Understanding variations in rainfall in tropical regions is important due to its impacts on water resources, health and agriculture. This study assessed the dekadal rainfall patterns and rain days to determine intra-seasonal rainfall variability during the March-May season using the Mann-Kendall (MK) trend test and simple linear regression (SLR) over the period 2000-2015. Results showed an increasing trend of both dekadal rainfall amount and rain days (third and seventh dekads). The light rain days (SLR = 0.181; MK = 0.350) and wet days (SLR = 0.092; MK = 0.118) also depict an increasing trend. The rate of increase of light rain days and wet days during the third dekad (light rain days: SLR = 0.020; MK = 0.279 and wet days: SLR = 0.146; MK = 0.376) was slightly greater than during the seventh dekad (light rain days: SLR = 0.014; MK = 0.018 and wet days: SLR = 0.061; MK = 0.315) dekad. Seventy-four percent accounted for 2-4 consecutive dry days, but no significant trend was detected. The extreme rainfall was increasing over the third (MK = 0.363) and seventh (MK = 0.429) dekads. The rainfall amount and rain days were highly correlated (r: 0.43-0.72).
A field survey on indigenous fruit tree species (IFTS) was conducted in Adwari subcounty, Lira district between August 2004 and March 2005. The objectives were to: determine IFTS diversity in the traditional farming system; generate a species priority list, characterize and document the values of IFTS as perceived by farmers; and develop criteria for selecting IFTS for on‐farm cultivation. A questionnaire designed to capture socio‐economic data was administered to 120 randomly selected respondents. Farm walks were conducted to identify and assess the proportion of farmland under IFTS. Preference ranking was used to generate a species priority list. On‐farm diversity of IFTS was analyzed using Shannon–Wiener’s diversity index (H′). DAFOR scale was used to rate occurrence of IFTS on‐farm. The diversity of IFTS was relatively high (H′ = 2.164) although the average proportion of farmland under IFTS cover was low (23.3 ± 5%). Vitellaria paradoxa, Vitex doniana, Anona senegalensis and Tamarindus indica were most preferred by local people. The choice of IFTS for on‐farm cultivation varied from their food, medicinal to cash values. There is a need to formulate clear policies and by‐laws to encourage on‐farm cultivation of IFTS.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.