Distribution, Diversity and Role of the Trees outside Forest in the Mount Kenya East Region
Abstract
Globally, Trees outside the Forests (TOF) are essential for providing a range of ecosystem services, which lessens the demand placed on protected forests. However, the majority of native tree species outside the forests are in danger of destruction because of the effects of climate change and the increased human population in the Sahel Africa. One of the ecosystems with TOF that has experienced extensive changes due to anthropogenic disturbance is Mount Kenya East Region. The objectives of this study were to establish: The diversity and distribution of native TOF, the drivers of change in TOF cover and the role of TOF in supporting the local livelihoods. This study used a mixed technique approach that included questionnaires, interviews, PGIS, and ecological surveys. SPSS was used to analyse the data. A total of 2145 individual trees distributed in 102 species were identified in the study area with 36% of the individuals being native while 64% were exotic. Additionally, 16 of the native tree species including Pachystela brevipes, Carissa spinarum L., Faurea saligna, Delonix electa and Vitex doneana among others, previously known to the area, had disappeared, resulting in a broad loss of ecosystem functions. Across the altitudinal gradient, the perceptions of the respondents on the loss of ecosystem services were variable. Herbicide use on farms, industrial firewood, agricultural diversification, and shifting cultural values were cited as the primary causes of the change in TOF cover in the study area. The surviving native TOF were found in public institutions, road reserves, riverine and protected places and on farms. In conclusion, there is an urgent need to continually protect the remnants of indigenous TOF because the region will lose some ecosystem services exclusively obtained from native species if the business as usual is continued
Downloads
References
Asbjornsen, H., Goldsmith, G. R., Alvarado-Barrientos, M. S., Rebel, K., Van Osch, F. P., Rietkerk, M., Chen, J., Gotsch, S., Tobon, C., Geissert, D. R., Gomez-Tagle, A., Vache, K., & Dawson, T. E. (2011). Ecohydrological advances and applications in plant-water relations research: A review. Journal of Plant Ecology, 4(1– 2), 3– 22. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtr005
Backes, M. M. (2001). [No title found]. Agroforestry Systems, 52(2), 119–132. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010685317405
Bayala, J., Heng, L. K., Van Noordwijk, M., & Ouedraogo, S. J. (2008). Hydraulic redistribution study in two native tree species of agroforestry parklands of West African dry savanna. Acta Oecologica, 34(3), 370–378. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2008.06.010
Bowler, D. E., Buyung-Ali, L., Knight, T. M., & Pullin, A. S. (2010). Urban greening to cool towns and cities: A systematic review of the empirical evidence. Landscape and Urban Planning, 97(3), 147– 155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.05.006
Camberlin, P., & Okoola, R. E. (2003). The onset and cessation of the “long rains” in eastern Africa and their interannual variability. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 75(1), 43–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-002-0721-5
Carsan, S., & Holding, C. (2006). Growing farm timber: Practices, markets, and policies: the Meru timber marketing pilot programme case studies and reviews. World Agroforestry Centre.
Carsan, S., Stroebel, A., Dawson, I., Kindt, R., Swanepoel, F., & Jamnadass, R. (2013). Implications of shifts in coffee production on tree species richness, composition and structure on small farms around Mount Kenya. Biodiversity and Conservation, 22(12), 2919–2936. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-013-0563-8
David Mbuba, M. (2019). Fencing and Forest Conservation: Attitudes of Local People Living Adjacent to Eastern Slopes of Mount Kenya. International Journal of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, 4(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnrem.20190401.11
Di Cristofaro, M., Sallustio, L., Sitzia, T., Marchetti, M., & Lasserre, B. (2020). Landscape Preference for Trees Outside Forests along an Urban–Rural–Natural Gradient. Forests, 11(7), 728. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11070728
Doss, C., Meinzen-Dick, R., & Bomuhangi, A. (2014). Who Owns the Land? Perspectives from Rural Ugandans and Implications for Large-Scale Land Acquisitions. Feminist Economics, 20(1), 76– 100 https://doi.org/10.1080/13545701.2013.855320
Fay, C., & Michon, G. (2005). Redressing Forestry Hegemony When a Forestry Regulatory Framework Is Best Replaced by An Agrarian One. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 15(2), 193– 209. https://doi.org/10.1080/14728028.2005.9752520
Himes, A., Puettmann, K., & Muraca, B. (2020). Trade-offs between ecosystem services along gradients of tree species diversity and values. Ecosystem Services, 44, 101133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101133
Huang, L., Tian, L., Zhou, L., Jin, C., Qian, S., Jim, C. Y., Lin, D., Zhao, L., Minor, J., Coggins, C., & Yang, Y. (2020). Local cultural beliefs and practices promote conservation of large old trees in an ethnic minority region in southwestern China. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 49, 126584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2020.126584
Islam, S. S. (2004). Stratified two-stage sampling (self-weighted) for assessment of village forest resources. Journal of Tropical Forest Science, 16(1), 9–16. JSTOR.
Kaburi, S. M., & Medley, K. E. (2011). Community Perspectives on Fuelwood Resources in East Africa: Enrichment and Extraction Along the Eastern Slopes of Mount Kenya. Mountain Research and Development, 31(4), 315–324. https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-10-00121.1
Kathambi, V., Mutie, F. M., Rono, P. C., Wei, N., Munyao, J. N., Kamau, P., Gituru, R. W., Hu, G.-W., & Wang, Q.-F. (2020). Traditional knowledge, use and conservation of plants by the communities of Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya. Plant Diversity, 42(6), 479–487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pld.2020.12.004
Kehlenbeck, K., Kindt, R., Sinclair, F. L., Simons, A. J., & Jamnadass, R. (2011). Exotic tree species displace indigenous ones on farms at intermediate altitudes around Mount Kenya. Agroforestry Systems, 83(2), 133–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-011-9413-4
Klopp, J. M. (2012). Deforestation and democratization: Patronage, politics and forests in Kenya. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 6(2), 351– 370. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2012.669577
Konijnendijk, C. C. (Ed.). (2011). Urban forests and trees: A reference book; with 31 tables (Nachdr.). Springer.
Kenya population and housing census. (2019). Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
Liu, C. L. C., Kuchma, O., & Krutovsky, K. V. (2018). Mixed species versus monocultures in plantation forestry: Development, benefits, ecosystem services and perspectives for the future. Global Ecology and Conservation, 15, e00419. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00419
Liu, S., Brandt, M., Nord-Larsen, T., Chave, J., Reiner, F., Lang, N., Tong, X., Ciais, P., Igel, C., Pascual, A., Guerra-Hernandez, J., Li, S., Mugabowindekwe, M., Saatchi, S., Yue, Y., Chen, Z., & Fensholt, R. (2023). The overlooked contribution of trees outside forests to tree cover and woody biomass across Europe. Science Advances, 9(37), eadh4097. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh4097
Lund, H. G. (2002). When Is a Forest Not a Forest? Journal of Forestry, 100(8), 21–28. https://doi.org/10.1093/jof/100.8.21
Malkoç, E., Rüetschi, M., Ginzler, C., & Waser, L. T. (2021). Countrywide mapping of trees outside forests based on remote sensing data in Switzerland. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 100, 102336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2021.102336
Manning, A. D., Gibbons, P., & Lindenmayer, D. B. (2009). Scattered trees: A complementary strategy for facilitating adaptive responses to climate change in modified landscapes? Journal of Applied Ecology, 46(4), 915–919. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01657.x
Mansourian, S. (2021). From landscape ecology to forest landscape restoration. Landscape Ecology, 36(8), 2443–2452. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01175-6
Mburu, S. W., Koskey, G., Kimiti, J. M., Ombori, O., Maingi, J. M., & Njeru, E. M. (2016). Agrobiodiversity conservation enhances food security in subsistence-based farming systems of Eastern Kenya. Agriculture & Food Security, 5(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40066-016-0068-2
Mori, A. S., Shiono, T., Koide, D., Kitagawa, R., Ota, A. T., & Mizumachi, E. (2013). Community assembly processes shape an altitudinal gradient of forest biodiversity. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 22(7), 878–888. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12058
Nyongesa, K. W., & Vacik, H. (2019). Evaluating Management Strategies for Mount Kenya Forest Reserve and National Park to Reduce Fire Danger and Address Interests of Various Stakeholders. Forests, 10(5), 426. https://doi.org/10.3390/f10050426
Ottaviano, M., & Marchetti, M. (2023). Census and Dynamics of Trees Outside Forests in Central Italy: Changes, Net Balance and Implications on the Landscape. Land, 12(5), 1013. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12051013
Peluso, N. L., & Vandergeest, P. (2011). Political Ecologies of War and Forests: Counterinsurgencies and the Making of National Natures. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 101(3), 587–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/00045608.2011.560064
Reiner, F., Brandt, M., Tong, X., Skole, D., Kariryaa, A., Ciais, P., Davies, A., Hiernaux, P., Chave, J., Mugabowindekwe, M., Igel, C., Oehmcke, S., Gieseke, F., Li, S., Liu, S., Saatchi, S., Boucher, P., Singh, J., Taugourdeau, S., … Fensholt, R. (2023). More than one quarter of Africa’s tree cover is found outside areas previously classified as forest. Nature Communications, 14(1), 2258. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37880-4
Rossi, J.-P., Garcia, J., Roques, A., & Rousselet, J. (2016). Trees outside forests in agricultural landscapes: Spatial distribution and impact on habitat connectivity for forest organisms. Landscape Ecology, 31(2), 243–254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-015-0239-8
Sagwa, C. B. (2021). Bee populations, genetic diversity, conservation, marketing and contribution to rural households in Kenya: A review. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, 41(2), 933–943. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-020-00389-0
Saina, E., Ronald, K., & Veronica Wawira, G. (2023). Factors Affecting Household Income Among Motorcycle Operators. A Case of Embu County Residence, Kenya. Journal of Business Management and Economic Research, 5(2), 48–56. https://doi.org/10.29226/TR1001.2021.259
Salam, M. A., Noguchi, T., & Koike, M. (2000). [No title found]. Agroforestry Systems, 50(1), 77– 93. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006403101782
Simons, A. J., & Leakey, R. R. B. (2004). Tree domestication in tropical agroforestry. In P. K. R. Nair, M. R. Rao, & L. E. Buck (Eds.), New Vistas in Agroforestry (Vol. 1, pp. 167–181). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2424-1_12
Skole, D. L., Samek, J. H., Dieng, M., & Mbow, C. (2021). The Contribution of Trees Outside of Forests to Landscape Carbon and Climate Change Mitigation in West Africa. Forests, 12(12), 1652. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12121652
Smucker, T. A., & Wisner, B. (2008). Changing household responses to drought in Tharaka, Kenya: Vulnerability, persistence and challenge. Disasters, 32(2), 190–215. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7717.2007.01035.x
Suryani, A., Bezama, A., Mair-Bauernfeind, C., Makenzi, M., & Thrän, D. (2022). Drivers and Barriers to Substituting Firewood with Biomass Briquettes in the Kenyan Tea Industry. Sustainability, 14(9), 5611. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095611
Thomas, N., Baltezar, P., Lagomasino, D., Stovall, A., Iqbal, Z., & Fatoyinbo, L. (2021). Trees outside forests are an underestimated resource in a country with low forest cover. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 7919. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86944-2
Villamor, G. B., Van Noordwijk, M., Djanibekov, U., Chiong-Javier, M. E., & Catacutan, D. (2014). Gender differences in land-use decisions: Shaping multifunctional landscapes? Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 6, 128–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2013.11.015
Wawire, A. W., Csorba, Á., Tóth, J. A., Michéli, E., Szalai, M., Mutuma, E., & Kovács, E. (2021). Soil fertility management among smallholder farmers in Mount Kenya East region. Heliyon, 7(3), e06488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06488
Zhu, Z., & Waller, E. (2003). Global Forest Cover Mapping for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Forest Resources Assessment 2000 Program. Forest Science, 49(3), 369– 380. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestscience/49.3.369
Copyright (c) 2024 Nyaga David Mwenda, Catherine Lukhoba, Gilbert Ouma
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
