Field research on Kilimanjaro

Interview with Dr. Claudia Hemp and PD Dr. Andreas Hemp from the Department of Plant Systematics at the University of Bayreuth: They are members of the DFG-funded research network "Kili-SES", which analyzes the interactions between humans and nature in the Kilimanjaro region, and jointly manage the Nkweseko research station on the southern slope of Mount Kilimanjaro. Dr. Claudia Hemp is also a researcher at the Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research.

Recently, pictures of a major fire on Kilimanjaro went around the world. Were the forest areas there severely damaged?

Andreas Hemp: This fire affected about 25 square kilometers of scrubland, but hardly any forest areas, so in this respect one cannot speak of a severe forest fire. The fires broke out in the subalpine zone, i.e. in the transitional area between the mountain forests at 3,000 meters above sea level and the alpine zone above 4,000 meters. This vegetation belt is nowadays covered by a low-growing shrub formation formed mainly by Erica shrubs. These shrubs are very flammable.

Was your research on Kilimanjaro also affected?

Claudia Hemp: We don't know anything for sure yet, but it is possible that two of our research areas with their climate measuring stations burned down. This would be very unfortunate for us, but on the other hand it could open up the possibility of studying the regeneration of vegetation after such events in more detail. We have also been doing this since 2020 after the large bushfire on the eastern slope of Kilimanjaro that destroyed three of our study sites.

Do we already know more about the causes of the forest fire? Is it to be feared that such forest fires will occur more frequently as a result of climate changes in East Africa?

A.H.: It is quite certain that the fire was caused by human carelessness. Human activities, especially tourism, but also poaching and honey gathering, are causing such fires more and more often. At the same time, humidity and rainfall are decreasing in the high altitudes of Kilimanjaro, which is also reflected in the shrinking of the glaciers. Due to this interplay of direct anthropogenic influences, a drier climate, and very flammable vegetation, fires in the high altitudes of Kilimanjaro have become more frequent and devastating in recent decades. However, the fires of the last two years "only" affected scrublands on former forest areas that burned several decades ago. In this respect, the ecological damage is less today. However, these renewed fires set back the regeneration of the forest by several decades.

Recently, you conducted a field training for East African students at the Nkweseko research station for several weeks. This scientific training was part of the CONTAN project, which the Chair of Plant Systematics at the University of Bayreuth launched in January 2021 together with partners from Denmark and Italy. What is this project about?

C.H.: Tanzania has a strong ecological and economic interest in preserving biodiversity in its large-scale nature reserves. However, the development and implementation of appropriate concepts requires well-trained specialists in the country. This is where the CONTAN project comes in, which is funded by the European Union from the Erasmus+ programme with more than 700,000 euros. It is primarily concerned with the development of new study programmes at universities in East Africa, the establishment of an e-learning infrastructure and the organization of practical field work, as we recently organized from our research station on Kilimanjaro. Over a three-week period, we mentored more than 100 participants studying at three Tanzanian educational institutions: the University of Dar es Salaam, Sokoine University of Agriculture, and Mweka College of African Wildlife Management. The field training has provided these students with many opportunities to deepen the agricultural and ecological knowledge they have acquired in their studies and to apply it directly in the field. The region around Mount Kilimanjaro, with its diverse vegetation zones and habitats, is an excellent terrain for such studies.

What was the focus of the three-week programme in terms of content?

C.H.: It was a very diverse study programme in terms of subject matter. Professor Dr. Sigrid Liede-Schumann, who holds the chair for plant systematics at the University of Bayreuth, led a seminar on plant taxonomy and biodiversity monitoring. Here, for example, the students learned how to describe a new plant species with scientific precision. Especially in the East African mountain regions, it is not uncommon to find plants that cannot be clearly assigned to any already known species at first glance. Then, of course, it is important to be able to use established scientific methods to determine whether it really is a new species.

A.H.: All in all, our course programme was a mixture of tried and tested and highly topical methods of biodiversity recording. Already in July of this year, Dr. Pekka Hurskainen from the Finnish Environment Institute visited Tanzania and taught the students at the three partner universities about applications of geographic information systems – especially with the aim of being able to record landscape changes over longer periods of time.

Did you also teach courses yourself?

A.H.: Yes, for example, during field training I showed the students how to set up ecological study plots, how to record vegetation using a special method – the Braun-Blanquet method –, how to measure tree heights, and how to record and analyze climate data. This on-site teaching complemented well with a lecture by Petr Blazek, who had come from the Czech Republic from the research institute IFER – Monitoring and Mapping Solutions: He presented the software "field map", which makes it possible without too much technical effort to precisely calculate the biomass and carbon storage of any area covered with trees.

C.H.: The study programme also included several field trips. I led groups of students to savanna habitats around Lake Chala on eastern Kilimanjaro. One focus was systematic principles and techniques of entomology, which are essential for biodiversity monitoring in East Africa. Students trapped and scientifically identified millipedes, grasshoppers, and other arthropods themselves. During the field training, we were particularly impressed with the vehicle provided by the College of Wildlife Management Mweka for the field trips.

What is your conclusion after this intensive field training?

C.H.: The students participated in all seminars, workshops and field trips not only with great technical interest, but were also personally very committed. Last but not least, the many conversations and discussions outside of the study programme, for example at meals together, contributed to a very lively exchange. We are very pleased that we were able to further strengthen the cooperation with our Tanzanian university and research partners in this way.

A.H.: We will continue to stay in contact with the student participants: they are the future generation of scientifically trained professionals that East Africa urgently needs so that sustainable solutions can be developed for the emerging ecological and economic challenges in the region.