The ever-increasing impacts of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa have made many aware and struggle with livelihood options from nature, and the need for households and communities to plant trees can no longer be over-emphasised. Community tree planting is crucial for global environmental sustainability. The information that guided the public in selecting the tree they plant in their private spaces is important, especially to policymakers. This paper was aimed at analysing the factors that influence community tree planting behaviour. The study used a mixed-methods approach that involved both qualitative research using focus groups as well as quantitative research using questionnaires administered to the residents of the ten locations in Wangchieng ward: Homabay County in December 2021. A sample of 380 community households was selected, 38 in each location, through purposive sampling technique and mixed structured questionnaires delivered to them. The questionnaires assessed community attitudes and conservation involvement against the socioeconomic background, benefits, and costs of planting trees. Results showed that most residents of Wangchieng ward have positive attitudes towards tree planting. The data collected from the questionnaires showed that socioeconomic factors such as age, education levels and income were positively related to participation in community tree-planting programs among respondents. A stepwise binary logistics conducted ranked six variables as the major factors influencing household tree planting. The importance of trees was ranked at position one (most influential variable) with an odd ratio of 9.287, and at position six was education level with an odd ratio of 1.207. The full model containing all the variables was statistically significant at χ2 (10, N = 370) = 98.312, p < .001, clearly indicating that the model was able to distinguish respondents who have planted and those who have not planted trees in the last six months. Thus, it is recommended that household tree planting can significantly be enhanced by improving knowledge on the importance of trees, their various ecosystem goods and services, making seedlings cheaply available for households as well as promoting households to do agroforestry in their farmers
Forest ecosystems provide livelihood opportunities such as medicines, fuelwood, timber, cash income and a reliable supply of groundwater. However, encroachment of forests by human settlement adjacent to conservation areas is associated with overharvesting of forest resources and uncontrolled livestock grazing leading to the destruction and disappearance of useful plant species in forest ecosystems which can significantly affect both biodiversity integrity and ecological functioning. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the distribution, conservation status, and effects of threats on the relative abundance of Warburgia ugandensis in Katimok Forest Reserve, Baringo County in Kenya. Data collection was done using transect lines and quadrat methods. The data on the relative abundance of Warburgia ugandensis and indicators of threat were collected from quadrats and sub-quadrats located at 50 m, 350 m and 650 m from the forest edge. In addition, other measures of tree growth such as diameter at breast height (DBH) and heights of mature trees in the study blocks were made. One-way ANOVA was used to analyse the relative abundance of Warburgia ugandensis, indicators of threat and growth parameters. Pearson correlation results revealed a significant relationship between debarked and mature Warburgia ugandensis (r = 0.95; df=2, P=0.019), grazing intensities, and number of seedlings/saplings (r = 0.96; df=2, P=0.017) and other indicators of threats (stumps, defoliated leaves, broken twigs/branches) and the abundance of Warburgia ugandensis (r = 0.97; df=2, p=0.015). Therefore, there is an urgent need to map out the distribution of Warburgia ugandensis in the whole country to know where it is abundant in order to draw a national conservation and management plan for the tree species.
Indigenous tree seedlings play a very critical role in restoration of degraded lands owing to their adaptability and resilience in dryland areas. Development of indigenous seedlings in tree nurseries is therefore an exercise of great essence. This has caused a need for review of practices to improve performance of the seedlings in the nurseries to aid in quality improvement. Tree nurseries have been observed to have varied potting material sizes which would affect seedlings growth and development. Potting material sizes have been observed to have profound effects on water retention, soil fertility and seedling growth parameters. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of different potting tube sizes on Z. mauritiana seedlings growth and development in drylands. We evaluated three potting tube sizes; with their varying volumes; 4 x 6 (4683 cm3), 5 x 8 (9216 cm3) and 6 x 9 (22046 cm3). The results showed that potting tube size had a significant effect on the seedlings root collar diameter and height. The seedlings planted in 5 x 8 and 6 x 9 tubes had significantly higher height (p < 0.05) than those planted in 4 x 6 cm potting tubes. The means were significantly different at p < 0.05). One Way ANOVA revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean heights and RCD of seedlings planted in each of the potting tube sizes; F (2,237) = 15.82, p = 0.00 and, F (2,237) =11.595, p = 0.00 respectively. Tukey’s HSD test for multiple comparisons was used to separate the means. Therefore, this study concludes that different potting tube sizes have significant impact on the development of the root collar diameter. Therefore, the use of larger potting tubes (6 x 9) is recommended for raising seedlings to increase growth and development in seedlings.
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