Browsing by Author "Muhumuza, Moses"

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    Associations between Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) and common native species in an African savanna
    (British Ecological Society, 2024-10-06) Ssali, Fredrick; Baluku, Robert; Drileyo, Gilbert; Muhumuza, Moses
    Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) is recognised as a problematic invasive alien plant species in many parts of the world. To eradicate or control this global invader, we need to understand the drivers of its spread and impacts and the potential for native recovery after the invader has been removed. Here, we tested for species associations between L. camara and native plant species and large herbivores in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda. We inventoried 40,100-m2 nested plots spread over a 1 × 1-km grid cell in the park's savanna landscape, with 11 plots located in uninvaded areas. Most of the plots (30 of 40) had been affected by fire. Lantana camara covered 29 (73%) plots, 11 (38%) of which were in open grassland. Of the large herbivores that frequented areas free of L. camara, the Ugandan kob Adenota kob thomasi Sclater tended to avoid the areas invaded. The floristic composition of invaded areas differed significantly from that of noninvaded areas, with several palatable species rare or absent from L. camara-invaded areas. Practical implication: These observations indicate the presence of potential recovery constraints that will need to be overcome after L. camara has been removed. Sustained efforts will be needed to suppress the invader and subsequently enrich and bolster native recovery.
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    Foundations of indigenous knowledge on disasters due to natural hazards: lessons from the outlook on floods among the Bayira of the Rwenzori region
    (Wiley Online Library, 2023-01) Bwambale, Bosco; Muhumuza, Moses; Tibasiima Kahigwa, Thaddeo; Mbalibulha Bakahinga Baluku, Stanley; Kasozi, Humphrey; Nyeko, Martine; Kervyn, Matthieu
    The role of indigenous knowledge in increasing context specificity and exposing blind spots in scientific understanding is widely evidenced in disaster studies. This paper aims to structure the processes that shape indigenous knowledge production and its optimisation using the case of floods. An inductive analytical approach is applied among riparian indigenous communities ( focus on the Bayira) of the Rwenzori region of Uganda where plenty of indigenous flood practices have been recorded. Indigenous knowledge of floods is found to be based on intimate comprehension of local hydrometeorological regularities. Insofar as these regularities follow natural dynamics, indigenous socio-epistemic processes are noted to be consistent with the laws of nature. Coupled with regular open sociocultural deliberations, the conceptualisation of hydrometeorological regu-larities induces an indigenous ontology and empiricist epistemology. This, together with the techniques used, is the driver of crucial epistemic virtues which enable indigenous knowledge to provide disaster solutions that are adapted, pragmatic, and holistic.