Browsing by Author "Gwynne, M.D."
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Item A Checklist List of Birds of the Muguga Area Kenya 1967(1967) Gwynne, M.D.; Dyson, W.G.The present list is based on one repaired by Mrs Molly Glover of the East African Agricultural and Forestry Research Organization and Which recorded her observations at Muguga for the year bruilry 1962- February· 1963 Mrs 0 Glover's list was closefisted and circulated to a small number of keen birdwatchers' resident at Muguga 5 who have mended the original list from their subsequent observations. Apart from our own recordItem A Classification of East African Rangeland, With An Appendix on Terminology(1965) Pratt, D J.; Greenway, P.J.; Gwynne, M.D.; Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry: East African Agricultural and Forestry Research OrganizationTwo complementary classification systems recommended by the East African Range Classification Committee are described, to indicate respectively site potential and the present physiognomy and species composition of the vegetation. The first recognizes six broad ecological zones, defined primarily by climate but incorporating vegetation and land-use descriptions, which can be subdivided, as new survey data become available, according to soil and topography, to give more critical ecological land-units. The second Comprises a series of physiognomic vegetation types, recognized by the form of the vegetation and the relative contributions of woody plants and grass, with sub-types defined by species composition and grassland type. Profile diagrams are given.Item A Classification of East African Rangeland, with an Appendix on Terminology(1966) Pratt, D.J.; Greenway,P.J.; Gwynne, M.D.; Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry: East African Agriculture and Forestry Research OrganizationTwo complementary classification systems recommended by the East African Range Classification Committee are described, to indicate respectively site potential and the present physiognomy and species composition of the vegetation. The first recognizes six broad ecological zones, defined primarily by climate but incorporating vegetation and land-use descriptions, which can be subdivided, as new survey data become available, according to soil and topography, to give more critical ecological land-units. The second comprises a series of physiognomic vegetation types, recognized by the form of the vegetation and the relative contributions of woody plants and grass, with sub-types defined by species composition and grassland type. Profile diagrams are given. Three maps are presented to illustrate the application of the classification systems, though the systems are designed primarily for more detailed range survey. In all cases it is recommended that a permanent base map showing land potential should be prepared separately from that showing present and perhaps temporary vegetation type, and that the same order of preparation should be followed in written texts.Item An Easily Made Solvent Trough for Use in Descending Paper Chromatography(1962) Gwynne, M.D.It is usual to make solvent troughs from sealed lengths of glass tubing in which the opening for the papers is cut ground,,3, or pulled out of heat-softened glass These methods are difficult and usually involve many fractures. Troughs have also been made from stainless steel,and from pressed sheet metal coated with resistant enamel', but these are not easy to make and are relatively costly, especially for workers in areas where financial grants are meagre and materials and apparatus difficult to obtain.Item Light Rainfall and Plant Survival in E. Africa II. Dry Grassland Vegetation(British Ecological Society, 1962) Glover, P.E.; Glover, J.; Gwynne, M.D.; Kenya Veterinary Department; East African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organization; University of Oxford; Kenya Veterinary Department; East African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organization; University of OxfordRain-water penetration of the soil beneath a number of dry grassland communities was examined a few hours after a light shower in Kenya Masailand. It was found that for the particular communities studied, the type of soil present and the amount of rainfall, the depth of rain-water penetration is approximately equal to the height of the plant plus the normal penetration of the shower into the bare soil. The sectional area of the wet soil mass beneath each vegetation clump is also approximately equal to the sectional area of the clump showing above ground plus an area corresponding to the amount which would have fallen there had there been no plant cover. It is considered that in the overgrazed dry grassland parts of Kenya Masailand, stem-flow and rain-water penetration around trees of B. aegyptiaca may now be playing a part in changing the character of the local vegetation. It is also suggested that leaf catchment-stemflow systems may be involved in the maintenance of grassland vegetation patterns noted in other regions by other workers.Item Light Rainfall and Plant Survival: Measurement of Stem Flow Run-Off(1961) Gwynne, M.D.; Glover, J.; East African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organisation, Kikuyu, Kenya.Work on the effects of showers on droughted maize necessitated measurement of water run-off down the main stems. The following two collecting devices have proved simple to construct and reliable in use. They are attached directly to the stem 1–3 in. above the ground-surface after the leaf-bases ensheathing the first internode have been removed, and the stem surface dried.Item Masai and Kipsigis Notes on East African Plants: Part I—Grazing, Browse, Animal Associated and Poisonous Plants.(1966) Glover, P.E.; Stewart, J.; Gwynne, M.D.; E.A.A.F.R.O., Muguga, Kikuyu, KenyaThe information contained in this series of papers was collected during the course of an ecological survey of the Narok District of Kenya Masailand. The survey was initiated by Dr. F. Fraser Darling and carried out under the auspices of the Conservation Foundation, New York.Item Masai and Kipsigis Notes on East African Plants: Part II—Domestic Uses of Plants.(1966) Glover, P.E.; Stewart, J.; Gwynne, M.D. ; E.A.A.F.R.O., Muguga, Kikuyu, KenyaPart II includes edible plants, dye plants and plants used for string and rope. The list in part III is grouped under disorders. All groups are subdivided according to plant families.Item The nutritive values of Acacia pods in relation to Acacia seed distribution by ungulates(1969) Gwynne, M.D.; EAAFROThe seeds and seed pods of various Acacias have long been known to form an item in the diet of many African wild animals (Burtt, 1929; Stevenson Hamilton, 1947. Brooks, 1961; Lamprey, 1963; Dougall, Drysdale and Glover, 1964). The first, however, to point out the possible adaptive significance. of the lack of dehiscence mechanism, the pods of some Acacia species in relation to seed dispersal by ungulates were Lamprey (1967).Item A Punch-Card Method Based on Vegetative characters For Identifying East African Grasses(1971) Gwynne, M.D.; Senyimba, M.S.; E.A.A.F.R.O., MugugaThe identification of the higher plants by classical botanical methods is at present largely based on the characteristics of their flowers. Thus it is necessary to have a plant in flower before a positive identification can be made. In many areas of the world flowering is restricted to one or two comparatively short seasons per year which are determined by variable environmental factors such as light intensity, temperature and rainfall. Positive taxonomic identification can, therefore, only be made on plants collected during these short flowering periods. With most groups of flowering plants this is not an unduly serious practical difficulty. Grasses. However, are different for they form the basis of the world's livestock industry. In any country with a livestock production potential it is essential to be able to carry out research and management on grassland at any time of the year. Mos.t such work involves being able to distinguish between the various grasses that make up the pasture or range.Item Selection of Vegetation Components by Grazing Ungulates in the Serengeti National Park(1968) Gwynne, M.D.; Bell, R.H.V.; East African Agriculture and Forestry Research Organization, Muguga, Kenya. Department of Zoology, University of Manchester.Ecological separation of the African grazing ungulates has been found to be difficult1, although some authors have observed that these ungulates often take part in grazing successions in which species follow each other in characteristic sequences during their seasonal movements2. The migratory populations of the Serengeti take part in such a succession; first zebra (Equus burchelli), second wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus albojubatus) and lastly Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsoni). The semi-migratory topi (Damaliscus korrigum) tends to associate with zebra. The work described here was designed to test the hypothesis that the species in such a grazing succession make use of different levels of the herb layer and might therefore be expected to take different proportions of the plant parts available.
