East Usambara Research Articles

Ecological and social outcomes of a new protected area in Tanzania.

Balancing ecological and social outcomes of conservation actions is recognized in global conservation policy but is challenging in practice. Compensation to land owners or users for foregone assets has been proposed by economists as an efficient way to mitigate negative social impacts of human displacement from protected areas. Joint empirical assessments of the conservation and social impacts of protected area establishment involving compensation payments are scarce. We synthesized social and biological studies related to the establishment of the Derema forest corridor in Tanzania's biodiverse East Usambara Mountains. This lengthy conservation process involved the appropriation of approximately 960 ha of native canopy agroforest and steep slopes for the corridor and monetary compensation to more than 1100 claimants in the surrounding villages. The overarching goals from the outset were to conserve ecological processes while doing no harm to the local communities. We evaluated whether these goals were achieved by analyzing 3 indicators of success: enhancement of forest connectivity, improvement of forest condition, and mitigation of negative impacts on local people's livelihoods. Indicators of forest connectivity and conditions were enhanced through reductions of forest loss and exotic species and increases in native species and canopy closure. Despite great efforts by national and international organizations, the intervention failed to mitigate livelihood losses especially among the poorest people. The Derema case illustrates the challenges of designing and implementing compensation schemes for conservation-related displacement of people.

Vegetation Response to Climate Change and Human Impacts in the Usambara Mountains

East and West Usambara Mountain blocks are unique based on three characteristics. Firstly, they are connected blocks; secondly, they have an oceanic-influenced climate; and thirdly, the rain seasons are not easily discernible due to their close proximity to the Indian Ocean and Equator. Sediment cores were collected from peat bogs in Derema (DRM) and Mbomole (MBML) in East Usambara and from Madumu (DUMU) in West Usambara. The multiproxy record provides an understanding on climate and vegetation changes during the last 5000 years. DRM and MBML cores result in radiocarbon ages and age-depth curve which showed hiatus at 20 cm and 61 cm and huge inversion for DUMU core at 57 cm. Period 5000–4000 14C yr BP for DUMU core revealed increased Montane forest indicative of relatively moist conditions. Periods 3000–2000 and 2000–1000 14C yr BP, DUMU core demonstrated increased submontane and lowland forests. Period 1000–200 14C yr BP, DUMU core signified increased coprophilous fungi while DRM and MBML cores signified fluctuating herbaceous pollen spectra (wet-dry episodes). Period 200 14C yr BP to present, all cores demonstrated stable recovery of forest types especially dominance of submontane forests. Abundant coprophilous fungi indicated increased human impacts including forest fires, cultivation, and grazing.

Ecological correlates of vulnerability to fragmentation among Afrotropical terrestrial small mammals in northeast Tanzania

Understanding ecological traits of species associated with vulnerability to habitat fragmentation is important for the development of effective conservation efforts. However, few studies have examined ecological correlates of vulnerability to fragmentation among tropical small mammals at fine spatial scales. Here we use random forests and regression tree models to identify ecological correlates of vulnerability to fragmentation among terrestrial small mammal species across 2 networks of forest fragments in the East and West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Small mammal species vary considerably in their vulnerability to fragmentation as assessed by species occupancy and change in abundance. Random forests models indicate that matrix use is the highest-ranked predictor of vulnerability to fragmentation with small mammal species that do not use or use few matrix habitat types, being more vulnerable to fragmentation than species that use all adjacent matrix habitat types. Our results emphasize the importance of local-scale approaches for designing conservation strategies for Afrotropical small mammal species.

Allanblackia, butterflies and cardamom: sustaining livelihoods alongside biodiversity conservation on the forest–agroforestry interface in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

Win–win outcomes for biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction are the holy grail of integrating conservation and development and are rarely met. Domestication of valued local species and introduction of high valued crops can help prevent depletion of wild resources. We compared three commodities from the forest–agroforestry interface of the East Usambara Mountains in Tanzania at different stages of domestication: (a) Allanblackia stuhlmannii, a local tree with valuable edible kernel oil; (b) butterflies, with an international market chain for pupae sold to butterfly gardens and (c) cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum), an introduced shade tolerant spice from India with established global markets. Data on production systems, institutional set-up and profitability were collected through focus group discussions, interviews with key individual informants and literature review. Cardamom has become a major support for rural livelihoods, generating 9 million USD for 750 tons of product in the area, or 850 USD per year for 10,600 households. Allanblackia and butterflies generate only 1% of that income for the landscape. For Allanblackia (around 20 USD per year for 5000 households), the transition from a forest product collected from the wild to being an agroforestry commodity is in an early but critical stage, where the slow growth of the trees and inadequate research attention to production systems, as well as modest farm gate price, currently limit farmer interest but are the focus of ongoing research. Butterflies (approximately 200 USD per year for 350 households) have had the fastest domestication pathway, with continuous innovation into new products and use, linked to international markets. There is gender-sensitive integration with household tasks and compatibility with homegarden agroforestry systems, while due attention is given to institutional arrangements of its local business scheme. Cardamom's economic success has made it a ‘villain’ to forests conservation, as forest transformation to cardamom agroforestry retains only half of the forest trees, and is a step towards further change. Differences in institutional settings of these three domestication pathways relate to their potential to reconcile biodiversity and livelihood concerns and suggest that a socio-ecological system approach to domestication is a prerequisite for a biological–technical one to achieve societal goals.

Annotated list of Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera) from the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania and new Tettigoniidae species from East Africa.

A list of the Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera) of the East Usambara Mountains is presented and 16 new species are described from East Africa. A total number of 29 Tettigoniidae species is recorded for the East Usambara Mountains. New species are described from the Shimba Hills in Kenya, coastal Tanzania from the Kazimzumbwi forest reserve, Mt Kilimanjaro, the East and West Usambara and Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania, namely in Conocephalinae Afroagraecia pwania n. sp., Afroagraecia shimbaensis n. sp., Afroanthracites discolor n. sp., Afroanthracites jagoi n. sp. and Afroanthracites viridis n. sp., in Meconematinae Afrophisis flagellata n. sp., Afrophisis kisarawe n. sp., Afrophisis mazumbaiensis n. sp. and Afrophisis pseudoflagellata n. sp., in Hexacentrinae Aerotegmina megaloptera n. sp., in Mecopodinae Apteroscirtus cristatus n. sp., and A. planidorsatus n. sp., in Phaneropterinae Gelotopoia amabilis n. sp., and in Pseudophyllinae Cymatomerella pardopunctata n. sp. and Cymatomera viridimaculata n. sp. Seven species are endemic to the East Usambara Mountains which are 25% of the recorded forest-bound bush crickets. The Tettigoniidae fauna is compared between the East Usambara Mountains and Mt Kilimanjaro and mechanisms of speciation discussed in Orthoptera for the area. New Tettigoniidae records are given for Mt Kilimanjaro (Oxyecous apertus Ragge, Tropidonotacris grandis Ragge and Eurycorypha conclusa Hemp).

Wild Foods from Farm and Forest in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

This study explored the role of wild foods in the diets of children and mothers in the East Usambara Mountains (N = 274 dyads). We identified 92 wild food species. Although dietary diversity (most measures) was not different between seasons, wild foods accounted for a greater percentage of items consumed in the wet (food insecure) season. Many wild foods were obtained on farm; wild foods obtained from the forest accounted for less than 3% of food items consumed. Wild foods were used by virtually all informants but contributed only 2% of total energy in the diet. However, they contributed large percentages of vitamin A (RAE) (31%), vitamin C (20%), and iron (19.19%). Agricultural factors (e.g., hours spent in farm) were associated with greater wild food use. These findings suggest participation in agriculture may be important for the maintenance of wild food use, and that wild foods can play an important role in the nutritional resilience of local people.

Sustainable agricultural intensification: the role of cardamom agroforestry in the East Usambaras, Tanzania

The East Usambaras in Tanzania are a tropical biodiversity hotspot where current agricultural management practices pose threats to forest conservation and development objectives. Promoting sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) would improve long-term productivity and reduce pressure on forest reserves. The study objective was to identify household-level characteristics that influence adoption of improved management practices, specifically soil replenishment practices, in order to identify opportunities and constraints to scaling up SAI to landscape level. First, three common farming systems and a fourth agroforestry (AF) model were developed to estimate the relative profitability of incorporating fallow, manure, and non-timber forest product activities. Next, household surveys were conducted and a logistic regression analysis was used to measure the influence of socioeconomic characteristics, physical and financial assets, tenure security, and plot-specific attributes on adoption of soil replenishment practices that were specified in the model. Findings showed that the AF model was financially competitive but raises opportunity costs to labour when compared to common systems. Marital status, household size, remittances, credit access, and tenure security significantly influenced adoption of fallow and applying organic inputs. Significant plot-specific attributes included perceived fertility and distance from the homestead. Policies to scale up SAI should consider these factors and emphasize improving markets for AF species and extension services.

Designing a payments for ecosystem services (PES) program to reduce deforestation in Tanzania: An assessment of payment approaches

Payments for ecosystem services (PES) programs aim to improve environmental outcomes by providing direct incentives to land managers for the provision of ecosystem services. Participation in PES programs is voluntary, so effective program design requires careful consideration of farmers' preferences. This study quantifies such preferences using a choice experiment. The study site is the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania, an internationally recognized ‘biodiversity hotspot.’ We assess preferences for four payment approaches: constant and variable annual cash payments to individual farmers, a constant annual cash payment to a village fund on behalf of farmers, and an upfront manure fertilizer payment. We find that the manure fertilizer payment was statistically significant in motivating farmer participation while the group payment was non-significant. In addition, the relationship between the likelihood of participation and the stringency of conditionality is surprisingly non-linear. In a test of external validity, average willingness to accept (WTA) values are found to be similar to the average opportunity cost of maintaining land uses consistent with conservation objectives.

East African odontopygid millipedes 3: Two new genera; Lamelloramus and Aquattuor proposed to contain three new species (Diplopoda; Spirostreptida; Odontopygidae).

Two new genera and three new species in the millipede family Odontopygidae are described; Lamelloramus rhombi- formis, L. triangularis and Aquattuor denticulatus. All three species are found in the East Usambara Mountains.

Seed Dispersal in the Dark: Shedding Light on the Role of Fruit Bats in Africa

AbstractIn spite of their recognized importance as seed dispersers in other parts of the tropics, seed dispersal by fruit bats has received scant research attention in Africa. To evaluate the role of African fruit bats in seed dispersal, we studied fruits and seeds below 480 bat feeding roosts in the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. We compared these findings to those reported in other African localities to place our results in a broader context. We found 49 plant species dispersed by bats: 28 species, 18 genera, and one family are novel reports of bat dispersal in Africa. Approximately 20 percent of the submontane tree flora of the East Usambaras is bat‐dispersed, including both widespread and endemic trees. African fruit bats are important seed dispersers at our study site because they move seeds of dozens of species tens or hundreds of meters, even seeds that are too large to ingest (greater than 5 mm in length). Fruit bats are likely important seed dispersers in other Afrotropical forests, as bats elsewhere in Africa are known to consume 20 genera and 16 species of plants reported here. Insights from studying remains under bat feeding roosts offer a simple method to further document and substantially increase our understanding of the role of African fruit bats in seed dispersal.

Breeding Biology of An Afrotropical Forest Understory Bird Community In Northeastern Tanzania

Abstract Many aspects of the breeding biology of Afrotropical forest birds are poorly known. Here we provide a description based on the monitoring of 1461 active nests over eight breeding seasons about one or more aspects of the breeding biology for 28 coexisting understory bird species on the Amani Plateau in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Mean nest height and mean distance of nest from forest edge varied widely among species with most species constructing nests across a broad vertical and forest edge to interior gradient. However, there were important exceptions with all sunbird species and several dove and waxbill species constructing nests in close proximity to the forest edge. For 17 common species for which we recorded two or more active nests, mean clutch size across species was 1.9 eggs per clutch, the lowest site-specific mean clutch size yet reported for a tropical forest bird community. For nine bird species, a subset of the 17 common species, length of breeding season, defined as the d...

Community-Based Forest Management: What Scope for Conservation and Livelihood Co-Benefits? Experience from the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

The Tanzanian Community-Based Forest Management policy is based on the assumption that formalized forest tenure by village communities results in increased incentives for sustainable forest management. We compared the policy expectations to village forest management practices in northeastern Tanzania. Findings suggest that the practices follow policy in terms of increased security of rights, but exclusionary management of village forests precludes livelihood benefits while costs are unevenly distributed. Management appears effective at the village scale, but concerted efforts are likely to be needed to increase its long-term and landscape-level sustainability, and to create more significant incentives for the communities involved.

Kaczan, David. “Designing an Incentive Program to Reduce On‐Farm Deforestation in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania.” MS Thesis, University of Alberta. Outstanding Master's Thesis Award

Kaczan, David. “Designing an Incentive Program to Reduce On‐Farm Deforestation in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania.” MS Thesis, University of Alberta. Outstanding Master's Thesis Award

First Record of the Servaline Genet (Genetta servalina) in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

ABSTRACT Recently rediscovered in the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania, with more distributional records from several central and southern Eastern Arc Mountains, the servaline genet Genetta servalina Pucheran, 1855 remains a rarely recorded species in East Africa. Using camera traps, we document several locations for G. servalina in and around the Amani Nature Reserve, East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. These records extend the range of G. servalina to the northern part of the Eastern Arc Mountains.

Bird and Plant Diversity in Tropical Landscape Mosaics in East Usambaras, Tanzania

The role of land uses outside protected areas in conserving tropical biodiversity remains poorly understood and contested. This paper summarizes the results of plant and bird surveys conducted in three rural landscapes in the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania, covering a gradient from Village forest reserves to tree-based and other agricultural land uses. The species richness and occurrence of conservationally important species across the land uses were analyzed. Twelve plots of 0.2 ha, stratified among land use types, were established to survey the large trees, with sub-plots of 1 × 40 m for tree saplings, shrubs and non-woody plants, and 5 × 40 m plots for small trees. Avian richness was measured in the same sites as the plants through mist netting and timed species counts. The village forests had higher plant species richness and more conservationally important plant species compared to other land uses. Agroforest and fallows supported a relatively high number of plant species, but the species composition was largely different to the adjacent village forests. Bird species of conservation importance were recorded across all land uses. Village forest reserves and some of the tree-based agricultural land uses were found to contribute to biodiversity conservation goals in tropical landscape mosaics. There is a need to better integrate them, and address their multiple functions, in village land-use planning and conservation efforts at the landscape level.

Forest cover, use and dietary intake in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

SUMMARY Food insecurity and malnutrition in local populations both result from and drive deforestation. This paper examines the relationships between diet of local people and measures of forest cover and use in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Data on dietary diversity and intake were collected for 270 children and their mothers. Area of tree cover within the vicinity of each household was examined in relation to forest use and diet. Individuals using foods from forest and other non-farm land had higher dietary diversity, consumed more animal source foods and had more nutrient dense diets. They also had more tree cover in a close proximity to the home, suggesting a relationship between tree cover and forest food use. Households reporting trips to the forest had lower area of tree cover within close proximity, suggesting that land close to the home with tree cover such as agroforest and fallow is important for obtaining subsistence products. Although historically there has been little motivation for local people to participate in forest conservation in the East Usambaras, the maintenance of tree cover in the landscape around the home, especially on agricultural and village land, may be important in ensuring continued access to the health benefits potentially available in wild and forest foods.

Small Mammal Inventories in the East and West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. 4. Rodentia

During three field seasons between 1991 and 1993, we carried out rodent inventories of the East and West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. The general trapping protocol used involved both pitfall lines and trap lines (Sherman, Victor, and Museum Special traps), with a limited number of animals trapped within and outside of forest habitats by local people. A total of 885 individual rodents, representing 15 species, were collected during this study. For the East and West Usambara Mountains, 13 (12 native) and 12 (all native) rodent species were recorded, respectively. Most rodents were captured by trap lines (96.6%); a few individuals were captured in the pitfall devices or brought to us by local people. The major exception is that all individuals of Dendromus (n = 11) obtained during the survey were in pitfall buckets.A total of 18,563 sample-nights were accrued over the three years, including 11,339 sample-nights (3314 pitfall-nights and 8025 trap-nights) in the East Usambara and 7224 sample-nights (1924 pitfall-nights and 5300 trap-nights) in the West Usambara Mountains. Based on species accumulation curves, no previously unrecorded species was trapped after 11,064 sample-nights in the East Usambara and after 5213 sample-nights in the West Usambara. However, a previously untrapped rodent (Graphiurus kelleni) was captured in the East Usambara on the third-to-last of 59 sampling days, suggesting that other non-canopy–restricted rodent species may have been missed during this survey. In a series of species accounts, information regarding the natural history of the different taxa handled during these surveys, including distribution, ecology, and condition of sexual organs, a list of referable specimens, and the trap devices that collected them, are presented.Trap and bucket lines combine to effectively sample most small- to medium-sized rodents. However, larger scansorial and canopy-restricted (squirrel) and fossorial (mole rat) species were not captured with our trapping methods, and these tabulations should not be considered a complete list of the small mammals of the Usambaras.

Small Mammal Inventories in the East and West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. 2. Families Soricidae (Shrews) and Macroscelididae (Elephant Shrews)

Abstract Field surveys conducted in the montane forests of the East and West Usambara Mountains between 1991 and 1993 provide data on the species of shrews (Family Soricidae, Subfamily Crocidurinae) and elephant shrews (Family Macroscelididae). In total, 11 species of crocidurine shrew and one elephant shrew were documented on the Usambara Mountains, which include 10 shrew and one elephant shrew species for the East Usambara, and six species of shrew and one elephant shrew in the West Usambara. Information is presented on the captured animals regarding their natural history, distribution, ecology, and reproduction, as well as external and cranio-dental measurements. Species richness and different levels of endemism between the insectivorous small mammal faunas of tropical Africa and Madagascar are compared.

Small Mammal Inventories in the East and West Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. 1. Study Areas, Methodologies, and General Results

The Eastern Arc Mountains of southeastern Kenya and Tanzania hold a rich and unique biodiversity. The most celebrated of these mountains are the East and West Usambaras. Although these massifs have been the subjects of biological study for over a century, little is known about the shrews, bats, and rodents occurring in the montane forests. Using pitfall buckets, small mammal traps, and mist-nets, between 1991 and 1993, we surveyed the small mammals in the Amani area in the East Usambara and Ambangulu area in the West Usambara to document the natural history of the local fauna. These surveys were conducted during the dry season annually between early July and early September.In this chapter, we outline the study sites, methodologies, capture rates, and other trapping details. A total of 18,563 sample-nights was accrued over the three-year study, and on these two massifs, we documented 12 crocidurine shrew, one macroscelidid elephant shrew, 19 bat, and 14 rodent species. Species accumulation curves suggest that additional trapping effort may be required in the East Usambara Mountains to have a more complete view of the local small mammal fauna. There was no significant difference in the number of individuals captured or measures of species diversity in the pitfall and trap lines that were installed in the same location during the course of this study, suggesting that repeated sampling did not negatively affect the small mammal fauna of the study areas.

Small Mammal Inventories in the East and West Usambara and South Pare Mountains, Tanzania. 3. Chiroptera

Whereas the terrestrial mammal fauna of the East and West Usambara Mountains have been the subject of numerous investigations, the local bat fauna remains poorly documented, as is the case for bats of the South Pare Mountains. During mammal surveys of these three massifs, we used mist nets to collect local bats, documenting 20 bat species in total.In the Usambara Mountains, 161 individual bats representing 19 species were documented during the three years of the survey between 1991 and 1993. In the East and West Usambara Mountains, 17 and 12 species, respectively, were recorded. Most animals were taken in net sets placed outside or at the edge of forested habitats. In the South Pare Mountains, 67 bats representing six species were collected during the two surveys, including 62 bats of six species at 1100 m (surveyed 17–29 July 1993) and five bats representing three species at 2000 m (surveyed 19–28 August 2004). Based on our morphological studies, no evidence of undescribed taxa in these collections exists.Species common across all three massifs include two pteropodids (Epomophorus wahlbergi and Lissonycteris angolensis), one rhinolophid (Rhinolophus clivosus), and one vespertilionid (Neoromicia capensis). Taxa only captured on a single massif include Rousettus lanosus and Rhinolophus simulator (South Pare, 10% of total captures), Myonycteris relicta and Nycteris thebaica (West Usambara, 10% of total captures), and Rousettus aegyptiacus, Rhinolophus deckenii, R. fumigatus, R. swinnyi, Nycteris grandis, Myotis bocagei, and Scotophilus viridis (East Usambara, 35% of total captures).Comparisons of capture rates and species richness between these three montane sites to more lowland forest sites indicate a notable reduction in species richness and density with increasing elevation. Our preliminary surveys are at best rough estimates of patterns of species diversity and richness in the montane portions of these massifs; more fieldwork and associated taxonomic work are clearly needed to have more in-depth knowledge of the local bat fauna.