Rubeho Mountains

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Location of the Rubeho Mountains

The Tanzanian Rubeho Mountains are formed from granite and gneiss blocks and belong to the chain of geologically old (around 200 million years) Eastern Arc Mountains . These bear rainforests that have existed for about 30 million years and are extremely species-rich.

The Rubeho Mountains are located in the border area of ​​the Mpwapwa districts (in the Dodoma region ) and Kilosa ( Morogoro region ) in central Tanzania . They extend between the rivers Mkondoa in the north (06 ° 32'S) and Ruaha in the south (07 ° 34'S) and cover heights of 600 to 2,225 m (400–2,286 m are occasionally mentioned).

They consist of a rugged highland plateau with numerous isolated ridges and blocks, including Mang'alisa, Kiboriani Mountains, Pala-Ulanga and Wota. They are largely forested, 499 km² of the original 788 km² of forest are still preserved.

Protected areas

In the Rubeho Mountains and the Important Bird Area (IBA TZ064) there are three national forest protection areas: Ukwiva (54,635 ha), Mafwemiro (3,238 ha) and Mangalisa (4,988 ha). Ukwiva comprises the main massif and rises from the river valley of the Myombo (at about 1,000 m) to the summit of the Ledengombe at 1,941 m. The western part of the Ukwiva Conservation Area comprises dry mountain forests at 1,600–1,700 m. These are relatively low-growing (10–15 m) and are dominated in the valleys by Macaranga kilimanjarica , a tree-like milkweed plant . The eastern area is much more humid and undisturbed by people.

Mangalisa comprises the high plateau of an isolated mountain block in the basin of the Great Ruaha River.

Mafwemiro is located on the southern foothills of the northwest plateau and 15 km west of the main plateau and reaches an altitude of 2,286 m. The vegetation consists of natural, semi-evergreen forest areas and more disturbed forest areas in the north, as well as mature stone slab forests in the south.

Flora and fauna

The Rubeho Mountains were hardly explored until recently. In recent years two vertebrate species have been discovered / described that can only be found there worldwide: Xenoperdix obscurata ( Rubeho quail ) and Arthroleptis nikeae ( Rubeho squeaker , frog from the long-fingered frog family ). At least eleven other vertebrate species are unique to the Eastern Arc Mountains. So z. B. the mountain galago ( Galagoides orinus ), the Usambara eagle owl ( Bubo vosseleri ) and the chameleon species Bradypodion oxyrhinum and Chamaeleo werneri . Large mammals such as the African elephant and African buffalo live in the Ukwiva Sanctuary, at least some of them migrate annually between the forests of the Rubeho Mountains and the Mikumi National Park . The red duiker ( Cephalophus natalensis ) occurs in Mangalisa. Investigations on invertebrates and more precise surveys of the flora have not yet been carried out (as of 2006).

Danger

About 37% of the original forests were lost in the Rubeho Mountains, this loss is significantly less than in the other massifs of the Eastern Arc Mountains . The remaining forests are partially affected by fire, conversion to farmland (growing beans and tobacco), logging, and hunting camps. Elephants are poached for both meat and ivory.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund, Tanzania ( Memento of February 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved January 11, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Nike Doggart, Andrew Perkin, Jacob Kiure, Jon Fjeldså, John Poynton & Neil Burgess (2006): Changing places: how the results of new field work in the Rubeho Mountains influence conservation priorities in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. Afr. J. Ecol. 44: 134-144. pdf
  3. ↑ a b c d TZ064 Rubeho Mountains Rubeho Mountains at birdlife.org. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  4. ^ Eastern Arc Mountains Conservation Endowment Fund, Tanzania ( Memento of February 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ). Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  5. ↑ a b W. D. Newmark (2002): Conserving Biodiversity in East African Forests. Springer, ISSN  0070-8356 .

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