TANZANIA FOREST CONSERVATION IN MOROGORO

LOCATION: 6_ 19' - 6_ 21' S 36_ 57' - 36_ 59' E

100 km from Kilosa. Access is from Mandege Forest Station. The reserve covers the summit area of Mount Ikwamba, from 1520 to 1980 m altitude, adjacent to and north of Mandege Forest Station in the Ukaguru Mountains.

SOILS:

Acidic lithosols over Precambrian crystalline gneisses and graniolite.

CLIMATE:

Oceanic rainfall with oceanic temperatures. Nearest rainfall station: Mpwapwa Evergreen, Msowero Ginnery (there should be data from Mandege Forest Station). Estimated rainfall: 1400 mm/year with mist effect on the summit. Dry season: June - Oct. Temperatures: 20_C max (Jan.), 16_C min (July).

VEGETATION:

The vegetation is moist forest with upper montane forest on the peak and montane forest on the slopes. Near the road and Mandege Forest Station the forest is degraded and secondary.

Upper montane forest: The very top of Mt.Ikwamba is covered by a small stand of mossy elfin forest formed by about 4 m tall trees of Garcinia volkensii.

Montane forest: Below the summit on the highest slopes there are mossy montane rainforests with Balthasaria schliebenii, Pauridiantha paucinervis and many treeferns (Cyathea manniana). Cincinnobotrys oreophila occurs in the herb layer. The forest on the lower slopes is dominated by Albizia gummifera, with Maesa lanceolata, and Macaranga capensis. In the valleys, trees include: Hallea rubrostipulata, Polyscias fulva, Tabernaemontana holstii; shrubs include: Carvalhoa campanulata, Gravesia hylophila, Psychotria schliebenii, Chassalia parviflora. In the herb layer the endemic Impatiens ukaguruensis occurs with the 2 m tall fern Pneumatopteris unita.

CATCHMENT VALUES:

Together with Mamiwa-Kisara (North) the reserve is part of the Jekulu river catchment contributing water to the Wami basin, which supports intensive agriculture and animal husbandry.

TIMBER VALUE:

At its present stage no valuable timber occurs in any quantity.

BIODIVERSITY:

The forest is of the Eastern Arc type and is rich in endemic and rare species. For example: Impatiens ukaguruensis only occurs within a 2 km radius of here; Gravesia hylophila has Madagascan affinity; and Saintpaulia pusilla, a species endemic to the Ukaguru, Uluguru and Nguru Mountains occurs on shaded mossy cliffs with by the endemic Streptocarpus schliebenii.

HUMAN IMPACTS:

The Mandege Forest Station workers' compounds are on the lower edge of the reserve, and logging and encroachment is very common in the area. The forest on the lower slopes is secondary with an open canopy. In the openings impenetrable thickets have developed from thorny creeping shrubs such as Rubus spp. and Toddalia asiatica.