Title
The composition and regeneration status of wild food plants in Chenene Miombo Woodland, Dodoma Rural District, Tanzania
Author(s)
Tairo, V.E.
Published
2007
Publisher
Discovery and Innovation
Abstract
The consumption of wild plants seems more common and widespread in food insecure areas, where wide ranges of species are consumed. The linkage has given rise to the notion of 'famine-foods', plants consumed only at times of food stress and, therefore, an indicator of famine conditions. Despite the fact that the use of wild foods as a component of local response to increasing food insecurity is widely known, yet the consumption of wild-food has been, and still is being, under-estimated. This study was done to assess the composition and regeneration status of edible wild-food plants in Chenene Miombo Woodland (CMW) in Dodoma Rural District, Tanzania. Data collection was done by conducting inventory in which circular plots with three concentric rings of 5-20 m radii were used to census vegetation data. The results indicated that a total of 64 species of plants were identified. These species represent 23 families. From list of the plants identified, 31 species were wild food plants, which accounted about 48.5% of the studied tree species. Mostly preferred species were in the family Caparidaceae and Fabaceae. The seedling and saplings densities of wild food plants indicated significant difference (ANOVA, P<0.05) in the tree sites. These results revealed that about 50% of the plants were used as food. It is recommended that several community conservation practices be employed to ensure high density and diversity of wild food plants.
Keywords
Fabaceae
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PUB12152