Abstract
A decrease in total area of tropical forests is considered as a significant factor that influences landscape functioning, including the hydrological cycle; it contributes to climate change, and has many other consequences. This paper presents the extent of deforestation in Nakuru and Naivasha region (Rift Valley, Central Kenya) between the years 1986 and 2005 and its effects upon thermal characteristics of the landscape. Such changes have immense impact on hydrological regimes of the Rift Valley lakes in central Kenya. Multispectral data from Landsat TM, ETM+ and Terra Aster were used to determinate dense and humid forests as well as their changes over time. A field observation, realized during the “dry” rainy season in October 2008, confirmed evident decline of precipitation and consequent low water discharge from the deforested catchment in the rivers and water level in lakes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Amnesty International. (2007). Kenya nowhere to go: forced evictions in mau forest briefing paper, May 2007.
Baldyga, T. J., Miller, S. N., Driese, K. L., & Gichaba Ch. M. (2007). Assessing land cover change in Kenya’s Mau forest region using remotely sensed data. African Journal of Ecology, 46, 46–54.
Becht, R., & Harper, D. M. (2002). Towards an understanding of human impact upon the hydrology of Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Hydrobiologie, 488, 1–11.
Bruijnzeel, L. A. (2005). Tropical montane cloud forest: a unique hydrological case. In M. Bonell, & L. A. Bruijnzeel (Eds.), Forests, Water and People in the Humid Tropics (pp. 462–483). Cambridge: UNESCO, Cambridge University Press.
Foley, A. J., DeFries, R., Asner, G. P., Barford, C., Bonan, G., Carpenter, S. R., et al. (2005). Global consequences of land use. Science, 309, 570–574.
Karanja A. K., China S. S., & Kundu P. (1986). The influence of land use on Njoro River catchment between 1975 and 1985. Proceedings of the 3rd National Workshop on Soil and Water Conservation, Nairobi, Kenya, September, 1986, Department of Agricultural Engineering, University of Nairobi, and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
Kitaka, N., Harper, D. N., Mavuti, K. M., & Pacini, N. (2002). Chemical characteristics, with particular reference to phosphorus, of the rivers draining into Lake Naivasha, Kenya. Hydrobiologia, 488, 57–71.
Lawton, R. O., Nair, U. S., Pielke Sr., R. A., & Welch, R. M. (2001). Climatic Impact of Tropical Lowland Deforestation on Nearby Montane Cloud Forests. Science, 294, 584–587.
Lelo, F. K., Chiuri, W., & Jenkins, M. W. (2005). Managing the River Njoro Watershed, Kenya: Conflicting laws, policies, and community priorities. International workshop African Water Laws: Plural Legislative Frameworks for Rural Water Management in Africa, 26–28 January 2005, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Mathooko, J. M. (2001). Disturbance of a Kenyan Rift valley stream by the daily activities of local people and their livestock. Hydrobiologia, 458, 131–139.
Mogaka, J., Gichere, S., Davis, R., & Hirji, R. (2006). Climate variability and water resources degradation in Kenya. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Available online from http://books.google.cz/books?id=jyNHmgONtk0C&printsec=frontcover [accessed online on 5 August 2009].
Odada, E. O., Raini, J., & Ndetei, R. (2006). Lake Nakuru. experience and lessons learned brief. Available online from http://www.ilec.or.jp/eg/lbmi/pdf/18_Lake_Nakuru_27February2006.pdf [accessed online on 1 September 2009].
Procházka, J., Včelák, V., Wotavová, K., Štíchová, J., & Pechar, L. (2006). Holistic concept of landscape asessment: Case study of three small catchments in the Šumava mountains. Ekológia, 25, 5–17.
Raini, J. A. (2009a). Impact of land use changes on water resources and biodiversity of Lake Nakuru catchment basin, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology, 47(1), 39–45
Raini, J. A. (2009b). Long-term trends in water quality, water quantity and biodiversity at Lake Nakuru, Kenya. Fmr Project Ecologist, World Wide Fund for Nature, Lake Nakuru Project, (P.O Box 33 Nakuru, Kenya) Available from http://iodeweb1.vliz.be/odin/bitstream/1834/2071/1/WLCK-57-62.pdf [accessed on 24 August 2009].
Ripl, W. (2003). Water: Bloodstream of the biosphere. Philosophical transaction of the royal society of London (B). Biological Sciences, 358, 1921–1934.
Shivoga, W. A., Muchiri, M., Kibichi, S., Odanga, J., Miller, S. N., Baldyga, T. J., et al. (2007). Influences of land use/cover on water quality in the upper land middle reaches of River Njoro, Kenya. Lakes & Reservoirs: Research and Management, 12, 97–105.
Shukla, J., Nobre, C., & Sellers, P. (1990). Amazon deforestation and climate change. Science, 247, 1322–1325.
Waki Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence final report, 15 October 2008.
Acknowledgement
Many thanks to our African partners involved in the BOMOSA project for their support during ground truthing, for comments and reviews – Kenya Marine & Fisheries Research Institute, Sangoro Aquaculture Station, Kenya Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, NFLARR, Sebetha, Ethiopia, Egerton University, Egerton, Kenya,Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Dept of Aquaculture, Entebbe, Uganda, Moi University, Dept of Zoology, Eldoret, Kenya, Kenyan Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries Development, Sagana Fish Farm, Kenya, as well as our European partners from University of Natural Resources & Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria, University of Bologna, Italy, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Institute for Limnology, IPGL-Office, Mondsee Austria. Financial support was provided by BOMOSA (INCO-CT-2006-032103) and by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic NPV 2B06023 projects. Special thanks to Prof. Patrick Denny for valuable comments on the issue and for correction of the paper. The source for a free Landsat data set was the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF), www.landcover.org.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hesslerová, P., Pokorný, J. (2010). Effect of Mau Forest Clear Cut on Temperature Distribution and Hydrology of Catchment of Lakes Nakuru and Naivasha: Preliminary Study. In: Vymazal, J. (eds) Water and Nutrient Management in Natural and Constructed Wetlands. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9585-5_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9585-5_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-9584-8
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-9585-5
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)