The Ngezi Forest Reserve is a

forest reserve Forest reserve(s) may refer to: * Nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importan ...

located in the

Micheweni District Micheweni District (''Wilaya ya Micheweni'' in Swahili) is one of two administrative districts of Pemba North Region in Tanzania. The district covers an area of . The district is comparable in size to the land area of Cook Islands. The district ...

of the North Pemba Region on

Pemba Island Pemba Island (; ''al-Jazīra al-khadrāʔ''; ; ) is a Tanzanian island forming part of the Zanzibar Archipelago, lying within the Swahili Coast in the Indian Ocean. Geography file:Map of Zanzibar Archipelago-en.svg, left, The main islands of the ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. It covers an area of , mostly comprising

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

. The reserve was established in 1959.

Geography

The Ngezi Reserve is located in the north-western tip of Pemba, the second largest island in the

Zanzibar Archipelago Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of East Africa. It is located in the Indian Ocean, and consists of many small islands and two large ones: Unguja (the main island, referred to informally as Zanzibar) and Pemba Island. The c ...

. It borders on the villages of Kiuyu Kwa Manda (south), Tondooni, Verani and Makangale (north), Msuka (east) and Kipangani (west); to the west, it also borders on the

Pemba Channel The Pemba Channel is the strait separating the eastern coast of mainland Africa on the coast of central and northern Tanga Region from Pemba Island to the south of the Indian Ocean. The channel is entirely in Tanzanian territorial waters The ...

Environment

The reserve includes several

biome A biome () is a distinct geographical region with specific climate, vegetation, and animal life. It consists of a biological community that has formed in response to its physical environment and regional climate. In 1935, Tansley added the ...

s, including

tropical forest Tropical forests are forested ecoregions with tropical climates – that is, land areas approximately bounded by the Tropic of Cancer, tropics of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn, Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing ...

riverine forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal, sink, or reservoir. Due to the broad nature of the definition, riparian woodla ...

, and

maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; , ; ; ; ) is a savanna-like shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis ...

. Some plants found in the area are ''Odyendea zimmermanni'', ''Uapaca guineensis'', ''

Antiaris toxicaria ''Antiaris'' is a genus in the mulberry and fig family Moraceae. It is a monotypic genus, i.e. it contains only one species, namely ''Antiaris toxicaria''. The genus was at one time considered to consist of several species, but is now regarded as ...

'', ''

Elaeis guineensis ''Elaeis guineensis'' is a species of Arecaceae, palm commonly just called oil palm but also sometimes African oil palm or macaw-fat. The first Western world, Western person to describe it and bring back seeds was the French naturalist Michel Ad ...

'', ''

Erythrophleum suaveolens ''Erythrophleum suaveolens'', also known as the ordeal tree, is a species of flowering plant that can be found across most of tropical Africa. The species are in height, and have a rough and blackish bark. The plants leaves have 2–3 pairs of p ...

'', ''Pachystela brevipes'', ''Bombax rhodognaphalon'', ''Quassia undulata'', and ''

Croton sylvaticus ''Croton sylvaticus'' is a tree in the family ''Euphorbiaceae''. It is commonly known as the forest fever-berry. These trees are distributed in forests from the east coast of South Africa to Tropical Africa. It grows in height, occasionally up t ...

''.V. Beentje, p.5 Riverine forest mostly comprises ''

Barringtonia racemosa ''Barringtonia racemosa'', commonly known as powder-puff tree, is a species of tree in the family Lecythidaceae. It is found in coastal swamp forests and on the edges of estuaries in the Indian Ocean, starting at the east coast of Mozambique and ...

'' and ''Samadera indica'', as well as '' Raphia'' and ''

Anthocleista ''Anthocleista'' is a genus of tree- and shrub-like tropical plants in the subtribe Potaliinae in the Gentian family. There are between 14 and 16 species in the genus, native mainly to tropical Africa, including Madagascar and the Mascarene Isl ...

'' where

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

s are found. Shrubland is mostly found on the Tondooni

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

, and its vegetation includes ''Sorindeia madagascariensis'', ''Diospyros consolatae'', ''

Tamarindus indica Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the f ...

'', ''

Afzelia quanzensis ''Afzelia quanzensis'' (pod mahogany, , , ) is a species of tree native to sub-Saharan Africa. It ranges from Somalia and Democratic Republic of the Congo to South Africa. It is a protected tree in South Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Caesal ...

'', ''Terminalia boivinii'', ''Cussonia zimmermannii'', and '' Olea woodiana''. Some areas of the reserve are dominated by

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s, and host ''

Sonneratia alba ''Sonneratia alba'' is a mangrove tree in the family Lythraceae. The specific epithet ' is from the Latin meaning 'white', referring to the flowers. Description ''S. alba'' grows up to tall with a trunk diameter up to . The cracked to fissured ...

'', ''

Avicennia marina ''Avicennia marina'', commonly known as grey mangrove or white mangrove, is a species of mangrove tree classified in the plant family Acanthaceae (formerly in the Verbenaceae or Avicenniaceae). As with other mangroves, it occurs in the intert ...

'', ''

Xylocarpus granatum ''Xylocarpus granatum'', commonly known as the cannonball mangrove, cedar mangrove, or puzzlenut tree, is a species of mangrove in the mahogany family (Meliaceae). It is found in Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Islands. It is a common ...

'', ''

Bruguiera ''Bruguiera'' is a plant genus in the family Rhizophoraceae. It is a small genus of five mangrove species and three hybrids of the Indian and west Pacific Ocean region, its range extending from East Africa and Madagascar through coastal India, S ...

'', ''

Rhizophora ''Rhizophora'' is a genus of tropical mangrove trees, sometimes collectively called true mangroves. The most notable species is the red mangrove ('' Rhizophora mangle'') but some other species and a few natural hybrids are known. ''Rhizophora'' ...

'', and ''

Ceriops ''Ceriops'' is a genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classi ...

''.V. Beentje, p.6 Other notable plants found in the reserve are the

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

''Chrisalidocarpus pembanus'' and ''Ensete proboscoideum'', as well as ''

Terminalia catappa ''Terminalia catappa'' is a large Tropics, tropical tree in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae, native to Asia, Australia, the Pacific, Madagascar and Seychelles. Common names in English include country almond, Indian almond, Malabar almond, ...

'', ''

Musa acuminata ''Musa acuminata'' is a species of banana native to South Asia, Southern Asia, its range comprising the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Many of the modern edible dessert bananas are derived from this species, although some are hybrids wi ...

'', ''Typhanodorun lindleyanum'', and ''Philippia mafiensis''. There is also a significant number of

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

, including '' Aerangis'', ''

Bulbophyllum ''Bulbophyllum'' is a genus of mostly Epiphyte, epiphytic and Lithophyte, lithophytic orchids in the Family (biology), family Orchidaceae. It is the largest genus in the orchid family and one of the List of the largest genera of flowering plants, ...

'', ''

Eulophia ''Eulophia'', commonly known as corduroy orchids, is a genus of about two hundred species of flowering plants in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Most ''Eulophia'' orchids are terrestrial but some are deciduous while others are evergreen. They ei ...

'', ''Disperis johnstonii'', ''Nervilia bicarinata'', and '' Vanilla roscheri''.V. Beentje, p.49

Fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

in the reserve includes some rare species, such as the endemic

Pemba flying fox The Pemba flying fox (''Pteropus voeltzkowi'') is a species of flying fox in the family Pteropodidae. It is endemic to the island of Pemba on the coast of Tanzania. Description The Pemba flying fox has a wingspan of and is one of the largest ...

; almost extinct in recent years, its population has now grown to an estimated 20,000 individuals, thanks to an effective protection programme.V. Mickleburgh

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

s include an endemic

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

vervet monkey The vervet monkey (''Chlorocebus pygerythrus''), or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus '' Chlorocebus''. The five distin ...

, as well as the

Zanzibar red colobus The Zanzibar red colobus (''Piliocolobus kirkii'') is a species of red colobus monkey endemic to Unguja, the main island of the Zanzibar Archipelago, off the coast of Tanzania. It is also known as Kirk's red colobus after Sir John Kirk, the Br ...

, a species that was introduced in the reserve in the 1970s. Other notable species found in the reserve are the

blue duiker The blue duiker (''Philantomba monticola'') is a small antelope found in central, southern and eastern Africa. It is the smallest species of duiker. The species was first described by Swedish naturalist Carl Peter Thunberg in 1789. 12 subspe ...

and the

Pemba scops owl The Pemba scops owl (''Otus pembaensis'') is a species of owl in the family Strigidae. It is endemic to Pemba Island which is part of and off the coast of Tanzania. Taxonomy The Pemba scops owl was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the Madag ...

Notes

References

* H.J. Beentje (1990), ''Botanical assessment of Ngezi Forest, Pemba''

* S. Mickleburgh et al. (2008), ''Pteropus voeltzkowi'' * C.L. Nahonyo et al. (2005, ''Ngezi – Vumawimbi Forest Reserves Biodiversity Inventory Report''

External links

Ngezi Forest Reserve
Zanzinet Forum *{{usurped,

} Department of Commercial Crops Fruits & Forestry Protected areas of Zanzibar Nature reserves in Tanzania Protected areas established in 1959 1950s establishments in Zanzibar Forest reserves of Tanzania Pemba Island