DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Maasai Traditional Fire Management: the Conflict Between Conservation and Pastoralism in Northern Tanzania

热带草原生态系统的环境退化被视为导致非洲畜牧业和农牧经济更加脆弱的主要因素之一。虽然关于撒哈拉以南非洲火灾生态影响的知识基础相当可观，但围绕人为燃烧和稀树草原系统的具体动态在很大程度上仍然没有得到充分研究和了解，特别是在人类燃烧做法、火灾制度和稀树草原植被之间的联系方面。研究生拉蒙娜·巴茨博士的指导下，丹尼尔波特，将解决土地使用冲突和牧区火灾管理的影响，通过植物群落结构，物种组成和相对丰富度的调查如何管理和两个北方坦桑尼亚村庄马赛牧民管理的地区之间的差异。该研究将通过观察，访谈，书面历史和对现有航空摄影的解释来建立现有和历史的燃烧条件。Butz女士还将确定焚烧做法是否改变了物种丰富度和植被群落结构，特别是“绿色荒漠化”，这是一种热带稀树草原退化形式，涉及一年生草几乎完全取代多年生草，以及相思树对草原群落的广泛侵蚀。前几个阶段的成果将用于制定保护战略和替代方案，专门为马赛村民、当地保护组织和政府官员设计。除了澄清历史和当代的过程，管理植物群落组成及其与传统的消防管理的关系，这项工作有重要的影响，政策和保护工作。这是一个利用科学影响关键决策的机会，不仅对坦桑尼亚，而且对其他联合土地使用管理系统也是一个典范。 该奖项由NSF国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。

Environmental degradation of savanna ecosystems is seen as one of the main factors leading to the increased vulnerability of African pastoral and agro-pastoral economies. While the knowledge base on the ecological effects of fire in sub-Saharan Africa is considerable, the specific dynamics surrounding anthropogenic burning and savanna systems remain largely understudied and poorly understood, especially in regard to the linkages among human burning practices, fire regimes, and savanna vegetation. Graduate student Ramona Butz, under the direction of Dr. Daniel Potter, will address land use conflict and the impact of pastoral fire management through an investigation of how plant community structure, species composition, and relative abundance differs between areas managed and unmanaged by Maasai pastoralists in two northern Tanzanian villages. The research will establish existing and historic burning conditions through observation, interviews, written history, and interpretation of available aerial photography. Ms. Butz will also determine whether burning practices alter species richness and structure of vegetation communities, particularly with respect to "green desertification," a form of savanna degradation involving the nearly complete replacement of perennial grasses by annual grasses and the widespread encroachment of acacia thornbush into grassland communities. The results of the previous stages will then be used to create conservation strategies and alternatives designed specifically for Maasai villagers, local conservation organizations, and governing officials. In addition to clarifying the historical and contemporary processes that govern plant community composition and its relationship with traditional fire management, this work has important implications for policy and conservation efforts. It is an opportunity to use science to influence critical policy decisions, not only for Tanzania, but as a model for other joint land use management systems. This award is co-funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering.