Browsing by Author "Masocha, Mhosisi"

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    Assessing the variation of river channel reach inflows on transmission losses
    (World Water Policy, 2022) Mazvimavi, Dominic; Mujere, Never; Masocha, Mhosisi; Makurira, Hodson
    Arid and semi-arid regions are characterized by limited water availability throughout the year and highly variable streamflows. River channel transmission losses add another uncertainty to the complex flow regimes. However, the contribution of different factors influencing to transmission losses is poorly understood. In this work we determined whether variations in river channel transmission losses along five reaches of varying lengths could be related to reach inflows in Runde River catchment in Zimbabwe. We directly estimated transmission losses as the difference between reach inflow and outflow discharges. Using simple bivariate regression equations, channel transmission losses were modelled as response variables while reach inflows were the predictor variables. Our results indicate statistically significant positive relationships (p = .000, R2 > 0.05) between inflows and transmission losses for all minor, moderate, and major flow events. This simple approach can be applied in similar settings to understand the variations in transmission losses
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    Influence of termites on the soil seed bank in an African savannah
    (Wiley, 2018) Masocha, Mhosisi; Dube, Timothy
    In savannah ecosystems, termites drive key ecosystem processes, such as primary production through creation of patchiness in soil nutrients availability around their nests. In this study, we evaluated the role of termites in altering the soil seed bank size, an important ecosystem component that has often been overlooked in previous work. Data on above ground vegetation and soil seed bank samples were collected from four microhabitats, that is, the wooded mound, unwooded mound, tree sub‐ canopy and the open grassland matrix in a protected game reserve in south‐central Zimbabwe. The seedling emergence method was then used to identify species present in the soil samples. One‐way analysis of variance followed by Tukey's multiple comparison tests was executed to test for significant differences in plant species richness among the four microhabitats. The results indicate that plant species richness was high on wooded termite mound but did not differ between the unwooded and the sub‐canopy microhabitats.
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    Modelling the distribution of the invasive Ziziphus mauritiana along road corridors in Zimbabwe
    (Wiley, 2019) Mungate, Pauline N. P.; Masocha, Mhosisi; Dube, Timothy
    We investigate how human fruit consumption affects the spread of the alien invasive Ziziphus mauritiana along road corridors in northern Zimbabwe. A field survey was conducted to identify and map Z. Mauritiana stems at 25 randomly located 6‐ha plots placed along two main roads connecting the Zambezi Valley to the Highveld region. The L‐function was used to test for evidence of significant spatial clustering of the stems. The inhomogeneous point model fitted by maximum likelihood was also applied to check whether distance from the road explains variation in the number of stems per unit area. Finally, a t test was executed on log‐transformed abundance data to test for significant differences in the mean number of saplings and adults between the Zambezi Valley and the Highveld. Results of the L‐function indicated that Z. mauritiana had a clustered and linear distribution along roads both in the Zambezi Valley and Highveld regions. Results of the t test showed that the mean number of saplings per plot in the Zambezi Valley (μ1 = 275) was three times higher than in the Highveld (μ2 = 78), with p < 0.01. The mean number of adult trees was also significantly higher in the Zambezi Valley than in the Highveld.