Natural regeneration and ecological recovery in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda

This study tests the justification for displacement and compensation of persons in a previously settled land for natural ecological recovery, and helps in the understanding of patch dynamics in a semi‐mountain tropical rain forest environment. The study area comprised parts of the Mbwa River Tract in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda that had been settled and cultivated for at least 20 years prior to park reclassification. The extent, state and speed of regeneration of the cleared forest (CF) after resettlement were not known. There was therefore need for a baseline study as prerequisite for future ecological monitoring of forest recovery. Strip‐plots at 200 m intervals running across the tract were therefore established for this study. 1.17 km² of forest had been cleared for cultivation in the tract and regeneration in adjacent forest (MF) was better than in the CF, based on the abundance of seedlings. The CF was more diverse in species composition than the MF, and with predominantly pioneer tree species growing. The CF was ecologically important as a water catchment area and a habitat for several animal species, and there were indications that it was heading for ecological recovery.