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Item Fast-growing exotic tree species as fuelwood alternative for refugees and host communities in Northern Uganda(Research Square, 2022-06-15) Anywar, Decimon; Shaban, Kato Stonewall; Labeja, Richard Louis; Loki, Robert Okongo; Okello, CollinsThe high demand for firewood and charcoal has exerted high pressure on the indigenous trees in Uganda. Communities believe that the indigenous trees are better fuel sources despite limited evidence to support this claim. This study was carried out in 2021 to evaluate the fuelwood properties of selected indigenous tree species in comparison to three exotic tree species that have been promoted for use by refugees and host communities in Lamwo District of Northern Uganda. Wood samples were collected from three different locations from the study area in Lamwo District and transported to Gulu University for laboratory analysis of their physical and chemical properties. Data were analysed using one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 5% level of confidence and the means were separated using Tukey HSD test. Results showed that moisture content, fixed carbon, volatile matter, and Fuel Value Index (FVI) did not significantly vary among the indigenous and exotic tree species. Fuel value index was observed to be negatively correlated with moisture content of the wood, implying both species’ categories retard in fuel quality when their moisture contents increases. Overall, the results show that there were no significant differences in the FVI of all the indegeneous and exotic tree species investigated in this study. It is recommended that fast-growing exotic species such as Eucalyptus grandis, Caliandra calothyrsus, and Senna siamea that are 22 grown in the region be promoted to ensure regeneration and reduction of pressure on the use of natural forest.Item Impact of Meteorological Factors on the Interaction between Green Vegetation, Urban Features and Air Quality Over Time in Kampala-Uganda(East African Journal of Environment and Natural Resources, 2025-03-18) Ddumba, Jorum; Anahita, Ali; Katyal, Sonal; Shaban, Kato StonewallThe study aimed to analyze the influence of meteorological factors on the interaction between green vegetated areas, urban features, and air quality over time within Kampala city. Six (6) streets were sampled: - Nasser Lane, 6th Street, Namirembe Road, Owino Kafumbe- Mukasa, Makindu Close, and Nakasero Lane. From each street, samples were taken 3 times a day (Morning, Midday and Afternoon) for 7 days. The sampling frequency of every spot was thus 21 times. Makindu Close and Nakasero Lane are known for green vegetation, 6th Street is known for buildings and industrial zones, while Namirembe Road and Owino Kafumbe- Mukasa are known for car parks. A negative coefficient for humidity indicated that higher humidity levels are associated with low PM2.5 concentrations. The relationship between temperature and PM2.5 in the morning showed a slight positive trend, suggesting that PM2.5 levels may increase slightly as temperatures rise. Significant negative impact for several sites indicated that compared to the reference site (6th Street Industrial Area), other sites had lower PM2.5 levels. Both PM2.5 and PM10 levels had broader distributions in the morning and evening, indicating more significant variability in particulate matter concentrations during these times. CO levels were variable in the evening, with several sites showing higher concentrations. NO2 levels showed variability across different times, with the highest spread in the evening, indicating increased variability of nitrogen dioxide concentrations during that period. Makindu Close Kololo showed relatively stable levels across the day compared to other sites justifying the importance of green vegetated areas in improving air quality by absorbing pollutants.Item Economic burden of the persistent morbidity of nodding syndrome on caregivers in affected households in Northern Uganda(PLOS One, 2020-09-29) Samson Yoane Latio, Lugala; Hai Nam, Nguyen; Shah, Jaffer; Smith, Chris; Sakai, Kikuko; Stonewall Shaban , Kato; Idro, Richard; Makoto, Nishi; Tien Huy, Nguyen; Hamano, Shinjiro; Moji, KazuhikoBackground Nodding syndrome (NS), is an unexplained form of epilepsy which leads to stunted growth, cognitive decline, and a characteristic nodding of the head. Current data about its impact on households in Uganda is scarce. Therefore, this study aims to assess the economic burden of the persistent morbidity of NS on caregivers in affected households in Northern Uganda. Methods Across-sectional cost-of-care study was conducted from January 2019 to February 2019 in Lakwela village-Northern Uganda in 14 households, who are members of a community based organization (CBO) established in the village with the support of a Japanese research team, (Uganda-Japan Nodding Syndrome Network). Data was collected through question naires. Both direct (medical and non-medical) and indirect (informal care) costs of caregiv ing were assessed. Indirect costs were valued using the human-capital method as loss of production. Results Direct costs constituted a higher proportion of costs for NS households, accounting for on average 7.7% of household expenditure. The annual weighted mean cost per NS patient wasestimated at 27.6 USD (26.4 USDdirect costs, 96.2% and1.2 USD indirect cost, 3.8%). Average time spent on informal caregiving was 4.4 ±1.7 (standard deviation) hours/ weekwith anestimated annual informal caregiving cost of 24.85 USD and gross domestic product (GDP) loss of 412.40 USD. Conclusion Direct costs due to NS are still high among households in this study. More studies are needed to investigate measures that could help bring down these costs and equally reduce the day-to-day disruption of caregiver’s activities; consequently, improving the lives of these affected households and communities.Item The successional pathway of the tree community and how it shapes the fruit-feeding butterfly community in an Afrotropical forest(Cambridge University, 2016-10-29) Valtonen, A; Malinga, G.M; Nyafwono, M; Nyeko, P.; Owiny, A.; & Roininen, H.The relative importance of different bottom-up-mediated effects in shaping insect communities in tropical secondaryforestsarepoorlyunderstood.Here,weexploretherolesofvegetationstructure,forestage,localtopography (valley vs. hill top) and soil variables in predicting fruit-feeding butterfly and tree community composition, and tree community composition in predicting fruit-feeding butterfly community composition, in different-aged naturally regeneratingandprimaryforestsofKibaleNationalPark,Uganda.Wealsoexaminewhichvariablesarebestpredictors of fruit-feeding butterfly species richness or diversity. Butterflies (88 species) were sampled with a banana-baited trap and trees (98 taxa) with a 40 × 20-m sampling plot at 80 sampling sites. The environmental variables explained 31% of the variation in the tree community composition, the best predictors being local topography, forest age and cover of Acanthuspubescens (a shrub possibly arresting succession). The fruit-feeding butterfly community composition was better predicted by tree community composition (explaining 10% of the variation) rather than vegetation structure, local topography or soil factors. Environmental variables and tree species richness (or diversity) were poor predictors of butterfly species richness (or diversity). Our results emphasize the importance of tree community to recovery of herbivorous insect communities in tropical secondary forests.Item Iodine Agronomic Biofortification of Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata) and Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) Is Effective under Farmer Field Conditions(Agronomy MDPI, 2019-11-23) Ojok, Joe; Omara, Peter; Opolot, Emmanuel; Odongo, Walter; Olum, Solomon; Gijs, Du Laing; Gellynck, Xavier; De Steur, Hans; Ongeng, DuncanAbstract: Iodine (I) is an essential micronutrient, which plays a critical role in human metabolism. However, its concentration is known to be low in most soils, making it deficient in crops. With most I agronomic biofortification studies conducted under controlled environments, limited information currently exists on this approach of enriching I deficient crops under farmer field conditions. Two-year field experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018 to examine efficacy of cowpea and cabbage in the uptake of foliar applied potassium iodide (KI) and potassium iodate (KIO3), each with 0, 5, 10, and 15 kg I ha−1 under farmer field conditions. Results indicate that KI was 34% more efficient than KIO3. Iodine concentration increased with application rate. In cabbage, the lowest I concentration (8.2 mg kg−1 ) was registered at 5 kg I ha−1 with KIO3 while the highest was 109.1 mg kg−1 at 15 kg I ha−1 with KI. Cowpea registered the lowest I concentration of 531.5 mg kg−1 at 5 kg I ha−1 with KIO3 while the highest (5854.2 mg kg−1 ) was registered at 15 kg I ha−1 with KI. Therefore, cowpea and cabbage can be effectively biofortified through foliar application of both KI and KIO3 under farmer field conditions.