African Savanna Plot Joins the CTFS-SIGEO Network

On August 14^th, 2011, tree mapping and tagging began at the Mpala forest dynamics plot in Kenya. The new plot is within the Mpala Research Centre and Wildlife Foundation. The 150-hectare plot is the first CTFS-SIGEO plot in Savanna vegetation, with an open tree canopy and grassy and herbaceous understory. The plot traverses two distinct soil types: black cotton soils at higher elevations, which are dominated by the “whistling thorn” acacia (A. drepanolobium), and red clay soils in lower terrain, with a diverse flora of including several other acacia species. 

Mpala plot researchers with CTFS Africa Program Coordinator David Kenfack (far right)

Despite being almost on the equator, the plot is 1,660 m above sea level and is consequently not as botanically diverse as many CTFS-SIGEO tropical forest plots.  The tree species diversity is estimated to be around 100 species. Some common species include: Acacia mellifera, Acacia nilotica, Acacia brevispica, Acacia xanthophloea, Acacia etbaica, Boscia angustifolia, Balanites aegyptiaca,  Balanites glabra, Maerua sp., Combretum molle, Mystroxylon sp., and Scutia myritina.

Although of moderate botanical diversity, the savanna has an exceptional diversity of wildlife, including: elephants, giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, hippos, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyena, wild dogs, and many species of antelope. The herbivorous species have a huge impact on the plant community.  

Before the commencement of the work at Mpala, twelve staff took part in a one-week training session where they learned CTFS standard field protocols and data management techniques. The team has already encountered several new challenges associated with the Savanna ecosystem: many individual plants have multiple stems with low branching heights, many species have large, sharp thorns, and staff have to be alert, having to play hide and seek with the elephants and other wildlife during fieldwork! As of October 29, 2011, an area covering 13 ha had been mapped and tagged, and included seven species. As expected, tree density is low, with an average of 792 trees per hectare.

Staline Kibet and David Kenfack contributed to this post.

Mapping Underway at Rabi, Gabon

Enumeration of the 25-ha Rabi plot in the Gamba Complex of Protected Areas in Southwest Gabon started in mid June 2010 under the direction of Gorky Villa. David Kenfack, CTFS-SIGEO Africa Program Coordinator, visited the plot in July and August to continue training and supervision of the two field teams, each of which consists of six dedicated Gabonese men who work in rotation to ensure continual mapping and tagging.

PHOTO: Left to right: Landry Tchignoumba, Arnaud Mboumba, Pierre Nicaise Guissouegou, Mourel Mouloungui, David Kenfack, Gauthier Moussavou, and Joel Mpira.

More than 1.5 hectares have been tagged and mapped, with an average of 314 trees (dbh ≥ 1 cm) per 20 x 20 m quadrat and 7,800 trees per hectare. Forty-six species and 288 individuals were recorded in the first 20 x 20 m quadrat, with Dichostemma glaucesens (Euphorbiaceae) comprising 29% of the stems. The plot includes several large individuals of the remarkable canopy tree Eurypetalum tesmannii (Fabaceae), which has a shruby habit and can have up to 74 stems.

PHOTO: Eurypetalum tesmannii. By Gorky Villa.

Click here for more photos from the Rabi plot.

Third African Forest Dynamics Plot Underway

A new 25-ha forest dynamics plot is being established in mature forest in the Rabi Protected Area in the Gamba Complex of protected areas in southwestern Gabon. The plot follows CTFS protocols and adds a third site to the existing African plots at Ituri (Congo) and Korup (Cameroon). Studies by the Smithsonian over the last decade have shown the Gamba Complex area, which encompasses the Rabi plot, to be extremely biodiverse. The plot is representative of the Guineo-Congolian rainforest that abounds in the Rabi landscape.

The project is part of the Gabon Biodiversity Program and represents a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory (SIGEO), Smithsonian National Zoological Park Conservation Biology Institute and Center for Conservation, Education and Sustainability, Shell Gabon, the Government of Gabon, CTFS and other stakeholders. The plot will provide baseline data for studies of forest regeneration, carbon dynamics, and biodiversity. In addition, the plot affords the opportunity to help build scientific and resource-management capacity in the region. Late in 2009, researchers completed surveying 25-ha of the plot. Tree tagging, mapping, and identification will begin this year. For more information, please contact Alfonso Alonso or Francisco Dallmeier.

Photo by Gorky Villa

Coordinator of Africa Program Appointed: Dr. David Kenfack

We are pleased to announce that Dr. David Kenfack has recently joined the Center for Tropical Forest Science-Smithsonian Institution Global Earth Observatory (CTFS-SIGEO) to coordinate research and training activities for the Africa program.

David is no stranger to CTFS. In 1996, he led the establishment of the Korup 50-hectare plot in Cameroon. He then went on to PhD studies at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, where he worked on the systematics and ecology of Carapa (Meliaceae), describing a series of species new to science. Following the completion of his PhD in 2008, he spent a year as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

In addition to taxonomic expertise on the flora of Central and West Africa, David has extensive experience in tropical forest ecology and data management. During his career, he has assembled botanical collections and carried out forest inventories in more than 10 tropical countries.

David will be based at the CTFS office at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.