The implication of Fire on Patterns of Plant Species diversity in Northwest uluguru Nature Forest reserve, Tanzania

Abstract

This study examines the implication of fire on tree species diversity in northwest Uluguru Nature Forest Reserve (UNFR). The study compared tree species diversity between burned and unburned areas, and determined whether burned and unburned areas depicted any variation in stages of succession. Tree species samples were drawn from eighteen stands, and tree species data were ordinate using Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS or NMDS) (PC-ORD version 5.10) to describe relationships (similarity and dissimilarities) between tree species, forest succession, and the effect of fire on tree species. Species richness did not vary significantly between burned and unburned plots. However, species composition was high in burned stands, which contributed to a high basal area in burned stands. Unburned stands had low species composition and low basal area. Fire intolerant tree species dominated unburned areas while species in the burned areas were fire adapted. A few species existed in burned and unburned stands. Trees in burned areas are still at a young succession stage while in unburned stands vegetation development has reached a succession stage that the vegetation is stable with hardwood forest formation. A sustainable management plan for the UNFR must base on empirical data on fire regime variation over space and time.