BIOTIC STUDIES

Introduction

 If you look at your surroundings you will probably see one of the following
things.

 These things make up part of the environment around us.

 In other words, these make up what is known as an ecosystem.
 The study of the interrelationships between these (plants and animals) on
the earth's surface is called biotic studies.
 Biotic studies deal with the study of ecology and ecosystems.
 Ecology deals with the study of the interactions between living organisms
and the environments in which they exist.
 Ecosystem is short for ecological system.
Page | 1
 A system is a set of things working together as a part of a complex
whole.
 These things are interdependent and continually influence each other for
the existence of the complex whole.
 A malfunction in any one part of the system leads to the malfunctioning
and disruption of the complex whole.

Ecosystem
 An ecosystem is a natural functional ecological unit comprising of biotic
and abiotic components which interact to form a stable self-supporting
system.
 It can also be defined as a self-sustaining natural community of living and
non-living organisms that interact for the continuity of that community.
 In an ecosystem, energy and material is transferred as these components
interact.
 Each component has a niche or role to play for the well-being of the
system.
 Ecosystems occur in different sizes.
 They can be micro (very small) such as a decaying tree trunk or macro
(very big) such as a rainforest.
 The whole earth can be considered as an ecosystem.
 Ecosystems have no clear cut boundaries but they tend to blend into each
other.
 The biotic (living) components of these ecosystems tend to develop
special adaptations to suit their ecosystems for survival.

Ecosystem structure

 Ecosystems, as earlier said, are made-up of biotic and abiotic

components.
 The abiotic components have a strong influence on the structure,
distribution, behavior and interrelationships of the biotic components.
 The diagram below shows the structure of an ecosystem.

These include plants and

Biotic animals (producers,
consumers &decomposers).

Ecosystem
These include:

 Sunlight
Abiotic  Water
 Soil
 Rocks Page | 2
 temperature
 Abiotic components

 These are the non-living chemical and physical components of an

ecosystem which include water, sunlight, soil, rocks, temperature and
wind.
 Abiotic components have a strong influence on the structure, distribution,
behavior and interrelationships of biotic organisms.

Biotic components

 These include all living things that exist in an ecosystem which include
plants, animals and micro-organisms (bacteria and fungi).
 These play different roles in an ecosystem and are therefore classified
into three main groups:
i. Producers
ii. Consumers
iii. Decomposers or reducers.

A. Producers
 These are mainly green plants and some bacteria that manufacture their
own food through the process of photosynthesis.
 They are also known as autotrophs (self feeders).
 Green plants are the main producers.
 Producers are the major source of food for all other organism in an
ecosystem.

B. Consumers
 Animals lack the ability to manufacture their own food and therefore
depend on producers for food.
 They are known as heterotrophs (other feeders).
 They are classified into three main types:
i. Primary consumers
ii. Secondary consumers
iii. Tertiary consumers

i. Primary consumers
 These are animals such as hares, goats, giraffes and goats which feed on
plants.
 They are called herbivores.
ii. Secondary consumers
 These are animals that feed on primary consumers.
 They are called carnivores and include hyenas, lions, eagles, snakes and
jackals.
 They are predators which hunt and kill their prey for food.

Page | 3
iii. Tertiary consumers
 These feed on producers, primary consumers and secondary consumers.
 They are called omnivores.
 Examples include human beings and baboons.

C. Decomposers or reducers
 These breakdown the dead organic materials of producers and consumers
for food.
 In the process they release simple organic and inorganic compounds into
the soil.
 These are the simple chemical compounds used by producers as
nutrients.

NB:

i. As the biotic organisms feed on each other, energy is transferred but

some energy is also lost.
ii. As a system, ecosystems have inputs, processes and outputs.
iii. The decomposers plough back some energy back into the system as they
decompose organic material.

The diagram below summarises this.

Page | 4
iv. The feeding relationships of organisms can best be presented in form of
food chains and food webs.

Food chains

 A food chain is a sequence of organisms that feed on each other starting

from a producer to tertiary consumers.
 Producers are at a lower feeding level (trophic level) than consumers and
so are tertiary consumers at a higher level than secondary consumers.
 It can also be defined as a simple linear feeding relationship of biotic
components of an ecosystem.
 Arrows are used to show the flow of energy in the feeding relationship.
 For example, plant manufacture food using sunlight—then they are eaten
by herbivores —which in turn are eaten by carnivores —which are then
decomposed by reducers.

This can be presented diagrammatically as below.

Grass Rabbit Cheetah

Food webs

 A food chain is a simplified way of showing relationships between

organisms of different trophic levels.
 A food web is a more realistic but complex intertwined feeding
relationship of biotic components of an ecosystem.
 In other words, it is a network of many food chains.

Page | 5
The diagram below shows a food web.

Factors influencing vegetation growth

 Have you ever wondered why some places are covered with thick forests
whilst some have only shrubs, grass and some have hardly any
vegetation at all?
 There are some factors at play that causes these differences.
 These factors include the following:
a. Climate
b. Soil
c. Relief

Climate

 Climatic factors such as temperature and rainfall influence vegetation

growth more than any other factors.
 Where there are high temperatures and high rainfalls, vegetation tend to
thrive while areas with high temperatures and low rainfall have little
vegetation.

Page | 6
i. Temperature
 Temperature can either quicken or slow down vegetation growth.
 Lower temperatures of below 10 degrees Celsius tend to limit vegetation
development and growth.
 Lower temperatures inhibit water absorption, photosynthesis,
transpiration as well as soil enzyme activity.
 On the other hand, high temperatures aid growth rates, photosynthesis
and enzyme activity in the soil.
 As a result, more luxuriant vegetation is found in areas with high
temperatures of above 10˚C.
ii. Rainfall
 Rainfall increases the amount of soil water available to vegetation for
development and growth.
 Soil water enables ease uptake of nutrients by vegetation roots.
 Its regularity and amount varies from place to place and therefore also
causes variations in the types of vegetation found in these areas.
 High rainfall amounts encourage thick forests while moderate rainfall
leads to grasslands.
 Low rainfalls also inhibit vegetation growth and development leading to
desert like vegetation.

Relief

 The steepness of an area determines whether an area can retain soil and
ground water or not.
 This retention in turn determines vegetation growth in these areas.
 More so, the change in altitude also determines the temperatures and
rainfall experienced in these elevations.
 Steep slopes tend to have sparse vegetation as they have a deficit of
nutrient rich soils and enough moisture for vegetation growth.
 Vegetation on gentler slopes tends to be dense because these slopes can
retain their soils and moisture.

Soil

 Different types of soil provide a basis for a variety of vegetations.

 Soil provides the simple chemicals (nutrients) and the base on which
vegetation grows.
 The richer a soil is the more vegetation flourishes in it leading to a thicker
denser vegetation.
 Well drained soils promote tree growth and less grass but waterlogged
soils do not support tree life.
 Grass flourishes in soils with low levels of porosity.
 Sandy soils tend to support desert vegetation such as cactus and thorny
bushes.

Page | 7
 Therefore soil drainage, depth, richness and moisture determine
vegetation growth and development.

Summary

 Ecosystems are made-up of biotic and abiotic components.

 In an ecosystem, energy and material is transferred as the biotic and
abiotic components interact.
 Each component has a niche or role to play for the well-being of the
system.
 The feeding relationships of organisms can best be presented in form of
food chains and food webs.
 Vegetation growth is influenced by the following factors: climate, soil and
relief.

Page | 8
 ECOSYSTEMS

Introduction

 Ecosystems vary with temperature and rainfall (precipitation)

distributions.
 These variations have led to the earth being divided into large
ecosystems with plants and animals that have common characteristics
called biomes.
 Biomes refer to very large ecological areas on the earth's surface with
flora and fauna adapting to their environments.
 They can also be defined as collections of plants and animals that have
common characteristics due to similar climates they exist in.
 There are many biomes as shown by the biomes pyramid below.

Biomes pyramid

Page | 9
 However, focus will be on the tropical biomes namely tropical rainforest,
tropical grasslands and tropical deserts.
 Each of these ecosystems is unique with different inputs and outputs.

Nutrient Cycle

 Nutrients cycle between three compartments, biomas (vegetation and

animals), soil and litter.
 Gesmerhl put forward a three compartment model that explains transfer
of nutrients in an ecosystem.

 The nutrients cycle gets input from rainfall, sunlight and weathering of
parent rock.
 On the other end nutrients may be lost through leaching.
 However, nutrients are not stored in equal proportion between
compartments in an ecosystem.
 There may be more nutrients in soil than the other two and so on.

Page | 10
A. Tropical rainforest
 This is a hot, moist biome found near the equator which is always
evergreen as it receives high rainfall throughout the year.

Location

 Occurs in low lying basins of 5˚North and South of the Equator.

 It covers areas such as the Amazon Basin in South America, the Congo
Basin, coastlands of West Africa and South-east Asian lowlands.

Characteristics of the tropical rainforest

Inputs

 It experiences high rainfalls throughout the year ranging from 1800mm

to 2500mm per year.
 Temperatures are also high throughout the year about 27˚C.
 It is therefore very humid and hot.

Outputs

 Has highly leached latosols with aluminum, iron oxide and leached salts.
 Contains the highest biodiversity of flora and fauna than anywhere else
on the earth.
 It is home to millions of plants and animal species up to about 200
species per square kilometer.
 There is high bacteria and fungi activity as they quickly decompose litter.
 It is evergreen throughout the year.
 Plant roots are near the ground surface so as to catch nutrients before
they are quickly leached downwards.
 Nutrients are more stored in biomas than in soil or litter.
 This is because in litter there is high rate of decomposition and in soil
there is high nutrient uptake by plants as well as heavy leaching.

Page | 11
Structure of the tropical rainforests

 The densely vegetated ecosystem has four layers which are the
emergents, the canopy, under canopy and undergrowth.
 The diagram below shows this structure.

Emergents

Canopy

Under canopy

Shrub level
Page | 12
Emergents

 This is where the tops of tallest trees are found.

 The emergents usually tower above 40metres.
 Trees in this layer are much higher and have access to more sunlight.
 Have fewer trees than the canopy.

Canopy

 This is where the upper parts of most trees are found.

 Trees in this layer ranges from 20m-40metres high.
 It is home to insects, birds and some mammals.
 Form an umbrella that shuts out sunlight from penetrating to the ground
layer.

Under canopy

 This layer experiences limited sunlight as the canopy above prevents it

from penetrating.
 Woody climbers called lianas climb up the trees to gain access to sunlight.
 Contains bare tree trunks mostly.

Shrub level and ground level

 This layer is just after the ground.

 It is dark and gloomy with very little vegetation except for shrubs, fens
and other plants that need less sunlight.
 It is susceptible to flooding during heavy rains.
 Sunlight cannot penetrate down to this level except where there are
clearings like along river banks.
 Only about 25% sunlight can reach the ground.
 Saplings of emergents and canopy trees are found in this layer.
 Contains a lot of dead decaying litter.

NB

 Each layer has flora and fauna unique to its environment.

 Sunlight causes the differences that exist between these layers.

Flora and fauna adaptations to the tropical rainforest

 Plants and animals in tropical rainforest have devised ways of survival in

these very hot and humid conditions.
 Animals develop physiological or behavioral adaptations for survival in
rainforest jungles.
 Some animals have adapted by learning to feed on a particular food that
other animals cannot so as to fend off completion.

Page | 13
 Some birds like toucans have developed large bills used to reach fruits on
thinner branches that cannot support their body weight.

A toucan bird reaching for fruits with its large bill

 Some animals camouflage and avoid being a prey to predators while

some like tigers camouflage for hunting preys.
 Most trees have thin smooth barks which make it difficult for other plants
to grow on them.
 Lianas make use of other trees for support to reach sunlight by climbing
up on them.

Page | 14
Lianas climbing up on tree trunks to reach sunlight
 Most tree leaves have drip tips to enables quick run-off of rain drops thus
reducing the changes of decaying and bacterial infections.

Leaves with drip tips

 Epiphytes live on the surface of other plants especially trunks and

branches to gain access to sunlight.

Epiphytes growing
on a tree branch

Page | 15
 Most trees have wide buttress roots for support since they grow incredibly
tall competing for sunlight.

 Trees are tall as they will be competing for sunlight.

 Tropical rainforests trees have shallow roots to catch nutrients quickly
before they are leached downwards.

B. Tropical grassland

 Look at the pictures below. Do they look familiar to you?

 They are typical of an ecosystem that Zimbabwe is in.

Page | 16
 It is known as the savanna ecosystem or tropical grassland.
 Tropical grasslands are grassland terrestrial biomes located in semi-arid
and semi-humid climatic regions.
 It is a transitional belt between tropical rainforests and deserts.

Location

 Tropical grasslands are found between 10˚ - 23‚5˚ North and South of
the equator.
 They occur between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn near the
Equator.
 They covers much of Africa, Zimbabwe inclusive; large areas of Australia,
South America and India.

Characteristics of tropical grasslands

Inputs

 Experiences distinctive hot wet summers and long cool dry winters.
 Rainfall ranges around 1200mm per year in more humid areas and less
than 620mm in arid areas.

Outputs

 Support a large and varied assemblage of carnivores, herbivores and

other types of fauna.

Page | 17
 Can be grassland savanna, woodland savanna and acacia savanna.
 Experiences intermittent and erratic rainfall.
 Trees are widely spaced in this ecosystem.
 Soils in this biome are mostly porous with rapid drainage of water and a
thin layer of humus.
 Predominant vegetation is made up of grasses, shrubs and widely
distributed trees.
 Dominant species are fire-adapted as they are subjected to recurrent veld
fires every summer.

Tropical rainforest nutrient cycle

 Nutrients exist mostly in litter comprising of dead leaves, dry wood, and
other decaying matter.
 The slow conversion of nutrients from litter to biomas is due to long dry
season.

Adaptations of flora and fauna in tropical grasslands

 Plants and animals in this ecosystem have developed behavioral and

physical mechanisms for survival.

They have adapted in the following ways:

 Animals reproduce during the rainy season to ensure survival of their off-
springs as there will be plenty of food.
 Animals like baboons and raccoons post sentinels to warn others when
danger approaches.

Page | 18
 Camouflaging enables predators like lions to sneak up on their prey
unnoticed.
 Predators like wild dogs and lions hunt in groups or packs to increase
chances of catching preys.

A pride of lions hunting a buffalo

 Camouflaging also helps the prey to blend in with foliage for protection.
 Herbivores like zebras live in large herds for protection against predators.

Zebras feeding in large herds for safety

Page | 19
  They also avoid competition by eating vegetation at different heights
with giraffes eating at the highest heights.

A giraffe and zebras feeding at different heights

 Some plants have waxy leaf coverings to reduce water loss through
evapo-transpiration.
 Seasonal leaf loss during the long dry winter so as to prevent excessive
water loss.
 Plants have deep root systems which help them to survive savanna veld
fires.
 Narrow leaves which reduce excessive water loss.
 Trees have long tap roots to reach the water table during the dry season.
 Most trees have thorns for protection against browsing by herbivores.
 Trees like acacias are umbrella shaped to reduce evapo-transpiration
from the ground underneath them.

Umbrella-shaped acacia tree

Page | 20
 Trees such as baobab have large trunks for water storage.
 Trunks are whitish in colour to reflect heat or sunlight.
 Trunks are also slippery to discourage climbing by browsers.

C. Hot deserts

 These are areas that receive sporadic and little rain that is usually less
than 200mm per year.
 They cover about 20% of the earth's land surface.
 Daytime temperatures can exceed 50˚C and sometimes less than 0˚C
during the night.
 The map below shows the distribution of hot deserts around the globe.

Location

 Hot deserts lie between 15˚ - 35˚North and South of the equator.
 Most of them lie on the western sides of the continents.
 They are found in continental interiors of subtropics and leeward sides of
mountains in mid-latitudes.
 The major hot deserts include Sahara, Kalahari, Australian; Namib,
Atacama and Arabian deserts among others.

Page | 21
Characteristics of hot deserts

 Have very low biodiversity due to its aridity.

 Experiences erratic storm floods after 2 or 3 years.
 They are extremely hot and have very low humidity.
 Vegetation is widely spaced with extensive areas of bare rock or sand.

Desert ecosystem and landscape

 Landscape is covered with coarse soils with good drainage and little water
retention capacity.
 Vegetation includes shrubs, cacti and short woody trees.
 Animals that are dominant include lizards, snakes, birds, rats and camel.

Nutrient cycle

 There are more nutrients in the soil than in litter and biomas.
 This is caused mainly by poor rainfall in the deserts.

Page | 22
Adaptations of plants and animals

 In order to increase survival chances, desert plants and animals have

developed special adaptation mechanisms.
 These adaptation mechanisms enable them to survive the arid conditions
of hot deserts.

These include:
 Small plants like lichens have shallow extensive root systems in rock
cracks and crevices that allow for quick soaking up of rain and dew before
it evaporates.
 Bigger plants have long tap roots to draw water from the water table.
 Some seeds lie dormant until a flash flood to germinate.
 Some plant flowers open at night to lure pollinators who are more likely
to be active during the night.
 Plants grow apart and sparsely to reduce competition for the little
moisture available.

Page | 23
 The interiors of some desert plants like the cactus are fleshy and spongy
which can expand and hold more water during a flash flood for future use.

The cacti plants can soak up to 100litres of water during a flash flood.

 Some have short life cycle occurring only during periods of rain. They
germinate, flower and die shortly after the flash flood.
 Trees have waxy and needle-shaped leaves to reduce excessive water
loss through evapo-transpiration.
 Some animals have big ears (15cm big) to help lose excess body heat on
hot days.
 Camels store fat in humps to help them survive long periods without food
and water (up to 3months).
 Animals pass highly concentrated urine to retain as much water as
possible.
 Some have thick furs for insulating their bodies against the cold night
temperatures and also for camouflage.
 Animals like foxes burrow holes and are nocturnal feeders to enjoy cooler
temperatures.

Page | 24
 Some animals like frogs hibernate for long periods underground until the
next rain.
 Most animals are nocturnal feeders so as to avoid the scotching day time
temperatures.

Page | 25
 PEOPLE AND ECOSYSTEMS
Introduction

 As human beings utilize and develop resources offered by ecosystems,

they tend to alter and reshape them.
 This is done intentionally and sometimes unintentionally as they try to
satisfy their own needs.
 In the process, they tend to improve and degrade these ecosystems.
 However, of late environmentalists have been lobbying for sustainable
exploitation of opportunities offered by these ecosystems.
 As the image below implies, the earth's wellbeing is in our hands as
human beings.

The future of the earth is in our hands.

 We are going to look at the following as people interact with different

ecosystems:
a. Deforestation in tropical rainforest,
b. Soil erosion in tropical savanna
c. Irrigation in hot deserts and
d. Wetland development in tropical areas.

Page | 26
Deforestation in tropical rainforests
 Rainforests are so crucial to us that they are now called the 'lungs of the
earth'.
 Although they are of immense value to us, people are responsible for at
least 50% loss of these forests.
 Look at the pictures of equatorial rainforests below, describe them.

 What do you think caused this cutting down of trees?

 People are cutting them down at an accelerated rate every year as they
clear land for agriculture, lumbering and mining.
 Deforestation refers to the clearing, destroying or removal of trees
through deliberate and accidental means.
 It can occur anywhere but is currently highest in the tropical rainforests.
 People are mainly concerned with consumption and acquisition of
rainforest resources and not focusing on the consequences of their
actions.

Causes of deforestation in tropical rainforests

Forests in the tropical rainforests such as Amazon, the Congo Basin are
being destroyed for the following reasons:

 Farming - mostly for commercial cattle ranching.

 Logging for materials and development.
 Infrastructure development such as roads, housing and urbanization.
 Mining for both oil and minerals.
 Encroachment of slash and burn cultivators.

Page | 27
 Hydro-electric projects and dam constructions.

Effects of deforestation in rainforests

These human actions have resulted in the following negative effects on both
human beings and the environment:

 Rainforests are carbon sinks which soak up carbon dioxide; therefore

their destruction has led to an increase in carbon dioxide concentration in
the atmosphere.
 This increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide has led to an increase
in temperature on the earth known as global warming.
 The emitted carbon dioxide has formed a blanket over the earth thus
trapping the outgoing solar radiation reflected by the earth's surface
resulting in a warmer earth.
 Global warming has led to climate change as the rate of heat waves,
droughts and floods being experienced have increased over the years.
 Extinction of some flora and faunal species as their habitats are destroyed
due to over-exploitation and uncontrolled hunting (poaching).
 Decrease in rainfall has disrupted fresh water supplies.
 Deforestation causes ecological and environmental imbalances when one
vital component of the environment is destroyed.
 Soil erosion in tropical rainforests has been accelerated as trees that help
bind soil in place are destroyed.
 Flooding as a result of urbanization
 Siltation of rivers.
 Loss of an important supply of protein to the local indigenous people of
the rainforests.

Possible mitigation measures

Environmentalists such as the Pachamama Alliance of South America have

been putting pressure on governments and industrialist to engage in
sustainable utilisation of rainforests resources.

Below are some possible ways of curbing deforestation in rainforests:

 Reforestation of deforestated areas.

 Use of quota system in lumbering so as to allow regeneration of these
forests.
 Governments should fund and encourage rainforests conservation efforts.
 Recognizing the indigenous people's rights and working in alliance with
them in conserving their environments for example the Pachamama
Alliance in Amazon rainforest.
 Conventions on sustainable use and development of rainforests should be
held to educate people.

Page | 28
Soil erosion in tropical savanna ecosystems
 The savanna ecosystem is at constant threat from erosion and
desertification.
 This is because during the dry winters there will be few vegetation cover
which makes it vulnerable to the effects of high rainfalls of summer.
 In this study, we are going to focus on soil erosion in savanna
ecosystems.
 Soil erosion refers to the removal of top soil by water and wind action
accelerated by the removal of vegetation cover and improper land use.

Causes of soil erosion in savanna ecosystems

Soil erosion is both naturally and human induced.

Naturally, it is caused by the action of water and wind although in savanna;

the action of water outweighs that of wind action.

Human actions such as the following cause soil erosion:

 Veld fires caused by negligence, ignorance, hunting, honey collecting and

also the burning culture during winter rob the ground of its cover.
 Deforestation due to cutting firewood for energy and tobacco curing as
well as clearing land for both settlements and cultivation.

 Deforestation
Sand and gravel extraction
creates for construction
bare grounds purposestoespecially
which are susceptible near
soil erosion

 Expansion of urban areas removes vegetation cover thus increasing

chances for erosion to take place.

Page | 29
 Mineral panning also induces soil erosion as panners destroy vegetation in
search of minerals like gold and diamonds.

Gold panners panning for gold which accelerate soil erosion

 Poor land management such as poor agricultural practices, overgrazing,

excessive ploughing and stream bank cultivation.

Effects of soil erosion

Soil erosion in savanna ecosystem leads to soil loss which results in ripple
effects or problems on the environment and humans.

Such effects include the following:

 Siltation of rivers as sediments and soils are deposited in rivers. An

example is the Save River in Zimbabwe.
 Loss of agricultural prime lands as soil is washed away.
 Reduction in fresh water qualities as it is polluted by pollutants such as
fertilizers and other agrochemicals eroded by runoff.
 Destruction of infrastructure such as roads.

Page | 30
 Road damaged by soil erosion.

 It causes land degradation due to the gullies formed as a result of soil

erosion.

Land is degraded by soil erosion leaving it unfit for any beneficial purpose

 Soil erosion disrupts ecosystems especially the aquatic ones as it causes

water pollution giving rise to alien invasive species such as the hyacinth
weed in Lake Chivero.
 Reduces agricultural yields due to loss of fertile soils as they are washed
away by water and wind.
Page | 31
 Loss of biodiversity is also experienced due to soil erosion as the original
flora and fauna are replaced by new species.
 Leads to desertification as the ground is left unfertile and unproductive.

Preventive measures

 Reforestation (planting of trees) of bare areas so as to increase ground

cover.
 Practicing proper agricultural practices such as crop rotation and
controlled grazing.
 Gully reclamation projects to reclaim eroded areas.
 Enforcing of laws that discourage bad practices that accelerate soil
erosion.
 Educating the locals on the effects of soil erosion on their lands as well as
good practices that reduce soil erosion.

Challenges faced in the implementation of these measures

 Inadequate monitoring capacity due to financial constraints.

 Absence of relevant by-laws in local authorities.
 Inadequate collaborations among relevant institutions such as the police,
Environmental Management Agency and chiefs.
 Lack of demonstrative and supportive statistics to encourage the efforts
being implemented to curb these threats to ecosystems.
 Corruption.

Page | 32
Wetland development in tropical areas
 On 2 February every year, the world celebrates the World Wetlands Day.
 Governments in 1971 on the 2nd of February signed the Ramsar
Convention on wetlands.
 This was an effort in promoting national action and international
cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their
resources.
 Zimbabwe is also a signatory to this Convention.
 Environmental Management Act (EMA) legislation was enacted so as to
adhere to the regulations of this Convention.
 Wetlands are very important to us as human beings.
 What are wetlands?

Wetlands

 Wetlands are areas covered by water which is near or at the surface of

the soil all year round.
 The water may be static, flowing, saline or fresh water.
 They can also be defined as areas of land whose soil is saturated with
water either permanently or seasonally for examples swamps, vleis,
marshes and bogs.
 Locally, they are called Matoro, Mapani or Amaxhaphozi.
 Below is a photograph of a typical wetland.

Page | 33
Importance of wetlands

 They are habitats for wildlife like birds and aquatic animals.
 Ensure food security when utilized sustainably.
 Act as natural water purifiers as they filter contaminants and excess salts.
 Renew ground water supply during the dry winter.
 Control flooding since they hold up flowing water.
 Helps in research and educational activities.
 Increases biodiversity in an area.
 Income generators for the locals through fishing and reeds used for mats
making.
 They are carbon sinks that reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere.
 Livestock watering during the dry season.
 Provides pastures for livestock when other pastures are depleted.

Cattle grazing in a wetland

 Foreign currency earner through tourism for example Mana Pools.

 Prevent siltation and soil erosion by trapping sediments and slowing down
run-off.

Developments that pose threat to wetlands

 Agricultural activities that encroach into wetlands such as irrigation

schemes establishment.
 Development of residential and commercial stands such as the Long
Cheng Plaza shopping mall in Belvedere near the National Sports Stadium
built upon a wetland.

Page | 34
 Road constructions that destroy wetlands.
 Resource extractions such as diamonds and alluvial gold.
 Waste disposal which pollutes wetlands for example Mukuvisi Woodlands
wetland.
 Cutting down trees for firewood and other domestic purposes leading to
deforestation.
 Dam constructions.
 Fishing.

Effects of wetland development

 Depletion of underground water.

 Increased chances of flooding.
 Loss of biodiversity.
 Accelerated global warming as concentration of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere increase.
 Water scarcity as rivers dries up early.
 Loss of wildlife habitats.

Page | 35
 Accelerated soil erosion since there will be an absent of run-off check.

Page | 36