Author(s)

Ladislaus W. Kahana^1*, Gerard Malan², Teresa J. Sylvina^1,3

¹College of African Wildlife Management Mweka, Moshi, Tanzania.
²Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa.
³Bush-To-Base Solutions, Inc., Christiansburg, VA, USA.

The aim of the study was to compare glade and forest-glade edge plant community attributes for man-made, upper and lower natural glades. Two plots were set up in twelve glades at 2.5, 12.5 m and three plots in thirteen glades at 2.5, 12.5 and 22.5 m depending on the size of the glade. The results showed that plants total abundance, percentage basal cover, species richness and species diversity for upper and lower natural glades differed significantly p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively and species diversity for man-made glades p < 0.001. Plant species abundance, richness and diversity were highest at the forest-glade edge and decreased towards the glade interior. Plant species composition of the three glades types differed significantly (MRPP: T = -4.51, p < 0.001 and A = 0.17). Grasses’ total abundance and species richness and forbs species diversity differed significantly for man-made glades p < 0.01. For upper natural glades, grasses species richness was highly significant p < 0.001 while for forbs species richness and diversity were significant P < 0.01. Lower natural glades grasses and forbs’ total abundance, species richness and species diversity differed significantly p < 0.01 and p < 0.001 respectively. Growth forms in the lower natural glades were associated with the forest-glade edge or glade interior χ² = 15.95, df = 4, p < 0.01. Five species (Eleusine jaegeri, Heterogon contortus, Senna mimisoides, Digitaria scalarum, Clutia abyssinica) were habitat indicators for disturbed areas, wet humid grey/black clay soils for upper natural glades and three (Solanum incanum, Senna didymobotrya, and Pennistem mezianum, were indicators of overgrazed areas and black clay soils for man-made glades. In conclusion, plant species abundance, richness and diversity were highest at the forest-glade edge and decreased towards the glade interior, while plant species composition differed significantly between the three-glade types. The plant growth form for lower natural glades was associated with forest-glade edge and glade interior.

Forest Glade-Edge, Glade Interior, Plant Indicator Species, Plant Species Diversity, Plant Species Richness

Kahana, L. , Malan, G. and Sylvina, T. (2022) Glade and Forest-Edge Plant Community Attributes for Three Glade Types in Arusha National Park, Tanzania. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 13, 457-472. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2022.134029.