Unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa

As nitrogen pollution increasingly threatens water quality in the Lake Victoria Basin, it is essential to investigate the spatial factors influencing nitrogen source use. Understanding these determinants is crucial to inform effective strategies to combat eutrophication, enhance nutrient management,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Catherine Mathenge, Stephen Mureithi, Soul-Kifouly Midingoyi, Benjamin Nyilitya, Geoffrey Kironchi, Cargele Masso
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001521
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846137651427540992
author Catherine Mathenge
Stephen Mureithi
Soul-Kifouly Midingoyi
Benjamin Nyilitya
Geoffrey Kironchi
Cargele Masso
author_facet Catherine Mathenge
Stephen Mureithi
Soul-Kifouly Midingoyi
Benjamin Nyilitya
Geoffrey Kironchi
Cargele Masso
author_sort Catherine Mathenge
collection DOAJ
description As nitrogen pollution increasingly threatens water quality in the Lake Victoria Basin, it is essential to investigate the spatial factors influencing nitrogen source use. Understanding these determinants is crucial to inform effective strategies to combat eutrophication, enhance nutrient management, ensure food security and promote sustainable ecological development. This study investigated spatial variation of N sources, the farmers' socio-demographic and farm characteristics factors influencing farmers' choice of nitrogen sources. Data was collected from 1500 farmers between October and December 2020. The farmers were randomly selected in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania country sub-basins within the Lake Victoria basin (LVB). Spatial autocorrelation was used to evaluate the spatial variation of the nitrogen sources while the Optimized Parameter Geographical Detector (OPGD) model was used to identify the factors influencing the choice or use of N sources. The OPDG results indicate that the country of residence and livestock ownership are the primary factors accounting for 31.9% and 22.1% of the variation in nitrogen sources across the entire Lake Victoria Basin, respectively. The major sub-basin factors influencing the use of N sources were both farm characteristics (types of crops grown and farm size) and social socio-demographic factors of the farmer (education). These findings highlight the need for tailored strategies, accounting for geographical variations, farm characteristics and socio-demographic factors are essential when formulating nitrogen management strategies and policies at local and regional scales within the LVB.
format Article
id doaj-art-51f4fe8d85da4636ab4197b473f6b658
institution Kabale University
issn 2665-9727
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
spelling doaj-art-51f4fe8d85da4636ab4197b473f6b6582024-12-08T06:12:18ZengElsevierEnvironmental and Sustainability Indicators2665-97272024-12-0124100484Unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the Lake Victoria basin, East AfricaCatherine Mathenge0Stephen Mureithi1Soul-Kifouly Midingoyi2Benjamin Nyilitya3Geoffrey Kironchi4Cargele Masso5Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, Kenya; International Institute of Tropical Agriculture C/O ICIPE, Nairobi, Kenya; Corresponding author. Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, Kenya.Department of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, KenyaNational Institute of Agricultural Research, BeninWater Research & Data Division, Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Nairobi, KenyaDepartment of Land Resource Management and Agricultural Technology, University of Nairobi, KenyaOne CGIAR, International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, KenyaAs nitrogen pollution increasingly threatens water quality in the Lake Victoria Basin, it is essential to investigate the spatial factors influencing nitrogen source use. Understanding these determinants is crucial to inform effective strategies to combat eutrophication, enhance nutrient management, ensure food security and promote sustainable ecological development. This study investigated spatial variation of N sources, the farmers' socio-demographic and farm characteristics factors influencing farmers' choice of nitrogen sources. Data was collected from 1500 farmers between October and December 2020. The farmers were randomly selected in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and Tanzania country sub-basins within the Lake Victoria basin (LVB). Spatial autocorrelation was used to evaluate the spatial variation of the nitrogen sources while the Optimized Parameter Geographical Detector (OPGD) model was used to identify the factors influencing the choice or use of N sources. The OPDG results indicate that the country of residence and livestock ownership are the primary factors accounting for 31.9% and 22.1% of the variation in nitrogen sources across the entire Lake Victoria Basin, respectively. The major sub-basin factors influencing the use of N sources were both farm characteristics (types of crops grown and farm size) and social socio-demographic factors of the farmer (education). These findings highlight the need for tailored strategies, accounting for geographical variations, farm characteristics and socio-demographic factors are essential when formulating nitrogen management strategies and policies at local and regional scales within the LVB.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001521Nitrogen sourcesLake victoria basinSocio-demographic factorsOptimal parameter geographical detector modelNitrogen management practices
spellingShingle Catherine Mathenge
Stephen Mureithi
Soul-Kifouly Midingoyi
Benjamin Nyilitya
Geoffrey Kironchi
Cargele Masso
Unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa
Environmental and Sustainability Indicators
Nitrogen sources
Lake victoria basin
Socio-demographic factors
Optimal parameter geographical detector model
Nitrogen management practices
title Unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa
title_full Unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa
title_fullStr Unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa
title_full_unstemmed Unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa
title_short Unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the Lake Victoria basin, East Africa
title_sort unveiling the determinants of the spatial variability of nitrogen sources use in the lake victoria basin east africa
topic Nitrogen sources
Lake victoria basin
Socio-demographic factors
Optimal parameter geographical detector model
Nitrogen management practices
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2665972724001521
work_keys_str_mv AT catherinemathenge unveilingthedeterminantsofthespatialvariabilityofnitrogensourcesuseinthelakevictoriabasineastafrica
AT stephenmureithi unveilingthedeterminantsofthespatialvariabilityofnitrogensourcesuseinthelakevictoriabasineastafrica
AT soulkifoulymidingoyi unveilingthedeterminantsofthespatialvariabilityofnitrogensourcesuseinthelakevictoriabasineastafrica
AT benjaminnyilitya unveilingthedeterminantsofthespatialvariabilityofnitrogensourcesuseinthelakevictoriabasineastafrica
AT geoffreykironchi unveilingthedeterminantsofthespatialvariabilityofnitrogensourcesuseinthelakevictoriabasineastafrica
AT cargelemasso unveilingthedeterminantsofthespatialvariabilityofnitrogensourcesuseinthelakevictoriabasineastafrica