A description and evaluation of Malundwe Mountain Forest in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania

Abstract

The forest atop Malundwe Mountain in the center of Mikumi National Park was first described in the scientific literature by Lovett and Norton in 1985. The results of their preliminary survey classified this forest as Eastern Arc submontane forest. Until the current study, there have only been a few brief visits and scouting surveys to this isolated forest and it has remained virtually undescribed. Yet the Malundwe Forest is potentially of great scientific and conservation importance. It is a representative example of the Eastern Arc forest habitats recognized collectively as one of the world's most important biodiversity hotspots. It is the only known Eastern Arc forest to have been under full National Park protection for over 40 years. As a result the forest is almost entirely undisturbed by human activities. Because the forest is within the center of a national park, about 20 km from the park boundary, it is surrounded by undisturbed and protected habitats. Fire is the only likely human derived influence on the forest and may affect forest edges. Of equal importance, Malundwe Mountain and the surrounding habitats are the confluence of three watersheds and thus contribute to three important water catchments serving the Wami, Ruvu and Ruaha River systems. The Malundwe forest is at one of the head waters for both the Wami and Ruvu rivers and is potentially a major contributor to the Ruaha-Rufiji system. In this paper, we report the preliminary results of two years of biodiversity surveys and GIS mapping of this forest using standard transect and survey techniques conducted in close collaboration with scientists and wildlife managers in Tanzania. We present these results and discuss the size, composition, importance of this forest in the biogeographical context of the catchments and the nearby forests of the Udzungwa and Uluguru Mountains.