^ust/Dccembcr 1997 
21 
apecially m Kenya, is one of the highest in the world. 
ThH has put much pressure on forests for conversion 
,r.to agricultural, industrial and settlement land-use 
Thus many of the fern habitats arc decreasing daily 
• A ith increase in human development activities. Forest 
fragmentation has been increasing especially from the 
I 
Ui u7 u3 04 M k2 k3 M k5 W *T 
Figure 2: Number of fern species occurring in each of the floral regions 
ex-silu conservation. 
Cultivation of rare species needs expensive replication 
of their habitat requirements in controlled environments. 
Therefore protection of the habitats where they are 
naturally occurring is the cheapest way ol ensuring their 
future survival and should be given priority. 
References 
Budowiski. G. (1976). The 
global problems of 
conservation and the 
potential role of living 
collections. In Simmons. J.B.. 
R.I. Beyer. P.E Brandham. GL. 
Lucas' & T.H. Parry (cds) 
Conservation of threatened 
Plants 9-13. Plenum Press. 
London. 
De Meyer. M.. E. Vanden 
Berghc. J. Kitili & H. Liban 
(1994). The Diptcra fauna or 
East Africa: a preliminary 
overview. Bulletin EANHS 
24(4): 55-59 
Faden. R. (1994). Ferns and 
Fern Allies in Agncw ADQ & 
Agnew S (eds) Flora of 
Upland Kenya. Second 
Edition 9-39. EANHS, Nairobi. 
Gathua, M & E Vanden Berghc ( 1 993). Mammals o! East 
Africa; preliminary statistics. Bulletin EANHS 23(4): 
74. 
13 14 15 16 17 IB z p 
middle of this century when indigenous wet forests 
started to be cleared to give way to crop an.l exotic 
timber plantations. Continuing forest degradation is 
threatening the survival of ferns particularly due to the ^ 
opening of the forest canopy by logging, which reduces Rj.(!991 ). Pteridophytes of Tropical East Africa 
the humidity Besides degradation and reduction in ( p re i iminary check-list of the species. Royal Botanic 
habitat sire, collection of ferns from the forest foi thmicns Kew. Richmond. London, 
commercial use has been found to be another Rn ^ avan> y. (1989). Developmental biology of fern 
destructive force that requires to be checked and close y ... w ~' 4 "“ 
monitored. It is lime to take the advice or Budowiski 
(1976) who asked for “a code of ethics for those who 
collect live plants, and a code of ethics for those who 
propagate them in controlled conditions", to ensure 
effective protection of these fragile plants. 
Conservation policy in the three East African countries 
puts more emphasis on natural areas with high 
populations of wild animals as either National Reserves 
.... . . ,.r 1 nr Karinnril Parks 
Raghavan. V (1989). Ueveiopmemui • 
gametophytes. Cambridge 1 diversity Press. Cambridge. 
Rodger G. (1974). Ferns Pelham Books. London 
Vanden Berghc. E. A B. Bytebier( 1995). Orchids ofEast 
Africa: some statistics on their distribution. Bulletin 
EANHS 25(2): 20-23 . 
. with limited amount of protection) or National Parks 
, with total protection). Many forest habitats, however, 
do not fall under either of these two categories and 
their management is by the Forest Department, which 
allows multiple use of forest resources. It is therefore 
probable that most fern species arc not protected ami 
their survival is at risk In recent years however, some 
forest Departments have resolved the problem by 
scheduling areas of forest thought to be biologically 
important as Nature Reserv es This is common in many 
Forest Reserves in Kenya. There remain problems with 
resourcing the Nature Reserves and there are threatened 
■pevries that are not inside the designated areas. In such 
iituaiions, if in situ conservation is difficult, then the 
fetology of such species need to be understood so that 
transfers of the species to a safe area can be made for 
By J.G. Mutangnh. A.D.Q. Agncw and F Vanden Berghc. 
Biology Institute. University College of Wales. 
Aberystwyth. UK and National Museums of Kenya 
Nairobi. 
Pffllaea calomelanos 
by Tim Campbell 
