2. STATUS OF FOREST RESOURCES IN ZAMBIA

2.1. VEGETATION TYPES
2.2. SPECIES DIVERSITY
2.3. PLANTATION FORESTS

It is estimated that 60 percent of the country's total land area (752 000 km²) is covered with natural forests. Of these forests, about 7.2 million hectares are under government control in the form of forest reserves, which are 432 in number. In addition, there are 6.4 million hectares of national parks and 15.6 million hectares of game management areas. There are also about 15.4 million hectares of forest under traditional or customary land. There is no reliable information on the growing stock as most of the inventories in natural forests were conducted in the 1960’s.

2.1. VEGETATION TYPES

2.1.1. Closed forests
2.1.2. Woodlands (or open forests)
2.1.3. Termitaria
2.1.4. Grasslands

The vegetation of Zambia is categorized into four main types: closed forests, woodlands or open forests, Termitaria and grasslands. These are further divided into sub-vegetation types as shown in table 1.

TABLE 1: VEGETATION TYPES OF ZAMBIA

Main vegetation types	Sub-types
Closed forests	Dry evergreen forests	- Parinari - Marquesia - Cryptosepalum - Lake basin
	Dry deciduous forests	- Baikiaea - Itigi
	Montane
	Swamp
	Riparian
Woodlands (or open forests)	Miombo
	Kalahari
	Mopane
	Munga
Termitaria	Miombo
	Kalahari
	Mopane
	Munga
Grasslands

2.1.1. Closed forests

2.1.1.1. Dry evergreen forests
2.1.1.2. Dry deciduous forests
2.1.1.3. Montane forests
2.1.1.4. Swamp forests
2.1.1.5. Riparian forests

Closed forests are sub-divided into five categories, namely the dry evergreen forests, the dry deciduous forests, the montane forest, the swamp forest and the riparian forest. They cover about 31 million hectares.

2.1.1.1. Dry evergreen forests

The dry evergreen forest occurs in three main sub-types consisting of the Parinari forest on the plateau, the Marquesia forest, the Cryptosepalum forest in the kalahari basin and the Lake Basin (Chipya). In the Parinari forest, the canopy dominants are Parinari excelsa and Syzygium guineense. The Marquesia forest is similar to the Parinari forest and the dominants are Marquesia acuminata, Marquesia macroura and Syzygium guineense, while in the Cryptosepalum forest, the dominant species are Cryptosepalum pseudotaxus and Guibourtia coleosperma. The Cryptosepalum forest occurs on kalahari sands and is a two-storey forest. The Lake Basin is a three-storey forest with either open or closed top canopy, broken understorey and high shrub layer. This type of forest has probably resulted from destruction (usually by fire) of Parinari and Marquesia forest. The soil is pale, sandy and very acidic.

2.1.1.2. Dry deciduous forests

The dry deciduous forests consist of the Baikiaea forest and the Itigi forest. The Baikiaea forest is restricted to the Kalahari sands of Western Zambia. The most dominant species of Baikiaea forest are Baikiaea plurijuga and Pterocarpus antunesii.

The Itigi forest is closely related to the great Itigi thicket of Tanzania including the dominant species of the genera Baphia, Burthia and Bussea. Itigi Forest is also two-storeyed and very open with various deciduous and semi-deciduous trees.

2.1.1.3. Montane forests

It is a three-storeyed forest with a closed, evergreen canopy without any clear cut dominant species. Parinari excelsa, Podocarpus milanjanus and Trichilia preuriana are the most abundant species. The under-storey is also evergreen and below is an evergreen shrub layer. The total woody flora is about 400 species.

The montane forest is generally regarded as a climatic climax. It is restricted to the Nyika plateau between 2 150 and 2 455 meters above sea level. The montane forest is of no economic importance as the areas involved are both too small and too difficult to access.

2.1.1.4. Swamp forests

Most of the swamp forest occurs in the high rainfall area. The swamp forest is edaphic climax, controlled by abundance of ground water all year round. The estuarine swamp is characterized by species such as Chyrosophyllum magalismontanum, Ilex mitis, Mitragyna stipulosa and Syzygium cordatum. The number of woody species is around 300 species.

2.1.1.5. Riparian forests

The riparian forest is an edaphically controlled type of vegetation occurring along rivers and lakes. It is characterized mainly by Diospyros mespiliformis, Khaya athothetica, Parinari excelsa and Syzygium cordatum associated with Fauria saligna and Raphia palms. The species are in excess of 900.

2.1.2. Woodlands (or open forests)

2.1.2.1. Miombo woodland
2.1.2.2. Kalahari woodland
2.1.2.3. Mopane woodland
2.1.2.4. Munga (or savanna woodland)

2.1.2.1. Miombo woodland

The miombo woodland is the most extensive and economically important vegetation type. It is characterized by species of the genera Brachystegia, Isoberlinia and Julbernadia. Marquesia macroura, Pericopisis angolensis, Erythophleum africanum and Parianri curatelifolia are frequent associates. Miombo woodlands cover about 352 million hectares (47 percent of the total land area).

The Miombo woodland is economically important in heavily populated urban areas for the supply of timber, poles, firewood and charcoal. It is also the source of many non-wood forest products such as honey, medicines, mushrooms, caterpillars and other edible insects.

2.1.2.2. Kalahari woodland

The vegetation of the Kalahari woodland is derived from the partial destruction of dry deciduous Baikiaea forest. The most common species are of the genera Guibourtia, Burkea, Diplorhynchus and Parinari. The Kalahari woodland is widespread on the Kalahari sands of the Western province and part of North-Western province. The woodland type is of local importance for its stock Baikiaea plurijuga and Pterocarpus angolensis timber.

2.1.2.3. Mopane woodland

The mopane woodland is a one storeyed woodland dominated by Colophospermum mopane. The species has adapted itself to the high temperatures and alkaline soils of the valley alluvia which are normally flooded in varying degrees for shorter or longer periods every year and dry out almost completely during the dry season. The Mopane woodland is found around the Luangwa, Luano, middle Kafue and Mashi rivers. It is also found mixed with miombo at the bottom of escarpments and with Munga woodland at dambo edges.

2.1.2.4. Munga (or savanna woodland)

This is a woodland with trees scattered or found in clusters and characterized by tall grass. The dominant tree species are Acacia, Combretum and Terminalia spp.

2.1.3. Termitaria

Termitaria are found scattered throughout Zambia wherever the soil is not sand. General biological activity is greater and organic matter decomposes faster on mound soils because decomposers and denitrifiers are more numerous in termite mounds. The Termitaria occur more frequently on dambo margins, in Munga and Mopane woodland than in miombo woodland and they are scarce in dry evergreen forests. The most common species include Diospyros mespiliformis, Asparagus racemosus, Boscia angustifolia, Capparis tomentosa, Sterculia quinqueloba and Maerua juncea.

2.1.4. Grasslands

This is all land which is naturally without trees, and is found in places with a permanently high water table. It includes dambos, flood plains, and the margins of pans, swamps and lakes.

2.2. SPECIES DIVERSITY

Fanshawe (1971) found the diversity of the most common woody species in the various vegetation types (see table 2).

TABLE 2: SPECIES DIVERSITY IN THE VARIOUS VEGETATION TYPES OF ZAMBIA

Vegetation types	Number of species
	Canopy species	Under-storey species	Shrubs	Thickets	Climbers	Total
Dry evergreen forest	12	19	56	-	22	109
Lake basin (Chipya)	40	38	114	-	8	200
Baikiaea forest	21	-	20	43	8	92
Itigi Forest	28	-	51	-	13	92
Montane forest	38	35	41	-	23	137
Swamp forest	23	13	31	-	12	79
Riparian forest	46	35	63	-	30	174
Miombo woodland	23	34	83	-	3	143
Kalahari woodland	20	23	102	-	9	154
Mopane woodland	16	26	38	-	8	88
Munga woodland	51	46	110	-	23	230
Termitaria	47	31	89	-	41	208

Source: Fanshawe (1971)

TABLE 3: NUMBER OF RECORDED PLANT SPECIES

Plant groups	Number of species
Sedges	400
Grasses	630
Ferns	130
Orchids	390
Herbs	2000
Trees and shrubs	2300
Total	5850

Source: Fanshawe (1970)

TABLE 4: INVENTORY OF PLANT SPECIES IN FOREST HERBARIUM IN KITWE

Plant groups	Number of species
Sedges	225
Grasses	431
Ferns	148
Orchids	167
Herbs	1580
Trees and shrubs	2621
Total	5172

2.3. PLANTATION FORESTS

In 1963, the Government of Zambia started to invest heavily in establishing forest plantations to augment timber supplies from natural forests.

In addition to natural forests, there are about 57 000 hectares of plantation forests in the country. This figure includes industrial plantations which stands at about 50 000 hectares and the rest are local supply plantations. The main plantation species are Pinus kesiya, Pinus oocarpa, Eucalyptus grandis and Eucalyptus cleoziana. Others in small amounts are Pinus merkusii, Pinus michoacanus, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and a hybrid between Eucalyptus tereticornis and Eucalyptus camaldulensis. About 85 percent of forest plantations are on the Copperbelt. Experimental research records show that 80 Eucalyptus species and 35 pine species have been tested in Zambia under species trials and those indicated above have been the most successful.

After about three decades since the start of plantation establishment in the country, substantial amounts of timber have matured and a significant amount of sawn timber comes from these plantation forests. The major consumers are the industrial sector and households, although the utilization rate has been very slow due to a number of factors such as weak domestic demand and undeveloped export markets.