Flora and vegetation of Shimba Hills National Reserve in coastal Kenya, including a description (1969) by Richard Estes

@dejong @richardgill @zarek @dianastuder @kai_schablewski @peakaytea @marcoschmidtffm @wasinitourguide @troos @craigpeter @bartwursten

Also see https://www.inaturalist.org/journal/milewski/87034-the-eastern-sable-antelope-hippotragus-niger-roosevelti-part-1-diet-with-special-mention-of-osteophagy#

MAPS OF THE STUDY AREA

http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/shimba-hills-iba-kenya
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/core/lw/2.0/html/tileshop_pmc/tileshop_pmc_inline.html?title=Click%20on%20image%20to%20zoom&p=PMC3&id=5885391_ZoolRes-39-2-97-g001.jpg
https://www.cosy.sbg.ac.at/~zzspri/travels/ShimbaSGWeb/

FLORA

The following is the main reference to the flora of Shimba Hills National Reserve:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232665741_Annotated_checklist_of_the_plants_of_the_Shimba_Hills_Kwale_District_Kenya
https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-east-african-natural-history/volume-94/issue-1/0012-8317_2005_94_5_ACOTPO_2.0.CO_2/ANNOTATED-CHECKLIST-OF-THE-PLANTS-OF-THE-SHIMBA-HILLS-KWALE/10.2982/0012-8317(2005)94[5:ACOTPO]2.0.CO;2.short
https://www.ajol.info/index.php/jeanh/article/view/36541
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ANNOTATED-CHECKLIST-OF-THE-PLANTS-OF-THE-SHIMBA-Luke/c588a47829e8da8373556a8979dd1c25a9132954
https://bioone.org/journals/Journal-of-East-African-Natural-History/volume-94/issue-1/0012-8317(2005)94[5:ACOTPO]2.0.CO;2/ANNOTATED-CHECKLIST-OF-THE-PLANTS-OF-THE-SHIMBA-HILLS-KWALE/10.2982/0012-8317(2005)94[5:ACOTPO]2.0.CO;2.short

The following is a thesis on the topic of the effects of Loxodonta africana on the vegetation:
https://www.proquest.com/openview/4ef00cb565e9d4b4fff45edeedb4f86e/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y#page=52

The following publication is also relevant:
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-0348-7256-0_6

VEGETATION

The following is an electronic record of the writings - now at risk of permanent loss in paper form - of a noteworthy researcher (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Despard_Estes) more than half a century ago.

I refer to pages 4-6 in Estes, Richard D and Estes, Runhild K (1969) The Shimba Hills sable population: First progress report. National Geographic Society, hippotragine antelope study.

'Anon. 1968', 'Glover', and 'Makin' refer to the following:

• Anon. (1968) A reconnaissance inventory survey of the indigenous forest areas of Kenya. Part 2: Shimba Hills sampling unit. Spartan Air Services Limited. Ottawa, Canada. 59 pages.
• Glover P E (1969) Report on an ecological survey of the proposed Shimba Hills National Reserve. East African Wildlife Society. 148 pages.
• Makin J (1968) The soils in the country around Shimba Hills Settlement, Kikoneni and Jombo mountain. Soil Survey Unit, Department of Agriculture, Kenya.

In the following verbatim transcript, I have updated and corrected the scientific names.

DESCRIPTION OF VEGETATION BY ESTES IN 1969:

[start of verbatim transcript]

"The flora of the Shimba Hills is rich and varied. Glover collected over 1000 species in four months. An inventory of trees found in forest reserves (Anon., 1968) lists 109 species of trees.

The Forest Department 1:50,000 map..., prepared from aerial photographs taken in 1964, distinguishes five different vegetation types including...pine plantations. Glover classifies the vegetation into five main types (not counting the plantations) and over 10 subtypes. The types shown on the map are listed below, with brief descriptions of Glover's main subtypes and the commonest species.

FOREST

Glover distinguishes three subtypes:

• Rain forest, containing Chlorophora excelsa (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/924678-Chlorophora-excelsa), Bombax rhodognaphalon (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/340221-Bombax-rhodognaphalon), Julbernardia magnistipulata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julbernardia_magnistipulata), Erythrophleum guineense (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/346619-Erythrophleum-guineense), Combretum schumannii (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/142628-Combretum-schumannii), and many representatives of the Rubiaceae (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=96950&subview=map&taxon_id=47693&view=species). This kind of forest is usually found in areas with over 60 inches of rainfall per annum. It is therefore considered a relic of a formerly wetter climate which is sustained during the dry months by night condensation.
• Riverine forest, containing many of the same species found in the rain forest, plus such specifically riparian trees as Syzygium guineense (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/132507-Syzygium-guineense), Trichilia roka (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/133553-Trichilia-roka), Breonadia salicina (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/429244-Breonadia-salicina) and the palms Raphia farinifera (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/362997-Raphia-farinifera) and Phoenix reclinata (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/166729-Phoenix-reclinata).
• Paramacrolobium/other species forest, associated with excessively acid, silty, imperfectly drained soil surprisingly low in organic matter and deficient in every major nutrient (Makin). Paramacrolobium coeruleum (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/427319-Paramacrolobium-coeruleum) forms nearly pure stands in sandy soils, and is elsewhere associated with Afzelia quanzensis (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/340236-Afzelia-quanzensis), Trichilia roka (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/133553-Trichilia-roka), and Erythrophleum guineense (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/346619-Erythrophleum-guineense), as well as with Brachystegia spiciformis (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/340265-Brachystegia-spiciformis) in some areas. Fairly extensive patches of this kind of forest occur but in the Shimba Hills they occur mainly as small copses, commonly associated with termite mounds, surrounded by grassland.

BUSH

A fairly dense woodland 30-40 feet high with an understorey. This type is common in unburnt, drier areas of the coastal hinterland south and west of the Shimba Hills, but is confined mainly to drainage lines and the northwestern tip of the reserve. A Manilkara (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=7042&subview=map&taxon_id=83912&view=species) is often the dominant tree, with Elaeodendron schweinfurthianum (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1153631-Elaeodendron-schweinfurthianum), Searsia natalensis (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/593902-Searsia-natalensis), Antidesma membranaceum (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/977985-Antidesma-membranaceum), Apodytes dimidiata (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/489301-Apodytes-dimidiata), Zanthoxylum holtzianum (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/340397-Zanthoxylum-holtzianum), Diospyros loureiriana (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/340223-Diospyros-loureiriana), etc.

SECONDARY BUSH

More open, fire-resistant secondary bush has invaded extensive areas of formerly open grassland. The commonest trees and shrubs are Tetracera boiviniana (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1168886-Tetracera-boiviniana), Securidaca longipedunculata (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/593974-Securidaca-longepedunculata), Rourea coccinea ssp. boiviniana (https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:955684-1), Ochna purpurea (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/347708-Ochna-atropurpurea), Ozoroa mucronata (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/591314-Ozoroa-mucronata), Stereospermum kunthianum (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/340263-Stereospermum-kunthianum), Ormocarpum kirkii (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/543377-Ormocarpum-kirkii) and Dichrostachys cinerea (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/129706-Dichrostachys-cinerea).

'Sagebrush': Another type of invading woody growth, composed of Vernonia zanzibarensis (https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77140776-1) and Lantana camara (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50333-Lantana-camara)... is popularly referred to as 'sagebrush'. It forms a dense low shrubby growth which infests a considerable part of the grassland, especially the Forest Department's plantations. While the Lantana is an exotic, Glover points out that Vernonia infestation represents a normal stage in the succession back to forest. As far as is known, neither is used by herbivores, although birds eat the fruits - and spread the seeds - of the Lantana. Both species are vulnerable to fire.

GRASSLAND

The origin of the Shimba Hills grasslands is indeterminate. There is some evidence, in the form of truncated soils, that they represent old cultivation sites maintained by fire, rather than edaphic grasslands created by seasonal waterlogging (Makin; Glover). The invasion of bush and sagebrush in the absence of burning bears out the view that Shimba grasslands are a fire subclimax.

The grassland consists mainly of tufted perennials, separated by bare ground; basal cover averages probably less than 5 percent. While there are many species, tall stalks of Hyparrhenia filipendula (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/587635-Hyparrhenia-filipendula) and Hyperthelia dissoluta (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/208799-Hyperthelia-dissoluta) appear dominant following the long rains unless burnt off during the dry season. Andropogon spp., especially A. dummeri [now synonymjsed with the following sp.] and A. schirensis (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/506838-Andropogon-schirensis), are co-dominant and may actually be more plentiful though less conspicuous. In Makin's (p. 14) view, Andropogon is an 'unpalatable and poorly nutritious grass which characterises burnt-over and infertile soils.' This genus is nevertheless heavily utilised by sable [Hippotragus niger roosevelti] in most of the areas we have investigated. A far more unpalatable grass, which grows in widely separated clumps and dominates on gravelly slopes, is Trachypogon spicatus (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/169858-Trachypogon-spicatus ); neither it nor Cymbopogon caesius (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/461690-Cymbopogon-caesius) ('pepper grass') was ever seen to have been grazed.

The lushest pastures are to be found on the edges of the copses, upon old termite mounds, and growing in depressions. Here Megathyrsus maximus (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1064938-Megathyrsus-maximus), ...Digitaria milanjiana (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/161911-Digitaria-milanjiana, including D. mombasana), Urochloa brizantha (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/279501-Urochloa-brizantha), and Setaria trinervia (https://plants.jstor.org/stable/10.5555/al.ap.flora.flota016251) grow most abundantly, along with Hyparrhenia filipendula. Other common constituents of the open grassland include Eragrostis spp. and Ctenium concinnum (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/131655-Ctenium-concinnum).

In places, especially on ridges, the open grassland is dotted with single trees or clusters of doum palms, in particular the symmetrically branched Hyphaene coriacea (https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/340008-Hyphaene-coriacea)."

[end of verbatim transcript]

SUNDRY PHOTOS OF VEGETATION/SCENERY

https://www.naturephoto-cz.com/shimba-hills-photo-13116.html
https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/photo/international-mountain-day-royalty-free-image/691004949?adppopup=true
https://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/photo/international-mountain-day-royalty-free-image/691004947?adppopup=true
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-ocean-view-viewpoint-shimba-hills-national-reserve-kenya-53905083.html
https://eastafricanjunglesafaris.com/destinations/kenya/shimba-national-reserve/
https://www.tsavonationalparkkenya.com/shimba-hills-national-reserve/
https://www.safaribookings.com/shimba-hills/photos#photo1
https://www.naturephoto-cz.com/shimba-hills-photo-13115.html
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-kenya-kwale-district-shimba-hills-part-of-the-indigenous-coastal-forest-19323666.html?imageid=67DFF7BD-7539-42E3-9869-21EA7EAD5198&p=37852&pn=1&searchId=ec0831021b50b81b318fda704c609283&searchtype=0
https://www.gettyimages.com.au/detail/photo/elephant-in-shimba-hills-royalty-free-image/522107746?phrase=shimba+hills&adppopup=true
https://www.wasilikenyasafaris.com/index.php/kenya-parks/samburu-game-reserve-2
https://www.kws.go.ke/content/shimba-hills-national-reserve
https://www.amboselipark.org/shimba-hills-national-reserve/
https://www.kws.go.ke/content/shimba-hills-national-reserve

Posted on November 28, 2023 01:03 AM by milewski