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Plant diversity and composition vary with elevation on two equatorial high mountains in Uganda: baselines for assessing the influence of climate change

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Abstract

We describe the distribution and diversity of vascular plants at high elevations (3980–4570 m above sea level) in the Rwenzori Mountains and Mount Elgon National Parks in Uganda. These were the first target regions of the “Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments” (“GLORIA”) on the African continent. In each target region, four summits spanning elevations from the treeline ecotone up to the limits of vascular plant life were selected and assessed in July and August 2011 using the standardised GLORIA protocol. Few vascular plant species were present on high elevation summits, particularly in Rwenzori, where many sub-plots had little or no vascular plant cover. Observations from Rwenzori include 26 vascular plant species, and from Mount Elgon 47, of which 10 and 15 species, respectively, were endemic. In contrast, non-vascular plant cover greatly increased with elevation. The lowest sites showed considerable diversity and were floristically dissimilar to the highest summits. Subsequent resurveys, repeating the GLORIA protocol, will be critical in the assessment of ongoing dynamics and change.

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Data available from a central GLORIA database (www.gloria.ac.at).

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Acknowledgements

This project was the result of close collaboration among researchers and managers at the Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation (ITFC), Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Universidad Nacional de Chilecito (UNdeC), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba (UNC) and local community representatives and elders. We wish to thank the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundation (grant number 93424 to WCS) for funding a two-phase project during which local researchers were trained in survey methods and subsequently tasked with conducting fieldwork. The field team are all greatly thanked for their enthusiasm and dedication: Robert Barigyira, Badru Mugerwa, Fredrick Ssali, Ben Kirunda, Abel Basikania, Erick Mulewa, Alfred Masereka, Joseph Wasike, James Matanda, Patrick Muzaale, Alex B. Salim, Francis Musobo, Mike Mazune, Stephan Halloy, Anton Seimon and Mariana Musicante. Douglas Sheil and Miriam van Heist supervised the study. We thank the editors and reviewers for improving the quality of the manuscript.

Funding

The authors would like to thank the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundation for funding this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Tropical Forest Conservation, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 44, Kabale, Uganda

    Fredrick Ssali & Badru Mugerwa

  2. Department of Ecological Dynamics, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany

    Badru Mugerwa

  3. Department of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Straße Des 17. Juni 135, 10623, Berlin, Germany

    Badru Mugerwa

  4. Graduate School Production Ecology and Resource Conservation, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 3-A, 6708 PB, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Miriam van Heist

  5. Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Douglas Sheil

  6. Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, NO-1432, Ås, Norway

    Douglas Sheil

  7. Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Kota Bogor, Jawa Barat, 16115, Indonesia

    Douglas Sheil

  8. Uganda Country Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, Kampala, Uganda

    Ben Kirunda

  9. New Zealand BioSecure Entomology Laboratory, Southern Monitoring Services L., Lower Hutt, New Zealand

    Mariana Musicante

  10. Universidad Nacional de Chilecito (UNdeC), Chilecito, Argentina

    Mariana Musicante & Stephan Halloy

  11. Center for Environmental Policy, Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY, USA

    Anton Seimon

  12. New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries, Wellington, New Zealand

    Stephan Halloy

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  1. Fredrick Ssali
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  2. Badru Mugerwa
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  4. Douglas Sheil
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Contributions

FS, BM, MvH, DS, BK, MM, AS and SH planned and developed the study. FS wrote the first draft; BM, MvH, DS, MM, AS, SH reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Fredrick Ssali.

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Ssali, F., Mugerwa, B., van Heist, M. et al. Plant diversity and composition vary with elevation on two equatorial high mountains in Uganda: baselines for assessing the influence of climate change. Alp Botany 133, 149–161 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-023-00301-9

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