ABC Matandwe Forest Reserve Vegetation Survey

Matandwe FR was gazetted in 1931 and is located in Nsanje district in the Rift Valley scarp zone, comprising a range of hills including Mulaka hills in the north and Natundu Hills in the south. In the NW the FR is bordered by Mwabvi Game Reserve. The FR extends from approximately south of Bangula. The soils are lithosols The vegetation is open canopy woodland of hills and scarps dominated by Brachystegia species, especially B. boehmii, and a degraded form of Uapaca kirkiana. The area of the FR is estimated to be 262.05 km2; however, it has been encroached and excised several times. Accessibility in the FR is difficult due to rugged terrain; there is only one earth road branching off the Bangula-Nsanjebitumised road leading to Chididi Mission.