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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Correlations among species distributions, human density and human infrastructure across the high biodiversity tropical mountains of Africa
Biological Conservation, Volume 134, No. 2, Year 2007
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Description
This paper explores whether spatial variation in the biodiversity values of vertebrates and plants (species richness, range-size rarity and number or proportion of IUCN Red Listed threatened species) of three African tropical mountain ranges (Eastern Arc, Albertine Rift and Cameroon-Nigeria mountains within the Biafran Forests and Highlands) co-vary with proxy measures of threat (human population density and human infrastructure). We find that species richness, range-size rarity, and threatened species scores are all significantly higher in these three tropical African mountain ranges than across the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. When compared with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, human population density is only significantly higher in the Albertine Rift mountains, whereas human infrastructure is only significantly higher in the Albertine Rift and the Cameroon-Nigeria mountains. Statistically there are strong positive correlations between human density and species richness, endemism and density or proportion of threatened species across the three tropical African mountain ranges, and all of sub-Saharan Africa. Kendall partial rank-order correlation shows that across the African tropical mountains human population density, but not human infrastructure, best correlates with biodiversity values. This is not the case across all of sub-Saharan Africa where human density and human infrastructure both correlate almost equally well with biodiversity values. The primary conservation challenge in the African tropical mountains is a fairly dense and poor rural population that is reliant on farming for their livelihood. Conservation strategies have to address agricultural production and expansion, in some cases across the boundaries and into existing reserves. Strategies also have to maintain, or finalise, an adequate protected area network. Such strategies cannot be implemented in conflict with the local population, but have to find ways to provide benefits to the people living adjacent to the remaining forested areas, in return for their assistance in conserving the forest habitats, their biodiversity, and their ecosystem functions. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Authors & Co-Authors
Burgess, Neil David
United States, Washington, D.c.
Conservation Science Program
Tanzania
Conservation and Management of the Eastern Arc Mountain Forests
United Kingdom, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Balmford, Andrew P.
United Kingdom, Cambridge
University of Cambridge
Cordeiro, Norbert J.
United States, Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
United States, Chicago
Field Museum of Natural History
Tanzania, Arusha
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute
Fjeldsã, Jon
Denmark, Copenhagen
Statens Naturhistoriske Museum
Küper, Wolfgang
Germany, Bonn
Universität Bonn
Rahbek, Carsten
Denmark, Copenhagen
Københavns Universitet
Sanderson, Eric W.
United States, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society
Scharlemann, Jörn P.W.
United Kingdom, Oxford
University of Oxford
Sommer, Jan Henning
Germany, Bonn
Universität Bonn
Williams, Paul Hugh
United Kingdom, London
The Natural History Museum, London
Statistics
Citations: 144
Authors: 10
Affiliations: 12
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1016/j.biocon.2006.08.024
ISSN:
00063207
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study
Study Locations
Cameroon
Nigeria