Effects of Riparian Cover Types on Water Quality and Macroinvertebrate Population in River Isiukhu Watershed, Kakamega County, Kenya.
| dc.contributor.author | Tela, Samuel Abuyeka | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-26T06:12:03Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-26T06:12:03Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-06 | |
| dc.description | A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Award of the Degree of Masters of Arts in Geography (Biogeography) in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Kenyatta University, June, 2023 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Quality riparian cover improves the ecologically health of rivers. Conservation of riparian buffer zones improves sustainability of rivers in supporting biotic diversity. However, anthropogenic activities are endangering current and future existence of riparian cover .The study sought to establish the effects of riparian cover types on water quality and macro invertebrate population in the Isiukhu River watershed. Specific objectives that were explored included; to identify the riparian cover types along the river; to establish the relationship between riparian cover types and water quality; and finally to establish relationship between riparian cover types and macro invertebrates diversity, evenness, richness and abundance .Four stations under different riparian covers were assessed four times for water samples and macro invertebrates’ specimens in order to achieve these objectives. Riparian cover types that existed along the river were identified using sentinel (2) image and they include, forest vegetation, riparian grassland, farmland zone and town zone. Ground photographs documentation, transect walk orientation and ground truth observations helped in rating and classifying riparian covers as being very high, high, moderate and low in relation to riparian cover characteristics. Macro invertebrates were collected using D frame net, identified and classified using relevant classification keys. Shannon-Wiener index, Shannon evenness index, Species richness and abundance indices are descriptive statistics that analysed for species population structure. Sorenson’s Coefficient was applied to quantify similarities or dissimilarities among species in different stations. Pearson correlation coefficient hypothetically tested significance correlation between sampling stations and species indices. Water quality parameters were expressed using mean. Two way ANOVA test revealed that significant variation existed between water parameters (pH, EC, TDS, DO, Temperature and Turbidity) and sampling stations (ρ <0.05) and sampling dates (ρ <0.05).1,552 macro invertebrate species were collected .11 species were positively correlated with riparian covers ,while 3 were negatively correlated with riparian cover. Forest vegetation had highest species richness (24), Grassland (22), Farmland (19) and Town zone (17) respectively. Forest vegetation had highest species abundance (377), Grassland (376), Farmland (387) and Town zone (412). Forest vegetation was more diverse (3.090), followed by Grassland (2.962), Farmland (2.675) and Town zone (2.493). A close relationship existed between riparian covers and: macro invertebrates’ diversity (r =0.9904; ρ =0.08333); richness (r =0.9965; ρ =0.08333); evenness (r =0.9809; ρ =0.08333); and abundance (r = -0.8939; ρ =0.3333). Chiromonous sp. and Tubifex sp. dominated downstream stations while Belostoma sp., Heptagenia sp. and Caenis sp. dominated upstream stations. The study established that river Isiukhu ecosystem is adversely affected by dynamics which are simplifying the riparian cover along the river. Therefore, application of holistic approach in river health assessment is recommended through assessing physical, biological and chemical aspects of the ecosystem .This will lead to better understanding of ecosystem processes, thus leading to effective management and conservation of riparian resources. | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/28693 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kenyatta University | |
| dc.title | Effects of Riparian Cover Types on Water Quality and Macroinvertebrate Population in River Isiukhu Watershed, Kakamega County, Kenya. | |
| dc.type | Thesis |