Classification, Characterisation, and Use of Small Wetlands in East Africa
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Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer Link
Abstract
Small wetlands in Kenya and Tanzania cover about 12 million ha and are increasingly converted for agricultural production. There is a need to provide guide-lines for their future protection or use, requiring their systematic classification and characterisation. Fifty-one wetlands were inventoried in 2008 in four contrasting sites, covering a surveyed total area of 484 km 2 . Each wetland was subdivided into sub-units of 0.5–458 ha based on the predominant land use. The biophysical and socio-economic attributes of the resulting 157 wetland sub-units were determined. The wetland sub-units were categorized using multivariate analyses into five major cluster groups. The main wetland categories comprised: (1) narrow permanent-ly flooded inland valleys that are largely unused; (2) wide permanently flooded inland valleys and highlands flood-plains under extensive use; (3) large inland valleys and lowland floodplains with seasonal flooding under medium use intensity; (4) completely drained wide inland valleys and highlands floodplains under intensive food crop production; and (5) narrow drained inland valleys under permanent horticultural production. The wetland types were associated with specific vegetation forms and soil attributes.
Description
Keywords
Floodplain, Inland valley, Kenya, Tanzania, Wetland typology
Citation
Sakané, N., Alvarez, M., Becker, M., Böhme, B., Handa, C., Kamiri, H.W., Langensiepen, M., Menz, G., Misana, S., Mogha, N.G. and Möseler, B.M., 2011. Classification, characterisation, and use of small wetlands in East Africa. Wetlands, 31(6), pp.1103-1116.