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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Article
Diversity and Structure of Miombo Woodlands in Mozambique Using a Range of Sampling Sizes
Author(s)
Noé dos Santos Ananias Hofiço1 and Frederico Dimas Fleig2
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DOI:10.17265/2161-6264/2015.10.005
Affiliation(s)
1. Department of Forest Engineering, Faculty of Agronomic Engineering and Forestry, Zambeze University, P.O. Box 49, Mocuba District, Zambézia Province, Mozambique
2. Department of Forest Sciences, Centre of Rural Sciences, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul, P.O. Box 97105-900, Brazil
ABSTRACT
Forest assessments are
essential to understand the tree population structure and diversity status of
forests and to provide information for biodiversity recovery planning.
Unfortunately, the majority of Miombo woodlands in Mozambique lack of inventory
data, and consequently are
often insufficient for management. This study aimed to assess the species
richness, diversity and structure of Miombo woodlands using a range of sampling
sizes in Mocuba district, Mozambique. Plant inventory was carried out in 128
systematically selected sample plots in 71.6 ha, which
was divided into eight treatments,
i.e., T1: 0.1 ha; T2: 0.25 ha; T3:
0.375 ha; T4: 0.5 ha; T5: 0.625 ha; T6: 0.75 ha; T7: 0.875 ha; T8: 1.0 ha, with
16 repetitions. All stems ≥ 10
cm diameter at breast height, and
species name to evaluate the floristic composition,
richness of tree species, diversity and diameter distribution were recorded. A
total of 36,535 individuals were
recorded, belonging 124 species, 83 genera
and representing 31 botanical families. The most
important species was the Brachystegia
spiciformis Benth. and the richest botanical family was Fabaceae. The
forest showed an average of 517 ± 85 trees/ha, and high species diversity and evenness. Analysis of covariance
shows that the intercepts and slope of exponential function for diameter
distribution are not significantly different for the
eight treatments. Compared with the entire composite
forest, inventory means were accurately estimated and size class distributions
were well represented for plots ≤ 0.25 ha, for selecting an efficient sampling
design suited to forest characteristics and the inventory’s purpose.
KEYWORDS
Floristic composition, sampling units, species diversity, size class distribution, Miombo woodlands.
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