Ecological and socio-economic assessment of Mopane woodland in the Mahel area in Maputo Province, Mozambique

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:The Mopane woodlands are some of the most economically and ecologically importantvegetation types of southern Africa, providing an array of services and products for sustaininglivelihood of local communities in dry and low lying areas. Although Mopane woodlands, likeother African savannas, have received attention in the last decades, few studies were carried outusing an integrated approach that combines socio-economic and environmental considerations.The aim of this study was to document the impact of harvesting woody resources in order torecommend ways of meeting ecological and economic objectives for sustainable use ofcommunal resources in a rural community in the Mahel area, Mozambique. This was achieved bylooking at the pattern of species composition, resource availability and dynamics of the woodyvegetation and how the woodland is used.The study found that woodland resources in the area have a promising potential. Localcommunities who also recognised the crucial importance of these resources for their livelihoodcorroborated this. Thus, conservation measures are needed because the current unsustainableutilisation of the resources may lead to degradation of the woodland resource base.The species richness and diversity of the vegetation appeared to be influenced by a number ofecological and anthropogenic factors, but soil characteristics are the most important determinantof distribution and composition of the Mopane and Acacia woodlands in Mahel. The harshenvironmental conditions on hard clay soils lead to dominance of over 80% of the Mahel area byColophospermum mopane. There was evidence of high variation of species richness per plot at adistance from the villages. On the other hand species diversity near the villages was higherbecause of human activities. Colophospermum mopane formed mono-specific stands far from thevillages. One of the most important aspects of the study is the invaluable contribution of baselineinformation for long-term studies for biodiversity assessment and monitoring of vegetationchanges caused by impact of harvesting in the Mopane woodland.The availability of woody resources in the Mahel area was higher in Mopane woodland (937stems ha-I) than in Acacia woodland (271 stems ha -1). The population structure of most treespecies was shown to be stable in Mopane woodland. Therefore, sustainable harvesting in thewoodland for firewood, construction material and poles, other than charcoal production could beencouraged. The preference across use types and species depended mostly on availability ofresources in the woodland. Colophospermum mopane was the species with highest multiple use,including for firewood, charcoal, construction material, fencing poles and edible caterpillars. Local people perceived that crop production was a more important source of benefits for theirlivelihoods than cattle farming, woodland use and cash income.Application of strategic management planning is crucial in the Mahel area. This will require asuitable zoning scheme for appropriate use of the woodland resources and conservation of thevegetation as a guarantee for sustainable development of the local communities.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University