EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Explanation:   Spirits lurk here!  Many cultures throughout the world dedicate patches of forests to religious and cultural purposes.  In this example, remnants of once-extensive tropical evergreen forest have been set aside as "spirit groves" or sacred groves in Malawi, Africa.  

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These groves protect cemeteries as well as scarce, old-growth forests in which dwell both the burial places of ancestors as well as plants and wildlife closely associated with these rare old-growth forest conditions.   In this way, spirit groves provide cultural as well as ecological values.

In southern Malawi, a series of montane rainforest patches dots the extensive Satemwa Tea Estates -- a vast landscape transformed from dense native forest to fields of tea -- on the Thyolo Escarpment and the Shire Highlands.  With some wildlife biologist friends, I explored several of these forest patches and we discovered new graves and, in one patch, a special cemetery for babies.  

The forest patches consist of trees of Brachystegia (40-50 cm dbh), Ficus (figs), Dracaena, and other overstory species, with an understory of wild date palms, climbers, and many other plants.  

One forest patch was about 4-6 ha (10-15 ac) in size, in which I saw a number of old-forest bird species including Hyliota, Starred Robin, Sooty Flycatcher, Wattle-eyed Flycatcher, Fork-tailed Drongo, Forest Weaver, Black-headed Oriole, African Paradise Flycatcher, Placid Bulbul, and White-eared Barbet, as well as red squirrel (Paraxerus palliatus).  Other birds present in the patch were African Golden Oriole, Kurrichane Thrush, Tamborine Dove, Green-headed Oriole, Blue-gray Flycatcher, and an Accipiter species.

Another larger forest patch held more old-forest animals:  Bar-tailed Trogon, Livingston's Lourie, Puffback, Green-headed Sunbird, Black-headed Apalis, and Silver-cheeked Hornbill, and samango monkeys.  

Clearly, spirit or sacred groves are important but often overlooked components of a forest conservation network.  Their small sizes belie their ecological value as refugia and habitat for many plants and animals and other values.  For example, over 80% of sacred groves in Ghana serve as watersheds protecting sources of clean drinking water (Anane 1997).  

Some remnant forest patches and spirit groves I have visited in Africa, India, Mexico, and elsewhere harbor the last of the remnant ancient trees, in which nest various species of owls.  The sonorous calls of owls in the dark of night are sometimes interpreted as spirits of those departed.  In this way, spirit groves preserve important cultural as well as wildlife values.   

Reference:  Anane, M. (1997). "Religion and Conservation in Ghana", in Implementing Agenda 21: NGO Experiences from Around the world. Eds. Leyla Alyanak and Adriene Cruz. New York: United Nations Non Governmental Liaison Services.

Other references:

Decher, J. 1997. Conservation, small mammals, and the future of sacred groves in West Africa. Biodiversity and Conservation 6:1007-1026.

Wachtel, P. S. 1993. Asia's sacred groves. International Wildlife March/April:24-27.