Pinpointing baobab (Adansonia digitata [Linn. 1759]) population hotspots in the semi‐arid areas of Tanzania

Abstract

The impact of unsustainable land‐use conversions, changes in climate and anthropogenic activities on abundance and distribution of baobab populations was assessed in semi‐arid regions of Tanzania. Baobabs were sampled in plots of 1 km long and a 50 m wide, which were carried out in 337 grids located in different land‐use types. Transects for each land‐use type were located using a stratified random sampling technique to compare baobab population variations and occurrences in semi‐arid areas of Tanzania. Baobab density was found to be highest in strictly protected areas and the lowest density in unprotected areas, suggesting that anthropogenic activities coupled with local management practices within land‐uses may be influencing its viability in semi‐arid areas. In species like this, with less and slow recruitment rate, it takes a long time to bring the population to recovery when substantial disturbance and overutilisation have reduced the populations to certain levels. Thus, increased human and climate change pressures on land are likely to drive the species to extinction in these fragmented populations.