Agro-Ecological Lower Midland Zones IV and V in Kenya Using GIS and Remote Sensing for Climate-Smart Crop Management 49
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Date
2021
Authors
Manzi, Hilda
Gweyi-Onyango, Joseph P
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
Food production in Kenya and Africa in recent past has experienced vagaries of
weather fluctuations which ultimately have affected crop yield. Farming in Kenya is
localized in specific Agro-ecological zones, hence understanding crop growth
responses in particular regions is crucial in planning and management for purposes
of accelerating adoption. A number of strategies for adoption and adaptation to
changing weather patterns have been deployed yet only limited challenges have
been partially addressed or managed. This chapter examines previous methods used
in classifying agro-ecological zones and further provides additional insightful parameters that can be adopted to enable farmers understand and adapt better to the current variable and unpredictable cropping seasons. The chapter scrutinizes past and current
documented information on agro-ecological zonal valuations coupled with the use of
earth observation components such as air temperature at surface, land surface
temperature, evapotranspiration, soil, temperature, and soil and moisture content in
order to better understand and effectively respond to new phenomena occurring as a
result of climate change in the marginal agricultural areas. Significant variations in
precipitation, ambient temperature, soil moisture content, and soil temperature
become evident when earth observation data are used in evaluation of agroecological lower midland zones IV and V. The said variations cut across areas within
the agro-ecological zones that have been allocated similar characteristics when
assigning cropping seasons. The chapter summarizes the outcomes of various
streams of contributions that have reported significant shifts or changes in rainfall
and temperature patterns across Kenya and wider Eastern Africa region. The chapter
highlights the need for re-evaluation of the agro-ecological zones based on the recent
earth observation datasets in their diversity. The research emphasizes the use of
multiple climate and soil-related parameters in understanding climate change in the
other marginal areas of Kenya.
Description
Article
Keywords
Climate change, Length of growth period, Cropping seasons, Earth observation data
Citation
Manzi, H., & Gweyi-Onyango, J. P. (2021). Agro-ecological Lower Midland Zones IV and V in Kenya Using GIS and Remote Sensing for Climate-Smart Crop Management. In African Handbook of Climate Change Adaptation (pp. 965-991). Cham: Springer International Publishing.