Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The spread of the introduced plant Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC was studied in the Lake
Baringo area in Kenya. In addition, woody plant diversity and soil characters were
studied. Major initial planting sites with P. juliflora were located and marked with GPS.
The number of major plantations was 16 and obvious signs of spread were found from 9
of the plantations. Sites planted with P. chilensis were found as well, but no signs of
spread were observed. Small scale plantations with P. juliflora and P. chilensis were also
located. Observations of spread by P. juliflora were made both from major planting sites
and from small scale plantations. P. juliflora showed the strongest signs of spread along
roads and in areas where the soil had a fine texture and where there was seasonally or
permanently good access to water. The abundance of plant species was low in the area
and 31 species were scored during the inventories. However, the sampling was not large
enough to capture the whole species pool. Plant diversity was slightly higher where P.
juliflora was absent. Soil samples showed a high pH and the highest was detected in
Loruk in the northern part of the study area. Loruk also had the highest amount of
exchangeable potassium and the coarsest soil. The invasion of P. juliflora seemed higher
in areas where no previous vegetation existed and in areas with high water accessibility.
Some indications also showed that slopes and coarse soil texture was unfavourable for P.
juliflora.