Browsing by Author "Kalema, Vettes N."

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    Agrobiodiversity of homegardens in a commercial sugarcane cultivation land matrix in Uganda
    (International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management, 2016) Mwavu, Edward N.; Ariango, Esther; Ssegawa, Paul; Kalema, Vettes N.; Bateganya, Fred; Waiswa, Daniel; Byakagaba, Patrick
    ABSTRACT Understanding biodiversity in homegardens embedded in landscapes dominated by commercial monoculture agriculture is critical for sustainable management of agrobiodiversity and meeting rural households’ needs in the face of global changes. We assessed agrobiodiversity in the 120 homegardens and its contribution to rural household livelihood strategies within a commercial monoculture sugarcane cultivation land matrix in eastern Uganda. We recorded a total of 68 plant species from 46 genera representing 27 families. Species richness spanned 6 to 19 species, and α-diversity (H’) ranged from 0.6 to 2.3; with 86.67% of the homegardens having H’ >1. Species composition differed significantly (global RANOSIM = 0.153, p < 0.001) among the villages. The most important and commonly maintained plants were those that provided food, fuelwood and money income and included Zea mays L., Manihot esculenta, Phaesolus spp., Coffea sp., Musa spp., Ipomea batatus and Artocarpus heterophyllus. Most of the crops cited as useful by households were also frequent and visible in many of the homegardens. Although homegardens still hold some valuable plants, there is also loss of important plants from the agricultural system including cowpeas, soya beans, bambara groundnuts, finger millet, cotton, aerial yams and oysternut essential for sustaining household livelihoods. This loss, precipitated by increased land-use/cover change to commercial sugarcane plantations threatens agrobiodiversity conservation and the benefits households derive from homegardens. Our findings underline the importance of homegardens in the conservation of indigenous agrobiodiversity, and indicate that with the continued expansion of commercial sugarcane cultivation this opportunity may be lost.
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    The Impacts of Changes in Land Use on Woodlands in an Equatorial African Savanna
    (Land degradation & development, 2015) Kalema, Vettes N.; Witkowski, Edward T. F.; Erasmus, Barend F. N.; Mwavu, Edward N.
    Savanna landscapes are vitally important in providing both ecological and economic services that sustain local livelihoods and national economies, particularly for sub-Saharan African countries whose economies are mainly agrarian. Development prospects in savanna landscapes are however dependent on actions to avoid and to slow or reverse degradation and that are aided with a clear understanding of trends in land use/cover changes, their causes and implications for conservation. We analysed land use/cover changes based on three Landsat satellite images (1984, 1995 and 2000/2001) and the influence of human utilization on the changes in an equatorial African savanna, central Uganda, for the period 1984–2000/2001. The land cover classification and change analysis clearly identified the dominant land cover types, revealing a severe reduction in woodland cover with dense woodlands decreasing by 64%, over a 17-year period. Consequently, medium woodland, open woodland and cultivation/settlements areas cover increased by 31%, 3% and 80%, respectively. The cover change analysis results were corroborated with interview results that also attributed the woodland cover loss to increasing commercial charcoal production, expanding livestock grazing, subsistence crop cultivation and an insecure land use tenure system. Indeed, the major land use types in the savanna are charcoal production, shifting crop cultivation and livestock rearing. The decreasing woody vegetation cover threatens the savanna’s ability to continue providing ecosystems services to support the livelihoods of people who mainly depend on natural resources and are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.