Multi-temporal assessment of forest cover, stocking parameters and above-ground tree biomass dynamics in Miombo Woodlands of Tanzania

Miombo woodlands form the widespread ecosystem in Tanzania. The ecosystem of these woodlands serves as a carbon sink and source containing majority of the above-ground terrestrial organic carbon. The study assessed forest cover, stocking parameters and above-ground tree biomass dynamics in the Miombo woodlands of Bereku and Duru Haitemba in Tanzania. The data were obtained from conventional forest inventory and remote sensing and GIS techniques. Results show that forest cover has increased for the two consecutive assessment period of 1988 to 2000 and 2000 to 2009, mostly by higher canopy cover of 6.82 and 0.79%, respectively. Stocking parameters: stand density (N) stand volume (V) and stand basal area (G) were found to be 1909.5 ± 9.4 stem/ha, 12.3 ± 0.6 m2ha-1 and 71.0 ± 6.8 m3ha-1, respectively. Vegetation indices (NDVI, ARVI and ND54) were then combined with forest inventory data for computation of average above ground biomass which was found to increase from 64 ± 6.53, 67.8 ± 5.42 to 79.218 ± 2.75 t/ha for 1988, 2000 and 2009, respectively. The results suggest that, the Miombo woodland resources have been consistently improving over the years of  assessment. This could be attributed to reduction in negative anthropogenic factors that are known to be the major cause of resources degradation in Miombo woodlands. However, this improvement may be partial as plot level information revealed higher exploitation of the dbh class of 4 to 5 cm. Increase of management effectiveness through involvement of local people under participatory forest management, strengthened bylaws and provision of other incentives might have contributed greatly to the improvement of the forest resources.Key words: Forest resources management, forest inventory, remote sensing, aboveground biomass stock

Forests, farms, and fallows: The dynamics of tree cover transition in the southern part of the uluguru mountains, Tanzania

Forests and woodlands remain under threat in tropical Africa due to excessive exploitation and inadequate management interventions, and the isolated success stories of tree retention and tree cover transition on African agricultural land are less well documented. In this study, we characterize the status of tree cover in a landscape that contains forest patches, fallows, and farms in the southern part of Uluguru Mountains. We aimed to unveil the practices of traditional tree fallow system which is socially acceptable in local settings and how it provides a buffering effects to minimize forest disturbances and thus represents an important step towards tree cover transition. We assessed land cover dynamics for the period of 1995 to 2020 and compared tree stocking for forest patches, fallows, and farms. We found that tree biomass carbon stocks were 56 ± 5 t/ha in forest patches, 33 ± 7 t/ha in fallows, and 9 ± 2 t/ha on farms. In terms of land cover, farms shrank at intensifying rates over time for the entire assessment period of 1995–2020. Forest cover decreased from 1995–2014, with the reduction rate slowing from 2007–2014 and the trend reversing from 2014–2020, such that forest cover showed a net increase across the entire study period. Fallow consistently and progressively increased from 1995–2020. We conclude that traditional tree fallows in the study site remain a significant element of land management practice among communities, and there appears to be a trend towards intensified tree-based farming. The gains in fallowed land represent an embracing of a traditional land management system that supports rotational and alternate uses of cropping space as well as providing a buffering effect to limit over-exploitation of forests. In order to maximize tree cover and carbon stocks in the farm landscape, this well-known traditional tree fallow system can be further optimized through the incorporation of additional innovations

Forest Resources Assessment

Forest resource assessment is fundamental in decision making to provide essential data and information for forest managers and decision makers to ensure sustainable forest management. This chapter has described objectives and importance of forest resource assessment, forest inventory planning and methods/designs and important descriptive statistics which should be applied when describing forest parameters of interest. Other essential aspects which also guide and compliment forest resource assessment, i.e. survey and mapping; and remote sensing are described. Application of remote sensing and GIS in forestry has also been covered

Forest Resources Assessment

Forest resource assessment is fundamental in decision making to provide essential data and information for forest managers and decision makers to ensure sustainable forest management. This chapter has described objectives and importance of forest resource assessment, forest inventory planning and methods/designs and important descriptive statistics which should be applied when describing forest parameters of interest. Other essential aspects which also guide and compliment forest resource assessment, i.e. survey and mapping; and remote sensing are described. Application of remote sensing and GIS in forestry has also been covered

The socio-economic implications of illegal fishing practices in Lake Victoria: A case study of three Villages in Tanzania

Illegal fishing is a threat to the sustainability of fisheries in Lake Victoria and this paper examines the influence of socio-economic factors on illegal fishing practices. The study was conducted in three villages around Nyegezi Bay of Lake Victoria where a total of 240 households were surveyed. Results indicate that there is highly significant correlation between illegal fishing and ages in one of the study villages, but this was not the case in the others, which suggests that age alone is not a sufficient factor to explain illegality. Further findings reveal that there is highly significant positive correlation between income and education on one hand and on another hand income and residence, which suggests that poverty is a driver of illegalities when linked to the education and residence. In addition, there is highly significant negative  correlation between residence and education revealing a migration of poorly-educated people, probably for search of employment opportunities. Generally, the study has shown that there exists direct correlation between socio-economic factors with illegal fishing practices. Based on the findings, we suggest that improving the social and economic statuses of these community through improving education and increasing opportunities for alternative sources of livelihoods may help address the issue of illegality in these areas.Keywords: Age, Employment, Illegal fishing, Income,  management measures, Poverty

Two decades of change in state, pressure and conservation responses in the coastal forest biodiversity hotspot of Tanzania

We present an analysis of changes of state, pres- sures and conservation responses over 20 years in the Tanzanian portion of the Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa biodiversity hotspot. Baseline data collected during 1989-1995 are compared with data from a synthesis of recently published papers and reports and new field work carried out across the region during 2010-2014. We show that bio- diversity endemism values are largely unchanged, although two new species (amphibian and mammal) have been named and two extremely rare tree species have been relo- cated. However, forest habitat continues to be lost and de- graded, largely as a result of agricultural expansion, charcoal production to supply cities with cooking fuel, log- ging for timber and cutting of wood for firewood and build- ing poles. Habitat loss is linked to an increase in the number of species threatened over time. The government-managed forest reserve network has expanded slightly but has low ef- fectiveness. Three forest reserves have been upgraded to National Parks and Nature Reserves, which have stricter protection and more effective enforcement. There has also been rapid development of village-owned forest reserves, with more than 140 now existing; although usually small, they are an important addition to the areas being managed for sustainable resource use, and also provide tangible benefits to local people. Human-use pressures remain in- tense in many areas, and combined with emerging pressures from mining, gas and oil exploration, many endemic species remain threatened with extinction

Response of fish stocks in Lake Victoria to enforcement of the ban on illegal fishing:are there lessons for management?

Most small-scale inland fisheries in the Global South prohibit fishing gear with smaller meshes than is legally permitted. Nonetheless, in most instances, this is not strictly enforced. But starting in 2017, Uganda and Tanzania ramped up enforcement on Lake Victoria. We used time series hydro-acoustic data to determine whether the strict enforcement achieved the management goal of increased biomass (t) of commercial species and an increase in the biomass of big Nile perch (>50 cm). The biomass for 2018–2021 (under strict enforcement) was expected to be greater than in 2007–2017 (prior to strict enforcement). The biomass of key species fluctuated annually, but no spatial or temporal differences in biomass associated with strict enforcement were evident. Similarly, the biomass of big Nile perch did not increase. Our findings suggest that mesh sizes may have limited influence on fish biomass dynamics in Lake Victoria, and that high primary productivity of the lake, high turnover rates of fish species, and limited compliance by fishers likely counteract the effects of high fishing effort on biomass and size structure of fish. Therefore, the high cost of strict top-down enforcement and the societal cost of lost lives, jobs, and livelihoods may not be justified