Coffee-banana agroecological system
The Bududa District is one of nine districts in the Mount Elgon of Eastern Uganda. Mount Elgon is one of the oldest volcanoes in East Africa. The Bududa District includes the headwaters of the Manafwa catchment. The district has an area of approximately 251 km² and consists of complex topography with altitudes ranging from 1500 to 4139 meters above sea level. The district receives rainfall amounts much higher than other districts in Uganda (annual average rainfall > 1500 mm).
The rainfall and soil conditions are generally supportive of agriculture which is the dominant land use in the area. Agriculture in the area is dominated by smallholder rainfed farms. Bududa District constitutes part of the coffee-banana agroecological system of Uganda. Farmlands consist of crops for domestic consumption and for cash such as banana, cassava, sweet potato, maize, coffee, onions, among others. Up to six crops can be intercropped, reflecting the high productivity of the soil.
The current population in Bududa district is estimated at about 300,000 with high population density of up to 1000 persons/km² vis-à-vis the national average of 160 inhabitants per km² . The annual population growth rate is about 3.6% which surpasses the national rate of 3.0%. Socio-economic pressures make the district prone to landslide and flood hazards often culminating.
Encroachment of agriculture into forests
Declining forest cover and associated deforestation are driven by both commercial and illegal logging, as well as the expansion of land for agriculture. Key components of the HANPP framework can be used to monitor these changes:
- Tree cover area and the corresponding NPPact are used to detect and localize reductions in forested areas and their productivity.
- HANPPluc serves as an indicator of productivity loss resulting from land cover change. A decline in HANPPluc suggests that a more productive land cover, such as forest, is being replaced by one with lower productivity, such as cropland or degraded land.
References
- Kastner, T. (2009). Trajectories in human domination of ecosystems: Human appropriation of net primary production in the Philippines during the 20th century. Ecological Economics, 69(2), 260–269.DOI
