Abstract
Study sites from various tree savannas and miombo woodland with adjacentareas with different herbivore species (game and cattle) and stocking rates wereselected from around Zimbabwe. Using the fence-lines separating the adjacentareas, 60 m2 plots were placed on both sides of thefence at 18 randomly chosen positions. The identity and number of plants of eachwoody species were recorded in paired 60 m2 plots. Therewere no significant differences in the woody species richness between pairedplots for any of the fence-line contrasts. For only two of the fence-linecontrasts were there significant differences (P < 0.05)in the relative abundance of woody species. For the first fence-line contrast,the stocking rates were the same, but the herbivore species present weredifferent, while for the second fence-line contrast, the numbers of herbivorespecies present were the same, but the stocking rates differed. Even thoughthere were no differences in the numbers of woody plant species present, therewere differences in the woody plant species and the numbers of plants of eachspecies: the second most common species was different for three fence-linecontrasts and the third most common species was different for four fence-linecontrasts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Belsky A.J. 1984. Role of small browsing mammals in preventing woodland regeneration in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 22: 271–279.
Clatworthy J.N. 1989. A review of rangeland utilization trials in Zimbabwe, 1970 to 1985. In: Maclaurin A.R. and Maasdorp B.V. (eds), Rangeland Potential in the SADCC Region, Proceedings of a Regional Workshop, Bulawayo. Ministry of Lands, Agriculture and Rural Resettlement, Harare, Zimbabwe 1–5 June, 1987, pp. 225–243.
Cumming D.H.M. 1982. The influence of large herbivores on savanna structure in Africa. In: Huntley B.J. and Walker B.H. (eds), Ecological Studies. Ecology of Tropical Savannas Vol. 42. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Germany, pp. 217–245.
Cumming D.H.M. 1990. How do single-and multi-species large herbivore communities influence savanna structure and function? A note on hypotheses Annual Report 1990. WWF Multispecies Animal Production Systems Project, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Cumming D.H.M., Fenton B.F., Rautenbach I.L., Taylor R.D., Cumming G.S., Cumming M.S. et al. 1997. Elephants, woodlands and biodiversity in southern Africa. South African Journal of Science 93: 231–236.
de Jager P. 1988. Environmental Degradation in Communal Land, M.Sc. Thesis in Tropical Resource Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Drummond R.B. 1975. A list of trees, shrubs and woody climbers indigeneous or naturalised in Rhodesia. Kirkia 10: 229–285.
Ford A.G. 1987. Changes in Vegetation Structure and Soil Conditions in Miombo Woodland, in the Sengwa Region, Zimbabwe, B.Sc. Thesis (Honours) in Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Kelly R.D. and Walker B.H. 1976. The effects of different forms of land-use in the ecology of a semi-arid region in South-eastern Rhodesia. Journal of Ecology 64: 553–576.
Kennan T.C.D. 1969. A review of research into the cattle–grass relationship in Rhodesia Proceedings of Veld Management Conference, Bulawayo. The Government Printer, Salisbury, Rhodesia, pp. 5–26.
Ludwig J.A. and Reynolds J.F. 1988. Statistical Ecology: A Primer on Methods and Computing. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Mackie C. 1976. Feeding habits of the hippopotamus in the Lundi River, Rhodesia. Arnoldia (Rhodesia) 7: 1–16.
Martin R.B., Craig G.C. and Booth V.R. 1996. Elephant management in Zimbabwe. 3rd edn. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Mueller-Dombois D. and Ellenburg H. 1974. Aims and Methods inVegetation Ecology. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Munzwa J. 1982. Geology and geography. Land-use survey of the Upper Hunyani Catchment. In: Thornton J.A. (ed.), Lake McIlwaine, the Eutrophication and Recovery of a Tropical African Lake. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague, the Netherlands.
O'Connor T.G. 1982. Hippopotamus-habitat relationships on the Lundi River, Gonarezhou National Park, M.Sc. Thesis in Tropical Resource Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
O'Neill R.V., DeAngelis D.L., Waide J.B. and Allen T.F.H. 1986. A Hierarchical Concept of Ecosystems. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
Owen-Smith N. and Cooper S.M. 1987. Palatability of woody plants to browsing ruminants in a South African savanna. Ecology 68: 319–331.
Peterson G., Allen C.R. and Holling C.S. 1998. Ecological resilience, biodiversity and scale. Ecosystems 1: 6–18.
Richardson-Kageler S.J. 1999. The Influence of Large Herbivore Diversity onWoody Plant Diversity in Zimbabwe, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Richardson-Kageler S.J. 2001. Some vegetation characteristics of natural savanna ecosystems with different herbivore species in Zimbabwe. Rostlinná výroba 47: 393–398.
Siegel S. 1956. Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioural Sciences. McGraw-Hill Kogakusha, Tokyo.
Smart N.O.E., Hatton J.C. and Spence D.H.N. 1985. The effect of long-term exclusion of large herbivores on vegetation in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Biological Conservation 33: 229–245.
Taylor R.D. 1974. A Comparative Study of Land-use on a Cattle and Game Ranch in the Rhodesian Lowveld, M.Sc. Thesis, University of Rhodesia, Salisbury, Rhodesia.
Taylor R.D. and Child B.A. 1986. Preliminary report on the results of the 1986 survey of Buffalo Range Ranch. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, Harare, Zimbabwe.
Thompson J.G. 1965. The soils of Rhodesia and their classification. Rhodesia Agricultural Journal, Technical Bulletin 6: 1–66.
Walker B.H. 1980. A review of browse and its role in livestock production in southern Africa. In: Le Houerou H.N. (ed.), Browse in Africa. The Current State of Knowledge. ILCA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, pp. 7–24.
Walker B.H. 1989. Diversity and stability in ecosystem conservation. In: Western D. and Pearl M. (eds), Conservation for the 21st Century. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 121–130.
Wild H. and Fernandes A. 1967. Vegetation Map of the Flora Zambesiaca Area. Flora Zambesiaca (supplement). M.O. Collins (Pvt) Ltd, Salisbury, Rhodesia.
Yeaton R.I. 1988. Porcupines, fires and the dynamics of the tree layer of the Burkea africana savanna. Journal of Ecology 76: 1017–1029.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Richardson-Kageler, S.J. Large mammalian herbivores and woody plant species diversity in Zimbabwe. Biodiversity and Conservation 12, 703–715 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022468827768
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022468827768