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| This paper explores whether spatial variation in the biodiversity values of vertebrates and
plants (species richness, range-size rarity and number or proportion of IUCN Red Listed
threatened species) of three African tropical mountain ranges (Eastern Arc, Albertine Rift
and Cameroon-Nigeria mountains within the Biafran Forests and Highlands) co-vary with
proxy measures of threat (human population density and human infrastructure). We find
that species richness, range-size rarity, and threatened species scores are all significantly
higher in these three tropical African mountain ranges than across the rest of sub-Saharan
Africa. When compared with the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, human population density
is only significantly higher in the Albertine Rift mountains, whereas human
infrastructure is only significantly higher in the Albertine Rift and the Cameroon-Nigeria
mountains. Statistically there are strong positive correlations between human density and
species richness, endemism and density or proportion of threatened species across the
three tropical African mountain ranges, and all of sub-Saharan Africa. Kendall partial
rank-order correlation shows that across the African tropical mountains human population
density, but not human infrastructure, best correlates with biodiversity values. This
is not the case across all of sub-Saharan Africa where human density and human infrastructure
both correlate almost equally well with biodiversity values. The primary conservation
challenge in the African tropical mountains is a fairly dense and poor rural
population that is reliant on farming for their livelihood. | |
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