Assessment of structure and seed bank diversity of the south Uluguru mountains Flora

This study was carried out with an objective of assessing structure and seed bank diversity of Uluguru Mountains Forest Reserve in Morogoro, Tanzania. The standing vegetation was very diverse floristically and structurally and rich in endemic plant species and few species in the IUCN red list. Tress had species Shannon Wiener diversity of 2.88, evenness of 0.79, species richness of 37 species and density 187 stemsha-1. Shrub layer diversity was 2.84, evenness of 0.692, richness of 76 species and density of 85 stemsha -1. Mthe grass and herb layer was more diverse with diversity of 3.34 evenness of 0.773 and a density of 278 individual.sha -1. Based on importance value index and compositional change values the forest is successionally stable. Phytogeographically several species such as Aphloia theiformis, Cussonia spicata, Ocotea usambarensis, Syzygium cordatum, prunus Africana, Rapanea melanophloeos, Garcinia volkensii and Schefflera lukwangulensis are linked to South Africa, Central Africa, west Africa and Madagascar. A total of 1436 seedlings dominated by annuals germinated from the soil seed bank samples. The dry season plots had higher species richness than west season samples (Kruskal-Wallis test x2=63.52, df=73, p,0.001). high seed densities were recorded in the surface layer and decreased with depth. Correspondence between species composition of the standing vegetation and seed bank was poor. Recommendation is made to monitor the orchids for conservation in disturbed sites. Further studies are recommended on endemic, threatened and vulnerable plant species seed production and their fate in the environment.