Trees and shrubs are disappearing fast in anthropogenic landscapes of Uganda. In order to promote their conservation on-farm, there is need to involve farmers. Farmers' involvement in tree/shrub management requires a clear understanding of the households' needs that trees can satisfy, the priority species to satisfy these needs, as well as tree management practices and challenges that hinder tree planting. This study was carried out to satisfy these information needs and to also determine species that are locally threatened. The study was conducted in selected villages of Arua and Kiruhura districts between June and October 2012 using an ethnobotanical approach. Our results indicate that farmers value tree products to satisfy household welfare needs of accessing food (edible fruits), generating income, and accessing construction wood. The species are multi-purpose, and the most preferred are Eucalyptus spp., Mangifera indica L., Persea americana Mill., Carica papaya L., Citrus limon (L.) Osbeck, Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck, Annona senegalensis Pers., Pinus spp., and Tectona grandis L.f. Most farmers maintain trees on their land in courtyards, backyard gardens, or crop fields and ranches. Tree species are threatened by destructive harvesting and clearing land for agriculture. The key challenges to intensification of tree cultivation are livestock damage, land shortage, drought, and lack of financial resources. Farmers suggested that in order to strengthen tree planting, they should be provided with inputs including seedlings, chemicals, and tools. In conclusion farmers prefer exotic tree species to satisfy household needs. Intensification of tree management will need to address a number of challenges identified in this study. Published: 20 January 2015 Ethnobotany Research & Applications 50http://dx.doi.org/10.17348/era.14.0.049-061 among people who rely on them to satisfy their needs and welfare (Shackleton et al. 2001), and loss of tree cover needs to be slowed down by actions that include growing and maintaining trees on-farm.Effective tree growing requires full participation of farmers. This is important because farmers own important resources for tree growing such as land. Furthermore, farmers make decisions regarding which species to maintain on their land based on assessments of how much they will benefit from growing a particular species and how such a species fits in the household's labor and input requirements (Dalle & Potvin 2004, Scherr 1995, Simons & Leakey 2004, Warner 1994. To enhance and encourage wider tree planting on-farm by farmers, therefore, the species that they value and which they want to grow and are ready to manage should be identified for wide-scale planting with scientific inputs and management practices (Dalle & Potvin 2004, Kahurananga et al. 1993. These are usually trees that satisfy household needs but which also have market potential and from which farmers can earn incomes to provide alternative sources of livelihood (Akinnifesi et al. 2008,...

Small-scale farmers in the banana-coffee agro-zone of Central Uganda plant and maintain trees to provide a range of benefits. However, the impact of trees on soil fertility and crop yields is small. On many farms, trees exist in infinite numbers, compositions, with no proper spacing, sequencing and canopy management recommendations. The objectives of this study were to: quantify and compare leaf fall and leaf litter biomass for the dominant tree species subjected to different pruning regimes and during different seasons and determine the nutrient concentrations in leaf litter materials in order to assess their potential to improve soil fertility. A survey was conducted on 30 randomly selected farms to examine and document the tree species. Four tree species were dominant; Ficus natalensis (15.3%), Albizia coriaria (10.2%), Artocarpus heterophyllus (10.0%) and Mangifera indica (9.2%). Experiments such as canopy pruning, collecting leaf fall and weights of pruned leaf biomass were established for the four dominant trees on five randomly selected farms. A total of 120 trees were subjected to three pruning regimes (0%, 25% and 50%). Litter traps (1 m × 1 m) were placed 2 m from the tree trunk to collect falling leaves. Leaf biomass was collected from pruned branches and weighed. Leaf samples were collected from pruned leaves and a composite sample analysed for carbon and nutrient concentrations. Results showed that 40 tree and shrub species belonging to 21 families existed on farms. Leaf fall was highest in the dry season and A. Heterophyllus registered the highest amount. Leaf biomass from pruned trees was heaviest for M. indica (42.4 ±3 kg) in the wet season and at the 50% pruning regime (45.7± 2.1kg). Total nutrient concentrations were in the order A. coriaria>F. natalensis>A.heterophyllus>M.indica. We concluded that F. natalensis and A. Coriaria should be integrated more into the agroforestry system to improve soil fertility. A.heterophyllus and M.indica should be planted on farm boundaries. The 50% pruning regime was the best and should be carried out during the wet season.

Banana is a major food and cash crop in Uganda, particularly in the central and southwestern regions. However, production is still below attainable yields and at the same time declining due to a number of reasons, with low soil fertility being paramount. Few farmers use inorganic fertilizers, with majority of them relying mainly on organic supplements including integration of trees/shrubs. However, trees and shrubs exist on banana farms in undefined numbers and composition, with no spacing and canopy management recommendations. Also, there is limited information on farmers' knowledge on these systems. A survey was, therefore, conducted on 70 randomly selected farms in Kiboga district, central Uganda to assess farmers' knowledge of, as well as identify trees and shrubs species and banana cultivars in their agro-ecologies. A total of 1,558 trees and shrubs belonging to 40 species and 21 families were recorded in the study area (52 trees/shrubs per banana plantation). These were dominated by Jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus (15%), Natal fig, Ficus natalensis (10%), Albizia, Albizia coriaria (10%) and mango, Mangifera indica (9%). Further, 1,779 banana mats belonging to nine (9) cultivars and three (3) genome groups were observed growing underneath these four commonest tree species (2.6 banana mats per tree). The highest number of banana mats was observed growing underneath F. natalensis (54%) and A. coriaria (42%). Most (87%) observed banana cultivars belonged to the cooking East African Highland Banana (Musa AAA-EAHB) and dominated by Ndibwabalangira (21%). Farmers reported 25 benefits they derive from banana-trees/shrubs integration; with shade and firewood (38%), as well as income and timber (35%) being the main benefits reported. They also reported that the highest percentage of benefits was derived from F. natalensis (44%) and A. coriaria (32%). Of the four (4) most prevalent tree species, A. coriaria (100%) and F. natalensis (96%) were reported as good companion plant to bananas, whereas, A. heterophyllus (99%) and M. indica (97%) were regarded as bad companion plants. Farmers preferred a tree that allows light penetration (96%), is compatible with bananas and other crops (87%) and has easily decomposable leaves (83%). Therefore, F. natalensis and A. coriaria should be integrated in banana agrosystems for soil fertility improvement whereas; A. heterophyllus and M. indica be planted on farm boundaries. However, the best-bet spacing and pruning regimes for these trees should be determined to minimize the negative attributes as much as possible.