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Abstract
The first comprehensive plant checklist for the Bvumba massif, situated in the Manica Highlands along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border, is presented. Although covering only 276 km2, the flora is rich with 1250 taxa (1127 native taxa and 123 naturalised introductions). There is a high proportion of Orchidaceae and Pteridophyta, with both groups showing a higher richness than for adjacent montane areas, which may be due to the massif’s relatively high moisture levels as a result of frequent cloud cover. However, in contrast to other mesic montane regions in southern Africa, there are relatively few near-endemic or range-restricted taxa: there is only one local endemic, Aeranthes africana, an epiphytic forest orchid. This is likely to be an effect of the massif having limited natural grassland compared to forest, the former being the most endemic-rich habitat in southern African mountains outside of the Fynbos Biome. Six other near-endemic taxa with limited distribution in this portion of the Manica Highlands are highlighted. The high number of invasive species is probably a result of diverse human activities in the area. The main species of concern are Acacia melanoxylon, a tree that is invading grassland and previously cultivated land, the forest herb Hedychium gardnerianum which in places is transforming forest understorey with an adverse effect on some forest birds, and the woody herb Vernonanthura polyanthes which invades cleared forest areas after fire. Future botanical work in the massif should focus on a more detailed exploration of the poorly known Serra Vumba on the Mozambican side and on the drier western slopes. This will allow for a more detailed analysis of patterns of endemism across the Manica Highlands.
Highlights
Southern African mountains continue to fascinate biologists, ecologists and conservationists with their high endemism, high species diversity, and as a haven for taxonomically complex and cryptic evolutionary lineages (White 1978; Taylor et al 2013; Uys and Cron 2013; Conradie 2014; Mynhardt et al 2015; Padayachee and Procheş 2016; Phiri and Daniels 2016; Conradie et al 2018; Branch et al 2019)
There has been a steady output of comprehensive data from the region over the past 25 years, for example the Nyika Plateau (Burrows and Willis 2005) and Mount Mulanje (Strugnell 2006) in Malawi; Mounts Gorongosa, Mabu and Namuli (Müller et al 2008; Timberlake et al 2009; Bayliss et al 2014; Timberlake, in prep.) in Mozambique; Chirinda Forest (Drummond and Mapaure 1994) in Zimbabwe; the Angolan Highlands (Goyder and Gonçalves 2019); the heterogeneous southern African Great Escarpment (Clark et al 2011, 2014; Roth et al 2014; Darbyshire et al 2018; Carbutt 2019)
This has greatly improved our regional understanding of montane floristics, patterns of endemism, biogeography and conservation needs
Summary
Southern African mountains continue to fascinate biologists, ecologists and conservationists with their high endemism, high species diversity, and as a haven for taxonomically complex and cryptic evolutionary lineages (White 1978; Taylor et al 2013; Uys and Cron 2013; Conradie 2014; Mynhardt et al 2015; Padayachee and Procheş 2016; Phiri and Daniels 2016; Conradie et al 2018; Branch et al 2019). The only detailed plant ecological work done so far in the Bvumba area is that by Plowes (2002), who looked at the impacts of the devastating Cyclone Eline on the 40-ha Bunga Forest in February 2000 He noted nearly 200 fallen trees that had created 46 patches totalling 1.57 ha, equivalent to a loss of 13% of forest cover. Pers. obs.) is that the fern flora is moving towards the more generalist species and that some drought-sensitive species of angiosperms such as Streptocarpus umtaliensis and Cryptostephanus vansonii are reducing
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