William, Christopher Mungo Peter2011-03-092011-03-092010-12https://hdl.handle.net/11299/101387University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. December 2010. Major Geography. Advisors: Katherine Klink, Susy Svatek Ziegler. 1 computer file (PDF), ix, 178 pages, appendices I-V. Ill. maps (some col.)In this research, I investigate the relationship between short-term climate variability and the fire ecology of the Uluguru Nature Forest Reserve (UNFR). I investigate the influence of relief, altitude, the Indian Ocean Dipole or Dipole Mode Index (DMI), and Niño 3.4 on short (November-December) and long rains (March, April, May) in the UNFR. Fire events correlate weakly with amount of annual local rainfall, suggesting that fire occurrence in the UNFR results from a combination of factors, such as rainfall anomalies, topography, type of vegetation (fuel), timing and use of fire by local people as a farm preparation tool, and teleconnections. A thorough understanding of fire behavior across time and space is necessary to design a successful UNFR management plan; the resulting plan must address both anthropogenic and climatic drivers of fire.enBiodiversityClimateConflictFireNatureUluguruGeographyThesis or Dissertation