Dr. Deo D. Shirima

PERSONAL INFORMATION

  1. Full Name: Deo D. Shirima
  2. Title: Senior Safeguard information system Officer and Senior Lecturer
  3. Area of specialization: Forest Ecology, Ecosystem Conservation, GHG inventory, MRV systems, Biodiversity monitoring, and safeguards
  4. Centre: National Carbon Monitoring Centre(NCMC)
  5. Department: Ecosystems and Conservation
  6. Office Location: National Carbon Monitoring Centre Building at Sokoine University of Agriculture
  7. Email address: dshirima@sua.ac.tz
  8. Recent Photo: (please attach separately)

BIOGRAPHY:

Dr. Deo D. Shirima is a Senior Lecturer and Safeguard Information system officer at the Department of Ecosystems and Conservation in the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Tourism and National Carbon Monitoring Centre (https://www.ncmc.sua.ac.tz/) at the Sokoine University of Agriculture. Deo is a forest Ecologist and a Forester by training, with a PhD from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Norway. His main research interests are to understand interactions between humans and ecosystems on earth, with a focus on the topics of forest structure, changing agriculture and agroforestry landscapes, and the carbon cycle. His other interest is to apply research in solving grassroots conservation and ecosystem management challenges. He co-founded and technically advise Reforest Africa (http://reforestafrica.com/). He has worked on various consultancy assignments in areas of Forest landscape restoration, biodiversity management plans, carbon trade project design, plant metal uptake and phytoremediation in Mining concessions, carbon project design project development, technical assistance in forest stewardship auditing (FSC) audit, GHG MRV systems at national and cities.

ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Professional: FSC Auditing to ISO 19011 Course Certificate

Soil Association Certification Limited, 2019

PhD: Biology-Ecology-Forests and Woodlands of Tanzania-Interactions between woody plant structure, diversity carbon stock and soil nutrient heterogeneity

Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 2015

MSc: Forestry: Structure, composition, diversity, and carbon storage in Miombo woodland: an estimate for the eastern arc mountains of Tanzania

Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2009

BSc. Forestry:

Sokoine University of Agriculture, 2006

 

RESEARCH

1        Research Interests / Areas

  • GHG inventory
  • Climate change
  • Ecology
  • Ecosystem conservation
  • Human well-being and drivers of ecosystems
  • Biodiversity Monitoring
  • Ecological Impacts and risk evaluation

2        Funded Research Projects

2.1         CORRESTOR – How should we manage wildlife Corridor Restoration interventions in tropical landscapes? SNAP- 2021-2023

2.2         What to plant when and where? Designing Integrated Forest-Agricultural Landscapes to Enhance Multiple Livelihood Benefits to and from Agriculture in Tanzania, Kilombero District, Donor: BBSRC- 2019-2022

2.3         Capacity Building to Smallholder Tree Growers on Potential of Forest Certification to Enhance Sustainable Forest Management in Mufindi District, Iringa Region. Donor: GoT- TaFF, 2017-2020

2.4         Enhancing Forest Biodiversity Monitoring through Research and Training on the application of Remote Sensing Technologies in East Usambara Mountain Forests Donor: Eastern Arc Endowment Fund- EMACEF, 2017-2018.

2.5         Forests and woodlands of Tanzania: interactions between woody plant structure, diversity, carbon stocks and soil nutrient heterogeneity. Research as a requirement for the PhD degree, at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway (2011 – 2015).

 

TEACHING

  1. List of courses

Undergraduate

Year 1

FBL 104: Integrated Ecosystem Assessment

FBL 102: Ecological Climatology

Year 2

FBL 207: Ecological Impact Assessment and Environmental planning

 

Post-graduate

ECE 608 Ecological Risk Assessment and Environmental Planning

ECF 602 Tropical Vegetation and Plant Taxonomy

My office hours for students are 2-4 pm Wednesday’s and Thursday’s

 

  1. Students Supervision

PhD STUDENT

  1. Funded by Reforest Program on “Optimizing Essential Biodiversity Variables: Developing Standards for Land Surface Phenology Monitoring in The Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania” [2021-2024]
  2. The role of co-operatives in reducing carbon emissions and enhancing sinks from land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) in Tanzania [2015-2018]

MSC STUDENT:

  1. Effects of selected woody alien plants on recruitment of three native tree species in Amani Botanical Garden, Tanzania: 2016-2018
  2. The effects of planting dates on maize yields under conservation agriculture with tree (CAWT) in semi rid areas of Tanzania [2017-2018]
  3. The influence of insect pollinators on crop production along (semi-) natural habitats gradient a case study of Kilombero District [2019-2021].
  4. Assessment of climate change and plant diversity on bee community across different habitat type in Kilombero: [2019-2021]
  5. Quantifying Forest Structural Attributes of Usambara Montane Forests [2021-2023].
  6. Assessment of Occurrence and Severity of Pine Pitch Canker to Private and Government Plantations in Mufindi, Iringa, Tanzania [2019-2021].
  7. Assessment of deadwood carbon stocks in different vegetation types of southern highlands zone, Tanzania[ 2021-2023]
  8. Effects of salt farming on carbon stocks in mangrove forests; a case study in wete-district, Zanzibar[2021-2023]

PUBLICATIONS
Journal Articles

  1. Milheiras, S.G., Sallu, S.M., Marshall, A.R., Shirima, D.D., Kioko, E.N., Loveridge, R., Moore, E., Olivier, P., Teh, Y.A., Rushton, S. and Pfeifer, M., 2022. A framework to assess forest-agricultural landscape management for socioecological well-being outcomes. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 5, pp.1-13.
  2. Wills A. R., Marshall A. R., Shirima D. D, Villemaire-C.O., Platts P.J., Knight S.J.1, Loveridge R., Seki H., Munishi P.K.T., Lyatuu H., Bernal B., Pfeifer Marion,P. (2022). A practice-led assessment of landscape restoration potential in a biodiversity hotspot. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
  3. Pfeifer, M., and Shirima, D.D., (2021). Inventory hints at the future of African forests. Nature: News & views https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00978-0
  4. Pfeifer, M., Sallu, S.M., Marshall, A.R., Stephen Rushton, S., Moore, E., Shirima, D.D., Smit, J., Kioko,E., Barnes,L., Reas L., Braunholtz, L., Olivier, P.I., Bowers, S., Milheiras, S.G. (2021). A systems approach framework for evaluating tree restoration interventions for social and ecological outcomes in rural tropical landscapes. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
  5. Gizachew,B., Rizzi,J., Shirima, D.D., and Zahabu,E. (2020). Deforestation and Connectivity among Protected Areas of Tanzania. Journal of Forests (11), 170; doi:10.3390/f11020170
  6. Hamunyelaa, E., Brandtb, P., Shirima, D.D., Dob,TH., Heroldc M. (2020). Space-time detection of deforestation, forest degradation and regeneration in montane forests of Eastern Tanzania. Int J Appl Earth Obs Geoinformation, (88), 1020563.
  7. Kiswaga, S.A.S., Mbwambo, J.R., Shirima, D.D., Mndolwa, A.S., Schaffner, U., and Eschen, R. (2020). More widespread alien tree species do not have larger impacts on regeneration of native tree species in a tropical forest reserve. J. Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6256
  8. Pfeifer, M., A. Gonsamo, Woodgate, W., Cayuela,L., Marshall,AR., Alicia Ledo, Paine, T.C. E., Marchant,R., Burt,A., Calders,K., Courtney-Mustaphi, C., Cuni-Sanchez,A.,  Deere,N.J.,  Denu,D.,  Tanago, J.G., Hayward,R., Lau,A., Macía,M.J., Olivier,P.I, Pellikka,P., Seki, H., Shirima,D.D., Rebecca Trevithick,R., Wedeux,B., Wheeler,C.,  Munishi, P.K.T,  Martin,T. (2018). “Tropical forest canopies and their relationships with climate and disturbance: results from a global dataset of consistent field-based measurements.” Forest Ecosystems 5(1): 7.
  9. Burgess ND, Mwakalila S, Munishi P, Pfeifer M, Willcock S, Shirima D,D., Hamidu S, Bulenga GB, Rubens J, Machano H, Marchant R (2013). REDD herrings or REDD menace: response to Beymer-Farris and Bassett. Global Environmental Change 23, 1349-1354.
  10. Marshall, A. R., Willcock, S., Platts, P. J., Lovett, J. C., Balmford, A., Burgess, N. D., Latham, J. E., Munishi, P. K. T., Salter, R., Shirima, D. D., et al. (2012). Measuring and modeling aboveground carbon and tree allometry along a tropical elevation gradient. Biological Conservation, 154 (0): 20-33.
  11. Shirima, D. D., Munishi, P. K.T., Lewis, S. L., Burgess, N D, Marshall, A.R., Balmford, A., Swetnam, R., Zahabu, E. (2011). Carbon storage, structure and composition of Miombo woodlands in Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains, Afr. J. Ecol., 49, 332–342.
  12. Neil D. Burgess, Bruno Bahane, Tim Clairs, Finn Danielsen, Søren Dalsgaard, Mikkel Funder, Niklas Hagelberg, Paul Harrison, Christognus Haule, Kekilia Kabalimu, Felician Kilahama, Edward Kilawe, Simon L. Lewis, Jon C. Lovett, Gertrude Lyatuu, Andrew R. Marshall, Charles Meshack, Lera Miles, Simon A. H. Milledge, Pantaleo K. T. Munishi, Evarist Nashanda, Shirima, D.D, Ruth D. Swetnam, Simon Willcock, Andrew Williams, Eliakim Zahabu (2010). Getting ready for REDD+ in Tanzania: a case study of progress and challenge Oryx, Vol. 44, No. 03. 339-351.
  13. K. T. Munishi, S. Mringi, Shirima D.D., and S. K. Linda (2010). The role of the Miombo Woodlands of the Southern Highlands of Tanzania as carbon sinks. Journal of Ecology and the Natural Environment Vol. 2(12), pp. 261-269.

 

  1. Book Chapters
  2. Shirima, D.D (Under preparation). Experiences and lesson learned in GHG inventory and carbon trading in Tanzania
  3. Pantaleo K.T. Munishi, Nice N. Wilfred, James S. Nshare, Stein R. Moe, Deo D. Shirima and Halima H. Kilungu (2011). Valley Bottom Wetlands Can Serve for Both Biodiversity Conservation and Local Livelihoods Improvements, Ecosystems Biodiversity, PhD. Oscar Grillo (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-307-417-7, In Tech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/ecosystems-biodiversity/valley-bottom’
  4. Pantaleo K.T. Munishi, Shirima, D. D., Ørjan Totland, Stein R. Moe (2016). Carbon stocks and plant diversity in different land cover types of Tanzania. In Kulindwa, K. A., Silayo, D., Zahabu, E., Lokina, R., Hella, J., Hepelwa., Shirima, D., Macrice, S and Kalonga, S. (eds) 2016 Lessons and Implications from REDD+ Implementation: Experiences from Tanzania. CCIAM-SUA, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. E&D Vision Publishers, Dar es Salaam

 

  1. Conference/Workshops/Seminar Papers
  2. International FREL/FRL Workshop held on 16th -17th June 2016 in Ås, Norway. Workshop jointly organized by the Norwegian Institute of Bieconomy Research (NIBIO) and The National Carbon Monitoring center (NCMC) of Tanzania.
  3. Stakeholders Workshops on the development of Forest Reference Emissions level (FREL)/ Forest Reference Level (FRL). Held in the National Carbon monitoring Centre (NCMC) – Sokoine University of Agriculture-Morogoro, on 5th and 19-20th May 2016.
  4. Field IT East Africa: virtual field course’ for two river basins, in Kenya & Tanzania to professionally develop young East African tertiary education staff in digital spatial data capture, field ecology & conservation in Naivasha Kenya-23rd November to 8th December 2008.
  5. International Student Conference on Conservation Science at the University of Cambridge in UK with a poster presentation of carbon storage potential of the Eastern Arc Mountains -24-26th March 2009
  6. Rising Funds for conservation projects at the University of Cambridge on 26th March 2009.
  7. Digitization of Biodiversity data and information training of trainer program held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Training offered under the leadership of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Tanzania Commission for Sciences and Technology in partnership with the Royal Museum for Central Africa, Belgium, June 13th -17th 2009.
  8. Field IT East Africa: virtual field course’ for two river basins, in Kenya & Tanzania to professionally develop young East African tertiary education staff in digital spatial data capture, field ecology & conservation in Lake Natron -25th November to 12th December 2009
  9. Geo-referencing training of trainer workshop held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Training offered under the leadership of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and the Tanzania Commission for Sciences and Technology in partnership with the Museum of Vertebrate at Berkeley, University of California, and Tulane University, USA with funding from the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. October 25h -29th 2010.
  10. The participatory 3D modeling training workshop, hosted by MELCA Mahiber in collaboration with CTA – Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-European Union held in Addis Ababa Ethiopia 7th to 21st December 2010.
  11. Remote sensing, GIS, and Its application training in Nairobi Kenya from 8th -26th of November 2010

 

  1. Google Scholar (https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=list_works&hl=en&hl=en&user=OCeT81MAAAAJ&pagesize=80)