Population Dynamics and the Contraction of the Miombo Woodland Ecozone: A Case Study of Sikonge District, Tabora Region, Tanzania

A study was conducted in a cereal-tobacco farming system in Sikonge District, Tabora Region. The objective of the study was to determine the implications of forest resource demand by the ever growing population. A social survey was conducted in the period 2011-2012. Randomized stratified multistage sampling using proportionate population sizes was employed to select 365 households and six institutions in the study area. Assessment of vegetation cover change was based on time-series satellite images and repeated aerial photographs. Data processing and analysis was accomplished by the use of ERDAS Imagine Version 8.7 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results revealed that depletion of closed woodland between 1984 and 2012 was 46.7 hectares per year on average. Likewise, cultivated land increased by an average of 265 (0.8%) hectares annually within this time period. The expansion of cultivated land was at the expense of the Miombo woodlands fueled by internal and external socio-economic drivers led by population growth, agricultural expansion, domestic fuel wood and charcoal and increased demand for tobacco curing. Key words: Population growth; Miombo woodland; socio-economic drivers; land use/land cover changes