Kibale National Park
Encyclopedia
Kibale National Park is a national park
in South Uganda
protecting moist evergreen rain forest. It is 766 km^2 in size and is located between 1100 and 1600 meters in elevation. Despite encompassing primarily moist evergreen forest, it contains a diverse array of landscapes (McGrew, 1996). Kibale is one of the last remaining expanses to contain both lowland and montane forests. In East Africa, it sustains the last significant expanse of pre-montane forest (Moukaddem, 2011). The park was gazetted in 1932 and formally establied in 1993 to protect a large area of forest previously managed as a logged Forest Reserve. The park forms a continuous forest with Queen Elizabeth National Park
. This adjoining of the parks creates a 180 km (111 mi.) wildlife corridor. It is an important eco-tourism and safari
destination, popular for its population of habituated chimpanzee
s and 12 other species of primates. It is also the location of the Makerere University
Biological Field Station (MUBFS).
and Kamwenge
, approximately 320 kilometres (198.8 mi), by road, west of Kampala
, Uganda's capital and largest city. Fort Portal
in Kabarole District
is the nearest large city to the national park. The coordinates of the park are:00 30N, 30 24E (Latitude:0.5000; Longitude:30.4000).
and semi-deciduous
forest. Much of the forest was logged
during its time as a Forest Reserve, and some exotic species
of trees were planted in plantations (pines and eucalyptus). Since the national park was gazetted many of these introduced trees have been removed and logging has ended.
There are 13 species of primates in Kibale National Park. The park protects a well studied habituated population of Common Chimpanzee
, as well as several species of Central African monkey including the Uganda Mangabey
(Lophocebus ugandae), the Ugandan Red Colobus
(Procolobus tephrosceles)and the L'Hoest's Monkey
. Other primates that are found in the park include the black (Colobus satanas) colobus and the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) (Lilieholm 1997). The park's population of elephant
s travels between the park and Queen Elizabeth National Park. Other terrestrial mammals that are found within Kibale National Park include red and blue duikers, bushpigs, warthogs, and buffalo. The carnivores that are present include leopard
s, bushpig
s, three species of duiker
and two species of otter
. In addition, lions visit the park on occasion (Lilieholm 1197).
Bird life is also prolific. The park boasts 325 sited species of birds, including the olive long-tailed cuckoo, Western Green tinkerbird, (Lilieholm 1997), two species of pittas (African and Green-breasted) and African Grey Parrots. The ground thrush (Turdus kibalensis) is endemic to Kibale National Park (Lilieholm 1997).
Chapman and Lambert (2000) found that some species of primates are found less frequently in logged areas but others were unaffected. This study helps reveal the importance of stopping logging in certain regions of Kibale National Forest. The species from the study are shown below. These species densities show the effect of logging on each separate species:
* Heavily Logged areas:
* Unlogged areas:
Another study conducted by Chapman and her colleagues in 2000 showed that many species of primates returned and came back to their original densities in lightly logged forest but in the heavily logged forest primates species were not able to recover. This study helps support that Kibale National Forest needs to develop a light logging system different from their heavily logging system they conduct now.
A verified carbon standard project entitled “Natural High Forest Rehabilitation Project on Degraded Land of Kibale National Park” has been implemented in the park by Uganda Wildlife Authority in cooperation with Face the Future. According to the proposal, the project aims to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change through forest regeneration and tree planting on the degraded lands within Kibale National Park. Some of the project objectives include the restoration of degraded forest ecosystems, enhanced biodiversity conservation, prevention of soil erosion, education of and employment opportunities for local communities, and the regeneration of vegetation on the edge of forest areas to act as a buffer to interior forests. The project proposes to achieve these objectives through the reforestation of 6.213 ha within the park utilizing indigenous species including Albizzia quimmifera, Bridelia micrantha, and Croton megalocarpus. Seedlings of these species will be obtained from within the park, grown in nurseries, and purchased from local growers before being transplanted in the degraded landscape.
Forestry Research in the Park
Many studies have been conducted within the park to assess the factors influencing forest regeneration and forest management techniques. One such study’s results suggested that forest restoration could be achieved through preventing fires within the park and allowing natural succession to occur so that the grasslands formed due to human activity could naturally regenerate to forests (Lwanga 2003). The results showed that plots within the park that had the longest history of fire exclusion had the highest species diversity of trees. Furthermore, species of trees that required animal dispersal of their seeds were far more abundant than non-animal dispersed species in the plot with the longest duration of fire exclusion. This suggests that seed dispersing animals were also more abundant in areas where fire was excluded. Lastly, the presence of seed dispersers and animal dispersed species of trees in some grassland plots suggest that suppressing fire and allowing natural seed dispersal to occur can encourage forest regeneration (Lwanga, 2003). Another study evaluated the use of exotic pine and cypress tree plantations as a forest restoration technique within the park. This study showed a high level of natural regeneration of indigenous trees within pine plantations most likely due to the use of these plantations by seed dispersing animals such as redtail monkeys, chimpanzees, duikers, and bushpigs, all of which were sited or tracked within the plantations (Chapman 1996).
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
in South Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
protecting moist evergreen rain forest. It is 766 km^2 in size and is located between 1100 and 1600 meters in elevation. Despite encompassing primarily moist evergreen forest, it contains a diverse array of landscapes (McGrew, 1996). Kibale is one of the last remaining expanses to contain both lowland and montane forests. In East Africa, it sustains the last significant expanse of pre-montane forest (Moukaddem, 2011). The park was gazetted in 1932 and formally establied in 1993 to protect a large area of forest previously managed as a logged Forest Reserve. The park forms a continuous forest with Queen Elizabeth National Park
Queen Elizabeth National Park
-Location:The national park is located in western Uganda, spanning the districts of Kasese, Kamwenge, Bushenyi and Rukungiri. Its location is approximately , by road, southwest of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city. The town of Kasese lies just outside the northeastern edge of the park,...
. This adjoining of the parks creates a 180 km (111 mi.) wildlife corridor. It is an important eco-tourism and safari
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
destination, popular for its population of habituated chimpanzee
Chimpanzee
Chimpanzee, sometimes colloquially chimp, is the common name for the two extant species of ape in the genus Pan. The Congo River forms the boundary between the native habitat of the two species:...
s and 12 other species of primates. It is also the location of the Makerere University
Makerere University
Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...
Biological Field Station (MUBFS).
Location
Kibale National Park is located in the districts of KabaroleKabarole District
Kabarole District is a district in Western Uganda. Kabarole District is part of the Kingdom of Toro, one of the traditional monarchies that are constitutionally recognised in modern-day Uganda. The kingdom is coterminus with Toro sub-region...
and Kamwenge
Kamwenge District
Kamwenge District is a district in Western Uganda. Like most other Ugandan districts, it is named after its 'chief town', Kamwenge, where the district headquarters are located. Kamwenge District is part of the Kingdom of Toro, one of the ancient traditional monarchies in Uganda...
, approximately 320 kilometres (198.8 mi), by road, west of Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
, Uganda's capital and largest city. Fort Portal
Fort Portal
Fort Portal is a town in Western Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and Toro Kingdom.-Location:Fort Portal is located approximately by road, west of Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city, on an all-tarmac two-lane highway...
in Kabarole District
Kabarole District
Kabarole District is a district in Western Uganda. Kabarole District is part of the Kingdom of Toro, one of the traditional monarchies that are constitutionally recognised in modern-day Uganda. The kingdom is coterminus with Toro sub-region...
is the nearest large city to the national park. The coordinates of the park are:00 30N, 30 24E (Latitude:0.5000; Longitude:30.4000).
Locals and the Park
Two major tribes, the Batooro and Bakiga, inhabit the area around the park. They use the park for food, fuel, and other resources with the help of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (Hance, 2010). In the last century, the population around the park has increased by sevenfold. This is speculated to be because the park directly brings in revenue for those living around it and the tourism industry creates jobs. In addition, many farmers believe that the soil is better for growing crops year round. This increase in the population has caused the area around the park to be divided and developed or turned into plantations and farmland. This fragmentation of the area outside the park has begun to affect the biodiversity inside the park (Hance, 2010).Biodiversity
Kibale National Forest has one of the highest diversity and concentration of primates in Africa. It is home to a large number of endangered chimpanzees, as well as the red colobus monkey (status: Threatened) and the rare L'Hoest’s monkey (Hance 2010). The park is also home to over 325 species of birds, 4 wild fellids, 13 species of primates, a total of at least 60 other species of mammals, and over 250 tree species. The predominant ecosystem in Kibale is moist evergreenEvergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
and semi-deciduous
Deciduous
Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
forest. Much of the forest was logged
Forestry
Forestry is the interdisciplinary profession embracing the science, art, and craft of creating, managing, using, and conserving forests and associated resources in a sustainable manner to meet desired goals, needs, and values for human benefit. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands...
during its time as a Forest Reserve, and some exotic species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
of trees were planted in plantations (pines and eucalyptus). Since the national park was gazetted many of these introduced trees have been removed and logging has ended.
Fauna
Common Chimpanzee
The common chimpanzee , also known as the robust chimpanzee, is a great ape. Colloquially, the common chimpanzee is often called the chimpanzee , though technically this term refers to both species in the genus Pan: the common chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo, formerly called the pygmy...
, as well as several species of Central African monkey including the Uganda Mangabey
Uganda Mangabey
The Uganda mangabey is a species of Old World monkey found only in Uganda. This crested mangabey was previously thought to be just be a population of the grey-cheeked mangabey . Colin Groves upgraded the Ugandan population into the new species L. ugandae on February 16, 2007...
(Lophocebus ugandae), the Ugandan Red Colobus
Ugandan Red Colobus
The Ugandan red colobus is a species of red colobus monkey found in forests of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and western Tanzania. It has been considered a subspecies of P. badius, and later a subspecies of P. foai. It was recognised as a distinct species by Groves in 2001, while others have suggested...
(Procolobus tephrosceles)and the L'Hoest's Monkey
L'Hoest's Monkey
L'Hoest's monkey , or mountain monkey, is a guenon found in the upper eastern Congo basin. They mostly live in mountainous forest areas in small, female-dominated groups...
. Other primates that are found in the park include the black (Colobus satanas) colobus and the blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) (Lilieholm 1997). The park's population of elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s travels between the park and Queen Elizabeth National Park. Other terrestrial mammals that are found within Kibale National Park include red and blue duikers, bushpigs, warthogs, and buffalo. The carnivores that are present include leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s, bushpig
Bushpig
The bushpig, Potamochoerus larvatus, is a member of the pig family and lives in forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and reedbeds in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduced populations are also present in Madagascar and the Comoros archipelago. Bushpigs are mainly nocturnal. There are...
s, three species of duiker
Duiker
A duiker is any of about 21 small to medium-sized antelope species from the subfamily Cephalophinae native to Sub-Saharan Africa.Duikers are shy and elusive creatures with a fondness for dense cover; most are forest dwellers and even the species living in more open areas are quick to disappear...
and two species of otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
. In addition, lions visit the park on occasion (Lilieholm 1197).
Bird life is also prolific. The park boasts 325 sited species of birds, including the olive long-tailed cuckoo, Western Green tinkerbird, (Lilieholm 1997), two species of pittas (African and Green-breasted) and African Grey Parrots. The ground thrush (Turdus kibalensis) is endemic to Kibale National Park (Lilieholm 1997).
Primates
Primates are very common in Kibale National Forest. The forest has some of the highest abundances of species of primates in the area. There are many species of primates and these species persist in the less disturbed areas of the forest in their natural habitats. There are disturbances that are hindering some of these species.Disturbance Effects on Primates
Many studies have been conducted to determine the effect of different disturbances on primates. Many of these studies have found that there is a decline in the amount of primates in differently disturbed regions. One study found that there was a reduction in primate number but that primate abundance was still high in the remaining forest of the southern corridor (Chapman and Lambert 2000). Some disturbances studied have been commercial logging, degraded agricultural lands, and fragmented forest. All of these studies showed that there is a wide variety of primates affected by different disturbances, and some are not affected by any. In all of the cases it shows that because of the variable effects on different species that all forms of human disturbance should be as minimal as possible, at least until further studies have been conducted to know the full effects of these disturbances.Logging Effects on Primates
Logging effects have been studied specifically by a few people. Most studies find that logging seems to be having a negative effect on the species but there are some contradictions with that data and because of those contradictions and holes minimal logging should be done.Chapman and Lambert (2000) found that some species of primates are found less frequently in logged areas but others were unaffected. This study helps reveal the importance of stopping logging in certain regions of Kibale National Forest. The species from the study are shown below. These species densities show the effect of logging on each separate species:
* Heavily Logged areas:
* Found in lower densities: Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), Redtails (Cercopithecus ascanius)
* Found in mixed densities: Red colobus (Procolobus badius), Black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza)
* Unlogged areas:
* Found in mixed densities: Red colobus (Procolobus badius), Black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza)
Another study conducted by Chapman and her colleagues in 2000 showed that many species of primates returned and came back to their original densities in lightly logged forest but in the heavily logged forest primates species were not able to recover. This study helps support that Kibale National Forest needs to develop a light logging system different from their heavily logging system they conduct now.
Degraded Agricultural Lands Effect on Primates
Degraded lands occur when land is cleared for agriculture and then abandoned after a few years. These lands are coming back at different rates and some are showing no possibility of re-growth. The effect these lands have on primates is still slightly unknown but some studies have started weeding out answers. One study found that most species of primates were found evenly distributed throughout the entire forest, whether there was agriculture encroachment or not (Chapman and Lambert 2000).Fragmentation Effects on Primates
Fragmentation happens when a forest or habitat is broken into patches by outside disturbances. A fragmentation study done by Onderdonk and Chapman in 2000 showed an overall non-generalization on primates within fragments on the edge of Kibale National Forest. The species found in the fragments highlighted by the study are shown below. These species distributions show how fragmentation is affecting each species:* Found in almost all fragments: Black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza), Red-tailed guenons (Cercopithecus ascanius)
* Found in some fragments: Pennant’s red colobus (Procolobus pennantii), Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
* Found in no fragments: Blue monkeys (Cercopithecus mitis), Gray-cheeked mangabeys (Lophocebus albigena)
Diet of Primates in Kibale National Park
Different species have different diets and many of the species are folivorous. One study actually found that black-and-white colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza) eat younger leaves over older leaves (this is thought to happen because the leaves have more protein and are easier to digest) (Chapman et al. 2004).Flora
There are approximately 229 species of trees found within the moist tropical forests of the park. Some endangered timber species of trees include Cordia millenii, Entandrophragma angolense, and Lovoa swynnertonnii. The forest understory is dominated by shade-tolerant shrubs and herbs, which include Palisota schweinfurthii and Pollia condensate, in addition to ferns and broad leaf grasses (Lilieholm 1997).Forest Management
Reforestation EffortsA verified carbon standard project entitled “Natural High Forest Rehabilitation Project on Degraded Land of Kibale National Park” has been implemented in the park by Uganda Wildlife Authority in cooperation with Face the Future. According to the proposal, the project aims to sequester carbon and mitigate climate change through forest regeneration and tree planting on the degraded lands within Kibale National Park. Some of the project objectives include the restoration of degraded forest ecosystems, enhanced biodiversity conservation, prevention of soil erosion, education of and employment opportunities for local communities, and the regeneration of vegetation on the edge of forest areas to act as a buffer to interior forests. The project proposes to achieve these objectives through the reforestation of 6.213 ha within the park utilizing indigenous species including Albizzia quimmifera, Bridelia micrantha, and Croton megalocarpus. Seedlings of these species will be obtained from within the park, grown in nurseries, and purchased from local growers before being transplanted in the degraded landscape.
Forestry Research in the Park
Many studies have been conducted within the park to assess the factors influencing forest regeneration and forest management techniques. One such study’s results suggested that forest restoration could be achieved through preventing fires within the park and allowing natural succession to occur so that the grasslands formed due to human activity could naturally regenerate to forests (Lwanga 2003). The results showed that plots within the park that had the longest history of fire exclusion had the highest species diversity of trees. Furthermore, species of trees that required animal dispersal of their seeds were far more abundant than non-animal dispersed species in the plot with the longest duration of fire exclusion. This suggests that seed dispersing animals were also more abundant in areas where fire was excluded. Lastly, the presence of seed dispersers and animal dispersed species of trees in some grassland plots suggest that suppressing fire and allowing natural seed dispersal to occur can encourage forest regeneration (Lwanga, 2003). Another study evaluated the use of exotic pine and cypress tree plantations as a forest restoration technique within the park. This study showed a high level of natural regeneration of indigenous trees within pine plantations most likely due to the use of these plantations by seed dispersing animals such as redtail monkeys, chimpanzees, duikers, and bushpigs, all of which were sited or tracked within the plantations (Chapman 1996).