The distribution and bundance of endangered desert date (Balanites aegyptiaca) and its conservation measures in katakwi district

Abstract

The global importance of Indigenous Fruit Trees as natural resource to meet the nutritional, health and socio-economic needs of rural communities cannot be ignored. Balanites aegyptiaca is among the most frequently used IFTs by local communities in Africa for food and medicine. This study was therefore conducted to understand the distribution, abundance, utilization, regeneration and conservation measures of Balanite aegyptiaca in Katakwi district. The objectives were to understand the; (i) distribution; ii) abundance and its associated species; (iii) utilization, methods of harvesting and land use land cover change effect on its generation and (iv) conservation and management practices. Quadrats were established to determine the distribution, abundance, and regeneration while Focus Group Discussion, questionnaires, observations, and photography were used to collect data on utilization, methods of harvesting threats, regeneration, conservation and management practices. GIS/Remote Sensing was used to obtain satellite imageries to depict land use land cover status of study area. Data was analyzed in SPPS and excel. Distribution was analysed from diameter at breast height (dbh) data while abundance was analysed by comparing different species data. Descriptive statistics such as mean was used to analyse utilization and conservation measure. The result showed thatBalanites aegyptiaca with large dbh (33, 29 and 25) were the most distributed and low abundance of Balanites aegyptiaca was recorded compared to the Vitex madiensis L. and Acacia seyal Del. Further, relative dominance was a significant predictor for rate of Balanites aegyptiaca harvested while distribution and abundance were not. There was a 55.5% increase in the mean number of trees harvested for each extra abundant species available. A significant number of respondents (68.6%) agreed that Balanites aegyptiaca is utilized by communities. A strong positive correlation existed between regeneration and, cutting down (r=0.850, p=0.003) and cutting off branches methods (r=0.768, p=0.01) while no correlation existed between picking the leaves directly (r=O, p=0.05) and climbing to pick the leaves (r=O, p=0.05). Balanites aegyptiaca is mainly used for food, medicine, source of income and fuel. The conservation measures included sensitization clan byelaws, cultural norms, controlled grazing and on farm retention. The study concluded that the distribution of Balanites aegyptiaca in study area is dominated by mature/old trees. There is low abundance of Balanites aegyptiaca as compared to Vitex madiensis and Vitex madiensis. The forest cover change over the years has reduced and other land uses are taking over. The local communities significantly utilized Balanite aegyptiaca to improve their socio-economic status. In general, the local community was worried that Balanite aegyptiaca population was reducing and fear it will get extinct if the current trend of harvesting cannot be reversed. Alternative sources of livelihoods need to be sought for the community to give the tree an opportunity to regenerate. The study recommended that the community needs to be supported to promote Balanites aegyptiaca into dry land agroforestry systems, the less harmful methods of harvesting needs to be promoted. Further study needs conducted to understand the Balanites aegyptiaca distribution along moisture gradient of the landscape which may offer an opportunity to restore degraded wetlands and a detailed study to assess its genetic diversity is needed to ascertain which sub species is more threatened to prioritize conservation efforts.