Dynamics of land use/cover changes and modelling urban growth of Nairobi city using cellular automata and geographical information systems

Thesis (Ph. D. in Integrative Environmental Science)--University of Tsukuba, (A), no. 3996, 2006.3.24Includes bibliographical reference

GIS Based Site Suitability Analysis for Location of a Sugar Factory in Trans Mara District

Domestic sugar production in Kenya does not meet consumption demand. Consequently, expanded production and creation of more sugar mills within regions of high agricultural potential is necessary for expansion of the industry. Suitable arable land for such projects in Kenya is scarce, and essentially planners must select the best use of this resource to uphold sustainability. Although locating optimum sites for new industrial investments is important, it involves evaluation of conflicting criteria with large sets of alternatives. The complex nature of finding industrial investment locations requires a technique that can combine geographical data with value judgments. This research aims at finding the most suitable sites for a sugar factory in Trans Mara district in Kenya, using GIS based Multi-criteria evaluation. Nine factors including slope, an existing factory location, roads, rivers, electricity sources, land use, soil texture, rainfall, and temperature were selected based on reviewed literature and opinion of experts. Selected factors were then organized into two broad principal classes including physical site conditions and sugarcane crop requirements. Digital data on selected factors was acquired from various governmental institutions, stored, harmonized and geo-processed in Arc GIS 10.1 platform to generate factor maps. Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used to elicit weights which were assigned to each factor. Weighted factor maps were finally standardized, reclassified and combined by weighted linear combination (WLC) aggregation method. The composite suitability map produce

Carbon Sequestration by the Above Ground Biomass Pool in the South West Mau Forest of Kenya, 1985 - 2015

Forests are important for regulation of the global carbon balance. Increase in forest biomass enhances atmospheric carbon sequestration while decrease in forest biomass contributes to carbon dioxide emissions. World over, forest biomass has been declining due to forest loss and degradation. The South West Mau has experienced significant forest loss since 1964. The decline is posited to have significant impacts on carbon sequestration, carbon storage, carbon dioxide emissions and status of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This study assessed interannual trend and variability as well as change point detection in carbon sequestration in South West Mau Forest, Kenya between 1985 and 2015. Above ground biomass carbon sequestration was quantified based on the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) and carbon fraction for tropical climate domain. Carbon sequestration dynamics were characterized by increase-decrease cycles of approximately 3 years and low interannual variability (CV= 9.13). It emerged that South West Mau Forest was a net carbon emitter with a carbon sequestration balance of -588.40 Kg/ha between 1985 and 2015. Keywords: Forest, Carbon sequestration, Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach, Above ground net primary production DOI: 10.7176/JEES/10-8-05 Publication date:August 31st 202

Trend and Variability in Interannual Air Temperature Over South West Mau Forest, 1985 - 2015

The research is sponsored by Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation Kenya. Abstract Globally high altitude forest regions are considered to be more prone to rapid warming. These regions have also shown great seasonal and inter annual temperatures variability. In Kenya mean annual temperatures increased by 1.00C since 1960. Going by global trends it is plausible to argue that high altitude forest areas in Kenya might have shown great seasonal and inter annual temperatures variability over time. This study assessed interannual trend and variability as well as change point detection in average annual air temperature in South West Mau Forest, Kenya between 1985 and 2015. South West Mau Forest is an indigenous montane ecosystem with a tropical montane climate. Annual average air temperature over the South West Mau forest pointed towards climate warming of 0.01880C per year (Kendall’s tau = 0.3677, p value = 0.0033) but with low interannual variability (CV= 0.11%). A shift in the annual average air temperature of 0.3680C at p= 0.0051 was detected between 1985-1998 and 1999- 2015. There was a weak positive anomaly in the annual average air temperature with a slope of 0.0192 and R2 = 0.3074. Overall the region experienced climate warming. Keywords: Climate warming, Trend, Variability, Average temperature DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/11-16-04 Publication date:August 31st 202

Remote Sensing-based Evaluation of Trends and Impacts of Land Surface Property Changes in the Mara Ecosystem in Kenya

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GIS Framework for Managing African Slum Societies: A Case of Mathare Slum in Nairobi, Kenya

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