile species assemblages, and to identify indicator species, for national forest vegetation types. Indicator species were identified for each regional forest type by selecting those species that, among all the species listed for the same phytochorion (regional centre of endemism), were listed only for that forest type. For each of the national forest types, we counted the number of indicator species of the anticipated regional type. Floristic relationships (expressed by four different ecological distance measures) among national forest types were investigated based on distance-based redundancy analysis, permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) using distance matrices and hierarchical clustering.Item Potential Natural Vegetation of Eastern Africa Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Vol. 6: An Overview of the Methods and Material Used to Develop the Map.(Forest & Landscape Denmark, 2011) Van Breugel, P.; Kindt, R.; Lillesø, J. P. B.; Bingham, M.; Demissew, Sebsebe; Dudley, C.; Friis, I.; Gachathi, F.; Kalema, J.; Mbago, Frank; Minani, V.; Moshi, Heriel N.In the 50s to 70s of the twenties century vegetation scientists and botanists mapped the vegetation and land cover of most of eastern Africa. These maps offer an unique insight in the vegetation patterns in the region. Unique because they were based on extensive field surveys, often in combination with detailed areal photography studies by experienced field botanists and vegetation scientists. These explorers were usually able to create detailed maps of entire countries, something which has become increasingly more difficult since much larger changes and fragmentation of natural vegetation has taken place in the decades since these maps were developed. The vegetation maps were for long periods hardly utilized outside of plant ecology circles and they became largely forgotten. A plausible explanation for the lack of interest in the vegetation maps is that during the period following the completion of the vegetation maps, there was little interest in indigenous vegetation outside of national parks and forest reserves. The main species used for e.g. industrial forest plantations and social forestry woodlots were the species that had been established by the forestry services during the colonial era – mainly Central American Pinus and Australian Eucalyptus species (Evans & Turnbull 2004).Item Potential Natural Vegetation of Eastern Africa. Vol. 2: Description and Tree Species Composition for Forest Potential Natural Vegetation Types.(2011) Van Breugel, P.; Kindt, R.; Lillesø, J. B.; Bingham, M.; Demissew, Sebsebe; Dudley, C.; Friis, I.; Gachathi, F.; Kalema, J.; Mbago, Frank; Minani, G.; Moshi, Heriel N.; Mulumba, J.; Namaganda, M.; Ndangalasi, Henry J.; Ruffo, C.; Védaste, M.; Jamnadass, R.; Graudal, Lars