Stapleford Forest (7210)
Zimbabwe, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B2
Year of last assessment: 2011
National site name: Stapleford Forest
Central coordinates: Latitude: -18.7010, Longitude: 32.8660
System: terrestrial
Elevation (m): 700 to 1885
Area of KBA (km2): 232.23362
Protected area coverage (%): 99.99
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: Yes
Site details
Site description: Stapleford Forest is south of the Honde valley, c.50 km north-east of Mutare, near the village of Penhalonga and forms part of the eastern border of Zimbabwe with Mozambique. It is under commercial forestry plantations controlled by the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe, and falls within the Mutasa Rural District Council. The Mutasa Communal Land forms the northern and western borders of Stapleford. The highest point of 2,030 m (Mt Rupere) in the west of Stapleford forms a watershed, with the Odzani river flowing south-west and the Nyamahwarara river flowing north-east. The site includes the three areas of indigenous rainforest and Brachystegia woodland found within Stapleford. There is a fairly large patch of montane rainforest on the south-eastern slope of a steep-sided valley beneath Mt Rupere, next to the John Meikle Forest Research Station. It contains six different forest-types and many interesting species. The upper region consists of mainly Syzygium, with Podocarpus further down the slope and Craibia forest on boulder-scree. The area has not been checked from the ground so the exact size and site descriptions are not known. From vegetation maps, the forest and Brachystegia woodland appear to cover an area of c.1,400 ha. On the eastern border is a prominent mountain, Gurungwe, which peaks at 1,885 m and drops steeply to the Nyamahwarara valley at 700 m. This has a good example of mid-altitude forest with Maranthes and Khaya. Breonadia grows along stream banks. The top and eastern slopes of Mt Chinyamariro, to the south of Stapleford, have a well-developed Syzygium forest. Most of this forest belongs to Border Timbers, a commercial forest estate.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This site qualifies as a Key Biodiversity Area of international significance that meets the thresholds for at least one criterion described in the Global Standard for the Identification of KBAs. KBA identified in the process of compiling the CEPF Ecosystem Profile of the East Afromontane Hotspot. Species taxonomy and threat category was based on IUCN Red List 2010-4. The site holds a significant population of the following plant species which, although not yet Red-List-assessed at the global level, are thought likely to be categorised as globally threatened once assessed (thus meeting the KBA Vulnerability criterion), based on existing regional or national Red List assessments (species also considered as site-endemic are tagged with Irr1 [KBA Irreplaceability 1 criterion]): Angraecum chimanimaniense, Bulbophyllum ballii (Irr1), Clutia monticola (Irr1), Cynorkis anisoloba (Irr1), Habenaria singularis (Irr1), Habenaria subaequalis (Irr1), Helichrysum chasei (Irr1), Tephrosia festina (Irr1).
Additional biodiversity: See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. The area of Nyamahwarara valley has been a well-known site for past avifaunal collections. Stapleford is the type-locality for six subspecies of bird endemic to Zimbabwe. Stapleford supports six globally threatened or restricted-range species. About eight pairs of Hirundo atrocaerulea are known to breed on nearby Mountain Home Estate, but it is not known how many birds breed on Stapleford. One pair of Grus carunculatus was sighted in an aerial survey in 1983. There is no known checklist of birds for this estate and records have been taken from the Atlas Records. Non-bird biodiversity: Little is known of the occurrence of non-bird species and this is clearly an area for more fieldwork and research. There are numerous specimens of the cycad Encephalartos manikensis (Rare) at the forest-edge.
Delineation rationale: 2013-07-10 (BL Secretariat): following CEPF East Afromontane ecosystem profiling process, the reported IBA area of 26000 ha has been changed to 23000 ha (as measured in GIS from latest boundary polygon, rounded to nearest 10%).
Habitats
Land use: agriculture | forestry | water management
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Forest | 98 | |
| Wetlands(Inland) | 1 | |
| Grassland | 1 |
Threats
Summary of threats to biodiversity at KBA: The Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe is entrusted with the protection of indigenous forests through the Forestry Act. Stapleford therefore has a fair level of protection. However, more insidious threats to the avifauna and general conservation of the area are: increased afforestation, cultivation and cattle-grazing; non-native trees invading montane grasslands and stream banks; and accelerated soil erosion following the felling of plantations.
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biological resource use | Logging & wood harvesting | Unintentional effects: large scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Wood & pulp plantations | Agro-industry plantations | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Excess energy | Noise pollution | Ongoing |
| Human intrusions & disturbance | Work & other activities | Ongoing |
Additional information
References: Irwin (1979), Muller (1994), Mundy et al. (1984).