Photographs from: Fire prevention and natural reforestation of grasslands in the Ngogo area of Kibale National Park, Uganda (1976-2018)
Photographs were taken from the top of Ngogo Hill (~ 0 degrees 30' N., 30 degrees 25.5' E.) in what is now the Kibale National Park at irregular intervals between 1976 and 2018 with the intent of demonstrating habitat changes over time. When the first photos were taken in the 1970s, Ngogo Hill and much of the surrounding area was grassland with isolated trees and shrubs here and there. These grasslands were, in a sense, islands within an area largely dominated by tropical rain forest. Lang Brown and Happold (1962) concluded that these grasslands in Kibale were anthropogenic, the consequence of past cultivation and fire. Prior to the early 1900s, Kibale was inhabited by people until it became infested with tsetse fly. In 1932 the Kibale Forest was formally declared a Crown Forest by the Government of Uganda and occupation by humans was prohibited. Subsequent to this, the grasslands continued to be burned by hunters. When a research camp was established near Ngogo Hill in 1974, every attempt was made to prevent poaching and burning of these grasslands. As protection became more effective, the grasslands were slowly colonized by shrubs and trees. The images archived here demonstrate some of these changes and establish a baseline for continued long-term research on forest regeneration. The images also demonstrate the importance of fire prevention as an effective approach to forest restoration, which in turn leads to increases in populations of forest dependent species, such as chimpanzees and other primates. See Lwanga (2003) and Struhsaker (1975 and 1997) for basic ecological details for Kibale and Ngogo.
