Expedition no. 31: Field trip to Zomba and Mount Magorogodo, Chimanimani Transfrontier Conservation Area : 20 Oct 2013-01 Nov 2013

Report of a field trip to Mozambique undertaken by Stefaan Dondeyne, Bart Wursten, Karel Deconinck and lecturers and students from the ISPM in Chimoio.

Photo: Stefaan Dondeyne
Walking through Zomba towards lower Chimanimani Mountains

Photo: Stefaan Dondeyne
Trekking to the swamp towards the Pandanus forest

Photo: Stefaan Dondeyne
ISPN colleagues setting out a survey plot

Photo: Stefaan Dondeyne
Studying a soil profile pit in Zomba forest

Photo: Bart Wursten
Map showing the locations of the survey plots

Photo: Bart Wursten
Crossing the Musapa River towards Zomba

Photo: Bart Wursten
Camp at Magorogodo

Generate a list of species for Expedition no. 31

Description

From October 20 to November 1 2013 another field trip was undertaken by Stefaan Dondeyne, research associate at KU Leuven, who has a long term involvement with the Chimanimani Transfrontier Conservation Area, together with Bart Wursten, collaborator at the Botanic Garden of Meise, Belgium and co-author of the Online Mozambique Flora website, and Karel Deconinck lecturer of KU Leuven, campus Geel (former KHKempen). We were accompanied by several lecturers and students from ISPM (Instituto Superior Politécnico de Manica based in Chimoio). This trip is a follow-up mission on the previous mission, conducted in Sep 2012 by Bart Wursten and Stefaan Dondeyne to Moribane Forest (see outing no 18).

This time the less accessible part of the forested areas in the community land of Zomba was investigated. We spent six days in Zomba community where we took vegetation records and in three plots. One plots was chosen in a forest around Chief Zomba homestead; two were taken on Mount Magorogodo, a foothill of the Chimanimani Mts. All of the plots were in evergreen forests with Newtonia buchananii as dominant canopy tree. Girth at breast height and tree height were measured to estimate biomass volume; soil profile pits were described and sampled and core samples of the surface soil (0-25 cm) were taken for determining bulk density and organic carbon content. Core samples from the topsoil were also taken from one agricultural field, for comparison with the forest.

Soil samples were taken to Belgium for the laboratory analysis, while vouchers of plant specimens and leaf samples in silicagel were taken for reference and identification at the Botanic Garden in Meise (BR).

Nearly 800 new records were added to the database of the Online Mozambique Flora, many with voucher specimens and images, including a number of new additions My gratitude goes out again to Stefaan Dondeyne for allowing me to be part of this fieldtrip and to both Stefaan and the Botanic Garden Meise in Belgium for the logistic and financial support.

Bart Wursten