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The Fragility of Agricultural Landscapes and Resilience of Communities to Landslide Occurrence in the Tropical Humid Environments of Kigezi Highlands in South Western Uganda

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Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience in Sub Saharan Africa

Part of the book series: Climate Change Management ((CCM))

Abstract

This chapter examines the influence of agricultural land uses on the occurrence of landslides in the humid tropical environments of Kigezi highlands in South Western Uganda. Analysis of the agricultural land use practices is a prerequisite to understanding landscape fragility and community resilience to landslide hazards. An analysis of agricultural land use patterns was undertaken through interpretation of Sentinel 2A images for 2016. The imagery data was acquired from the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinels Scientific Data Hub. Field surveys and investigations were also carried out to establish and map the spatial distribution of landslide hazards. Six agricultural land use categories were identified, namely, annuals, perennials, grazing, fallow, wood lots and agroforestry. Considering the agricultural land use patterns, annual crops are the dominant agricultural land use type spanning 69% of the total area followed; by perennials (13%). Grazing land and fallows covered 11% and 5%, respectively. The study revealed that annual crop land is the most affected agricultural land use category. Out of the 65 landslide scars mapped, 31% occurred on annual crop areas. Wood lot areas experienced the least landslide occurrence (4%). A close spatial distribution of agricultural land use practices and landslide occurrence is discernible. It is recommended that a comprehensive tree planting campaign be carried out in areas prone to landslides since it was inferred that wood lots suffered least from landslides. It is also recommended that farmers be encouraged to restore and manage terrace bunds which could help to check on water velocity and consequently increase on slope stability.

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Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully appreciate the research grants from Makerere University- Sweden international development agency (Sida) Phase IV (2015/2020 Agreement)- Building Resilient Ecosystems and livelihoods to Climate Change and Disaster Risk (BREAD) project 33.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics and Climatic Sciences, School of Forestry, Environmental and Geographical Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Denis Nseka, Frank Mugagga & Bob Nakileza

  2. Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Yazidhi Bamutaze

Authors
  1. Denis Nseka
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  2. Yazidhi Bamutaze
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  3. Frank Mugagga
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  4. Bob Nakileza
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Geo-Informatics, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Yazidhi Bamutaze

  2. Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Samuel Kyamanywa

  3. Department of Environmental Science, Soil Science Building, Norwegian University of Life Science, Ås, Norway

    Bal Ram Singh

  4. Department of Agricultural Production, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Gorettie Nabanoga

  5. The Ohio State University , Columbus, OH, USA

    Rattan Lal

Appendix 1: Agricultural Land Use Distribution

Appendix 1: Agricultural Land Use Distribution

Agricultural practices

Area in hectares

Percentage

Annuals

42282.8

68.6

Perennials

7695.8

12.5

Grazing

7119.6

11.6

Fallow

2843.2

4.6

Woodlots

937.3

1.5

Agroforestry

723.4

1.2

Total

61602.1

100

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Nseka, D., Bamutaze, Y., Mugagga, F., Nakileza, B. (2019). The Fragility of Agricultural Landscapes and Resilience of Communities to Landslide Occurrence in the Tropical Humid Environments of Kigezi Highlands in South Western Uganda. In: Bamutaze, Y., Kyamanywa, S., Singh, B., Nabanoga, G., Lal, R. (eds) Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience in Sub Saharan Africa. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12974-3_13

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