Useful trees and shrubs for Uganda: identification, propagation and management for agricultural and pastoral communities

Uganda is the richest of the East African countries in terms of biodiversity, and even in a global context it is regarded as one of one of the important centres of biodivers-ity. The country can be divided into several biogeographical zones: • Sudano-Congolean (north) • Somali-Maasai (north-east) • Guinea-Congolean (west, south-west) • Afro-montane (mountains) • Transition (north-western) • Lake Victoria basin (regional mosaic). Although there are not many species that are strictly endemic to the country, the flora is still of great importance because of its major contribution to regional endemism. The Western Rift Valley, as well as the areas around Lakes Edward and Victoria, much of which are within Uganda, are particularly important as many species that occur here are not found anywhere else in the world. Climatic and physical conditions vary a great deal within short distances in Uganda. Areas at higher altitudes have reliable rainfall that can support montane rain forests and most areas of the country have sufficient rainfall to support agriculture, A large proportion of the land area is now under cultivation. Reconstructed vegetation maps of Uganda indicate that before the advent of settled agriculture, a considerable part of the land surface was covered by forest and all the rest of the country was covered with thicket or wooded savanna, except Karamoja where the nature of the original vegetation is uncertain. Large parts of the country are influenced by their proximity to lakes, of which Lake Victoria is the largest. Near the lakes the climate is warm and humid. A 50-80 km belt around Lake Victoria is believed to have been covered by lowland rain forests prior to the introduction of agriculture. Other areas believed to have been covered by forests are a strip along the shoulders of the Western Rift Valley in western Uganda and the tops of the mountains all over the country.

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