THE PERSISTENCE OF MIOMBO TREE AND SHRUB SPECIES IN LAND UNDER CONTINUOUS CULTIVATION IN TANZANIA

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Abstract
A survey of woody species persisting in cultivated farmland was carried out in Iringa Region in south-west Tanzania. Following a maize (Zea mays) harvest in July, a series of farm plots (5M′5 M) were laid down in cultivated areas close to village centres, where no fallowing had taken place during the past 15 years. Miombo vegetation was dominant in the areas prior to 1974. Nineteen plant families and forty woody species were recorded, the most common species being Randia taylorii S. Moore, Piliostigma thonningii (Schumach) Milne-Redhead, and Aganza garckeana (Hoffm.) Exell and Hille. Few stems were listed with heights above 2 metres, or with diameter values greater than 5 cm dbh. The mean number of woody individuals per plot was 33 (S.E.=5.7) and the mean number of species per plot was nine. Vegetative propagation was most common, in particular root suckering, coppicing, and epicormic sprouting. Suffruticose vegetation was also found. Sixty percent of all species were found to regenerate through more than one mechanism. The diversity and resilience shown by these tree and shrub species highlighted a potential for miombo species in farm-forestry initiatives.