The mammals of Angola

Scientific investigations on the mammals of Angola started over 150 years ago, but information remains scarce and scattered, with only one recent published account. Here we provide a synthesis of the mammals of Angola based on a thorough survey of primary and grey literature, as well as recent unpublished records. We present a short history of mammal research, and provide brief information on each species known to occur in the country. Particular attention is given to endemic and near endemic species. We also provide a zoogeographic outline and information on the conservation of Angolan mammals. We found confirmed records for 291 native species, most of which from the orders Rodentia (85), Chiroptera (73), Carnivora (39), and Cetartiodactyla (33). There is a large number of endemic and near endemic species, most of which are rodents or bats. The large diversity of species is favoured by the wide range of habitats with contrasting environmental conditions, while endemism tends to be associated with unique physiographic settings such as the Angolan Escarpment. The mammal fauna of Angola includes 2 Critically Endangered, 2 Endangered, 11 Vulnerable, and 14 Near-Threatened species at the global scale. There are also 12 data deficient species, most of which are endemics or near endemics to the countryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Management options for Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) in Southern Cape Forests, South Africa: management paper

Australian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) was actively introduced into the indigenous forests of the southern Cape until about 1930. On the perception that this exotic species constituted a threat to the indigenous forest, a policy of eradication was followed. This perception that Blackwood is capable of progressively replacing the native biota was questioned periodically. Recent investigations support the contention that the species is subject to constraints to its effective self-replacement within the indigenous forests. In the context of a policy re-evaluation, it is recommended that in the medium-term and until monitoring has provided clarity on outstanding issues, the control programme be restricted to areas where exotics are inherently unacceptable, as is the case for nature reserves. Two harvesting options for the remaining old-growth Blackwood timber in the forest are presented. According to the short-term depletion harvesting option, ca 2000 m3 of timber can be harvested annually until the year 2003. The medium-term optimisation option makes provision for annual harvest of 1500 m3 until 2010. Particularly in the case of the second option care must be taken to harvest the more senile trees early in the sequence if an acceptable degree of mortality pre-emption is to be achieved. Southern African Forestry Journal No.196 2002: 55-6