The effects of fire and grazing pressure on vegetation cover and small mammal populations in the Maasai Mara National Reserve

An extensive study of vegetation changes as a consequence of fire and grazi ng pressure and their effect on small mammal populations inside the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, was carried out during May-Jjune 1997 Compari son of vegetation maps from 1979 and 1998 suggested that vegetation in 46% of the Reserve area converted from shrubland to grassland, possibly as a re sult of fire and grazing pressure. We tested the hypothesis that in areas w ith high fire and grazing impact the population of small mammals was negati vely affected. A low density of rodents was recorded in all habitats except in areas of human activity, where artificial resources are constantly pres ent. Capture efforts were unsuccessful in grasslands. Our results confirm t hose of Norton-Griffiths (1979) and Dublin (1995), i.e. that fire and grazi ng pressure impact the vegetation of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem and limit the natural regeneration of woodlands. This indirectly affects the small m ammal community, which is limited in its long-term establishment.