Browsing by Author "Mwanukuzi, Phillip K."

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Diagnosis of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Dry and Wet Spells Due to Land-Atmosphere Water Exchange in the Tropical Savanna of East Africa
    (2002) Mwanukuzi, Phillip K.
    Dry and wet spells result from disruption of seasonal climatic patterns and are small-scale moisture anomalies. Fluxes of moisture and thermal radiation regulate precipitation and seasonal average temperatures. These short lived and small-scale moisture anomalies, their patterns and influences are not well understood. These anomalies result in crop failures in East Africa. In the savanna environment, where water is limited, these small-scale moisture patterns need to be investigated as they regulate natural biophysical and agricultural productivity. To mitigate the impact of these dry and wet spells, the pattern of moisture availability needs to be understood. This research develops an index for examining surface moisture variation. It develops a tool for discovering short-lived anomalous moisture condition patterns. By investigating the neighborhood interrelationships between the NDVI and surface temperature using the spatial continuity measure, the Surface Moisture Evapotranspiration---(SMET) index is developed. This index is related to surface moisture availability and absence, surface moisture removal through evapotranspiration, and the ground sensible and latent thermal fluxes. The SMET index can diagnose surface moisture for both bare and fully vegetated lands. Periods of severe moisture deficits and the typical moisture conditions in East African regions are identified by this index. The patterns of dry and wet spells in the humid and the savanna environments are revealed. Clouds are identified by this index. Moisture is investigated at local and regional scales without interpolation. Moisture variation on regional scales could be investigated on a daily bases using the SMET index. The index can be used for climatic impact and change studies. It will facilitate decision-making as an early warning tool for crop production. The index has utility also in terrestrial environmental changes and soil quality monitoring.
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    Impact of Eucalyptus and Pine Growing on Rural Livelihood: The Lesson from Bukoba Area, North Western Tanzania
    (Wiley, 2009) Mwanukuzi, Phillip K.
    Sustainable resource management intends to allocate resources in such a way that unnecessary deterioration of biophysical and socio-economical systems is avoided. In Bukoba Area where rainfalls are plenty, evergreen grasslands were expansive and forests were limited, eucalypts (eucalyptus spp.) and pines (pinus spp.) were grown on grasslands for preventing land degradation through deforestation and for providing additional source of income for rural poor. This study shows that in addition to detrimental consequence of eucalyptus and pine forests on soil resources, conversion of Bukoban grasslands to forests has negatively impacted livelihood of the rural poor. Growing eucalypts and pines on grasslands prevented a farming system that enabled integration of grasslands, cattle keeping and crop production. Consequently, the grasslands role of nutrients cycling was disrupted, food crop production reduced, home-gardens productivity declined, majority deprived important livelihood asset and foreign income flow into the area reduced.
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    Impact of Non-Livelihood-Based Land Management on Land Resources: The Case of Upland Watersheds in Uporoto Mountains, South West Tanzania
    (Wiley, 2011) Mwanukuzi, Phillip K.
    lVarious land management strategies are used to prevent land degradation and keep land productive. Often land management strategies applied in certain areas focus on the context of the physical environment but are incompatible with the social environment where they are applied. As a result, such strategies are ignored by land users and land degradation becomes difficult to control. This study observes the impacts of land management in the upland watersheds of the Uporoto Mountains in South West Tanzania. In spite of various land management practices used in the area, 38% of the studied area experienced soil fertility loss, 30% gully erosion, 23% soil loss, 6% biodiversity loss and drying up of river sources. Land management methods that were accepted and adopted were those contributing to immediate livelihood needs. These methods did not control land resource degradation, but increased crop output per unit of land and required little labour. Effective methods of controlling land degradation were abandoned or ignored because they did not satisfy immediate livelihood needs. This paper concludes that Integrating poor people's needs would transform non-livelihood-based land management methods to livelihood-based ones. Different ways of transforming these land management methods are presented and discussed.
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    New Tools for Public Participation in Urban Planning- a Case from Dar es Salaam
    (Perspektiv nr., 2012) Møller-Jensen, Lasse; Kiduanga, Juma R.; Mwanukuzi, Phillip K.; Fog, Bjarne
    In its traditional meaning, Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) seeks to involve and empower segments of society that are traditionally marginalized from the decision making process concerning issues related to place (McCall, 2004). This is done by supporting the creation and analysis of various types of spatial data as well as the shared access to these data. In this context PPGIS is seen as a vehicle for supporting better planning practices aimed at social justice, equal service and, more generally, for improving the quality of life (Yaakup et al., 2004). It is commonly understood that PPGIS requires technical solutions that focus on properties such as broad acquisition and ease of use (Haklay & Tobon, 2003).
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    Origin and Geomorphology of the Wetlands of Tanzania
    (1993) Mwanukuzi, Phillip K.
    Wetlands are dynamic landforms which vary in both time and space. Tanzania's wetlands are classified according to the physiography and the environment in which they exist. Coastal wetlands, Rift System wetlands and the wetlands of highland drainage basins are the major groups. Coastal wetlands are formed by wave action and tidal influence; beaches and lagoons exist because of wave action; mudflats, marshes, mangrove swamps, estuaries and deltas are tidal in origin. Rift System wetlands occur in the rift depressions and are characterised by salt lakes, playas, swamps and short streams with inland drainage. The highlands are drained by long rivers originating in the inland catchments and ending in oceans or lake basins. On the way to their outlets, they form lakes, swamps and floodplains. Wetlands occur due to a combination of high rainfall and the tropical climate of Tanzania which favours processes such as meandering of rivers and the formation of floodplains. The morphogenesis of Tanzania's wetlands is related not only to local processes but also to regional factors such as climate, tectonism and the eustatic sea level changes which occurred in the past.
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    Using GIS for Decision‐Making: The Case of Kidunda Dam in Morogoro, Tanzania
    (Wiley, 2008) Mwanukuzi, Phillip K.
    Dams are important water resource manage ment systems. In many places, water is regulated by and stored in dams for various purposes, but most importantly to maintain a reliable supply of water. Currently 64% of the total population of Africa relies on water resources that are limited and highly variable (Smith 2004). The major source of water for Dar es Salaam is the Ruvu River. In the driest years, the mean flow for the Ruvu River is 1.25 m3 s−1 and water abstraction from the river at full capacity is 3.6 m3 s−1. The city water demand forecasted for the year 2030 is 27.7 m3 s−1 and for the year 2050, 62.0 m3 s−1. Little water storage capacity is available, and there are always water shortages when flows of the Ruvu are low.