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Kitulo
Plateau
Known locally as Bustani ya Mungu (God's Garden) and elsewhere
as the Serengeti of Flowers, the Kitulo Plateau is unique. Comprising
273 km2 of Afromontane and Afroalpine grassland, the plateau has long been
heralded as a botanists' paradise, containing great numbers of endemic flowering
plants, including terrestrial orchids. Perched above 2,600m (8,528ft) between
the Kipengere Range and the Poroto and Livingstone Mountains, Kitulo represents
the largest and most important plateau grassland community in Tanzania.
Kitulo is floristically rich, with 350 species of vascular plants documented
to date, including 45 species of terrestrial orchid. Many of the species
are of restricted distribution. Some 31 species are Tanzanian endemics,
 16 are
endemic to Kitulo/Kipengere and 10 are restricted to Kitulo/Poroto. At least
three species are endemic to the plateau itself and two more are known only
from the plateau and adjoining forests. It is the abundance of plants in
the wet season, however, that immediately impresses and the phenomenon has
been described as 'one of the great floral spectacles of the world'. The
plateau is also home to important animal species including national and regional
endemics. Breeding colonies of Blue Swallow (Hirundo atrocaerulea)
and Denham's Bustard (Neotis denhami), as well as species such as
Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni), Pallid Harrier (Circus
macrourus), Njombe Cisticola (Cisticola njombe), and Kipengere
Seedeater (Serinus melanochrous), contribute to the plateau being
an Important Bird Area (IBA 73).
The SHCP has been encouraging protection for this unique site, and
in February 2002 the Government of Tanzania announced that it would be gazetting
13,500 hectares as a National Park. This will be the first Park in tropical
Africa to be gazetted primarily for its floristic significance, and
as such is an innovative and highly commendable step by the Government and
Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA). The challenge will be to establish a management
system that takes into consideration the needs of surrounding communities,
as well as the ecological requirements of this unique vegetation type. The
trade in orchids is currently threatening species across the region especially
Kitulo and the SHCP is actively monitoring the issue and working to
seek appropriate solutions. Clearly there is important tourist potential
and the SHCP is supporting tourism development across the region including
Kitulo. Meanwhile the SHCP continues to carry out biodiversity research
on the plateau, as well as supporting the Wildlife Conservation Society of
Tanzania in awareness campaigns for communities around
Matamba.
Mt
Rungwe
Rising above the small town of Tukuyu lies the dormant volcano of
Mt Rungwe. At 2,960m (9,708 ft) Mt Rungwe is just one metre lower than Mtorwi
on Kitulo Plateau, and is thus southern Tanzania's second highest peak. Formed
some 2.5 million years ago, the volcano marks the junction of the eastern
and western arms of the Great Rift Valley. Renowned as an important centre
of endemism and lying inside the northernmost end of the Lake Nyasa Trough,
the mountain represents the pivot between the three great montane regions
of eastern, central and southern Africa. Much of the mountain (13,652 ha)
 was gazetted
as a Forest Reserve in 1949, and incorporates montane forest, upper montane
forest and montane grassland, with bushland and heath at upper elevations.
Unbroken forest for an elevation of 1,500m is of particular significance
and the upper ericaceous belt is the only well-developed example of its type
in the south. More specifically the forest is home to a variety of significant
forest flora and fauna, including the threatened Abbot's Duiker (Cephalophus
spadix). It is also an important centre of endemism, with restricted-range
species ranging from lichens and grasses through to large mammals. Mt. Rungwe
is an Important Bird Area (IBA No. 64) with two species listed as
'vulnerable'.
The importance of Mt. Rungwe for water catchment is significant. The forest
feeds villages and towns from Kiwira to Tukuyu and nourishes the fertile
Kyela Valley. All rivers from the north, west and southwest of the forest
(such as the Kilasi, Kipoke, Kiwira, Marogala, Mbaka, Mrambo, Mulagala,
Mwatisi, Sinini and Suma) flow ultimately into Lake Nyasa. The timber
values of the reserve are well known although the amount of extraction is
less clear. Podocarpus sp. is scattered throughout the reserve and
Ocotea usambarensis is present in small numbers. Pinus patula
and Hagenia abyssinica are being exploited. Mt Rungwe also has cultural
importance for the Wanyakyusa, both as a source of forest products including
medicines, fuel wood and building materials, and also for its spiritual
significance.
The SHCP considers Mt Rungwe a site of particular concern and priority.
Current work includes biodiversity research on assorted taxa and an assessment
of habitat stress, such as for example, forest clearance and the poisoning
of rivers. The SHCP is also working to develop tourism and is currently
planning a system of hiking trails across the mountain, and to construct
log cabins both for research and tourist development.
Ufipa
Plateau
Ufipa Plateau in Sumbawanga District (Rukwa Region) sits high on the
rift escarpment above the Lake Rukwa valley. It is a mosaic of high forest
and montane grassland, and represents an ecological crossroads for four distinct
ecological regions. The area consequently plays host to an eclectic mix of
east and west African flora and fauna, as well as endemic taxa.
Mbisi Forest Reserve, a relict montane cloud forest reaching 2,400m (7,872ft),
is seriously
 at risk from encroachment
and unmanaged extraction of timber and forest products. Characterised by
40m Euphorbia obovalifolia, Mbisi is the easternmost portion of congolian
forest in Tanzania. The Central African Red Colobus (Colobus badius
tephrosceles) has been well documented. Due to high altitude and low
temperatures, this isolated population has a longer coat and often a shorter
tail. Mbisi has four avian races endemic to it and lies within the Ufipa
Important Bird Area (IBA 77). The forest is also the only locality
in Tanzania for the rusty-nosed rat (Oenymys hypoxanthus) and the
toads Bufo marunguensis and B. camerunensis. Initial botanical
surveys of both the grasslands and the forest indicate that the area is of
significant conservation importance. Ufipa Plateau itself boasts a forb-rich
grassland community of at least 200 taxa, including Compositae, Rubiaceae,
Liliaceae, Orchidaceae and Umbelliferae.
The SHCP has performed initial ecological assessments of both Mbisi
Forest and the Ufipa Plateau, and assisted the Field Museum of Natural History,
Chicago, in performing a small mammal inventory. Biodiversity research is
on-going and discussions are underway with regional authorities and local
NGOs to design a strategic plan for the area.
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