ABC_Mafinga Forest Reserve Vegetation survey

Study Extent

Chitipa town was used as a base because there were no lodging places in Chisenga which necessitated daily travelling for a distance of over 80km to access the Forest reserve. The road from Chitipa town to through Chisenga up to the Malawi/Zambia boarder was used as a base for establishing transects and quadrats.

Sampling

Six transects placed 1km apart and a total of twelve quadrats (20 x 50 m) were established. Experience in a range of countries has shown that observer fatigue increases markedly if plot sizes larger than 40 x 5m are used in complex vegetation – a factor likely to be compounded in rough terrain. Transect and quadrat positions were georeferenced using a GPS.Quadrats were spaced 100m apart. In each quadrat a general list of all plants was done. For tree species DBH and tree height were recorded on a data form

Quality Control

Species which could not be identified had their samples taken for further identification at the National Herbarium in Zomba.

Method steps

1. The road from Chitipa town to through Chisenga up to the Malawi/Zambia boarder was used as a base for establishing transects and quadrats.Six transects placed 1km apart and a total of twelve quadrats (20 x 50 m) were established.

The dataset consists of plant species all identified to species level

1. Apiales
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2. Celestrales
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3. Ericales
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4. Fabales
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5. Gentianales
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6. Malpighiales
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7. Malvales
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8. Myrtales
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9. Proteales
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10. Santanales
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11. Sapindales
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The reserve lies at the border between Malawi and Zambia and is shared between the two countries. It lies on an altitude of 1600-1800m above the sea level.