Greenhouse gas loss pathways from agricultural valley bottom wetlands, East Africa
Abstract
Valley bottom wetlands (VBW) in the highland agriculture agro-ecological zones (AEZ) are important both ecologically and for food production (FAO, 2018; FAO, 2019). Kenya’s land surface is 27% within the AEZ area while Uganda has 10 AEZ covering ~35% of the land. However, these have been under threat from human activities, including deforestation, grazing, and agricultural conversion. Hydrological loss pathways have not been clearly defined in the highland areas as well as the different GHG emissions at the different terraces of the VBW. The altered flow pathways of converted and unconverted VBW are very important aspects that need to be defined. Taita Hills in Kenya represents such a highland agricultural AEZ and has experienced a high degree of conversion of VBW to agriculture and is important to the livelihoods of the local people. This region is representative of other highland regions, and it is important to understand how this conversion has affected and is affecting GHG emissions in the landscape. Therefore, this study will seek to understand the effect of VBW conversion on the hydrological loss pathways, nutrient and soil carbon dynamics, and the biogeochemical processes leading to GHG emissions.
keywords wetlands land use greenhouse gases
Publikationen
Project staff
Thomas Hein
Univ.Prof. Dr. Thomas Hein
thomas.hein@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-81201, 81229
Project Leader
01.10.2022 - 30.09.2024
Sharon Gubamwoyo
Sharon Gubamwoyo MSc.
s.gubamwoyo@students.boku.ac.at
Project Staff
01.10.2022 - 30.09.2024
BOKU partners
External partners
UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education
Gretchen Gettel
partner