Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire

One of the consequences of impacts of elephants and fire on woodlands is a change in woody cover, which often results in major challenges for wildlife managers. Changes in miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research Area (SWRA) between 1958 and 1996 were quantified by analyzing aeri...

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Autores principales: Mapaure, I., Campbell, Bruce M.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: 2002
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/18613
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author Mapaure, I.
Campbell, Bruce M.
author_browse Campbell, Bruce M.
Mapaure, I.
author_facet Mapaure, I.
Campbell, Bruce M.
author_sort Mapaure, I.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description One of the consequences of impacts of elephants and fire on woodlands is a change in woody cover, which often results in major challenges for wildlife managers. Changes in miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research Area (SWRA) between 1958 and 1996 were quantified by analyzing aerial photographs. Woody cover in SWRA decreased from 95.2% in 1958 to 68.2% in 1996, with a lowest mean of 62.9% in 1983. The annual absolute rate of woody cover change in SWRA increased from -1.1% perannum between 1993 and 1996, while the annual relative rate increased from -1.1% per annum between 1958 and 1964 to 3.3% per annum between 1993 and 1996. There was a strong negative correlation between elephant densities and woody cover in SWRA, suggesting that loss of woody cover was mainly due to elephants. Woodland recovery after 1983 was due to reductions in elephant populations through legal and illegal off-take and reductions in fire frequency. Surrounding areas experienced less woody cover losses than SWRA, mainly due to tree removal by locals whose densities increased after the eradication of tsetse fly in the 1970s.
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spelling CGSpace186132025-01-24T14:12:41Z Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire Mapaure, I. Campbell, Bruce M. woodlands elephants fires change forest fires One of the consequences of impacts of elephants and fire on woodlands is a change in woody cover, which often results in major challenges for wildlife managers. Changes in miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research Area (SWRA) between 1958 and 1996 were quantified by analyzing aerial photographs. Woody cover in SWRA decreased from 95.2% in 1958 to 68.2% in 1996, with a lowest mean of 62.9% in 1983. The annual absolute rate of woody cover change in SWRA increased from -1.1% perannum between 1993 and 1996, while the annual relative rate increased from -1.1% per annum between 1958 and 1964 to 3.3% per annum between 1993 and 1996. There was a strong negative correlation between elephant densities and woody cover in SWRA, suggesting that loss of woody cover was mainly due to elephants. Woodland recovery after 1983 was due to reductions in elephant populations through legal and illegal off-take and reductions in fire frequency. Surrounding areas experienced less woody cover losses than SWRA, mainly due to tree removal by locals whose densities increased after the eradication of tsetse fly in the 1970s. 2002 2012-06-04T09:08:37Z 2012-06-04T09:08:37Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/18613 en Mapaure, I., Campbell, B.M. 2002. Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire . African Journal of Ecology 40 :212-219. ISSN: 0141-6707.
spellingShingle woodlands
elephants
fires
change
forest fires
Mapaure, I.
Campbell, Bruce M.
Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire
title Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire
title_full Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire
title_fullStr Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire
title_full_unstemmed Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire
title_short Changes in Miombo woodland cover in and around Sengwa Wildlife Research area, Zimbabwe, in relation to elephants and fire
title_sort changes in miombo woodland cover in and around sengwa wildlife research area zimbabwe in relation to elephants and fire
topic woodlands
elephants
fires
change
forest fires
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/18613
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