Camel forage range in Uganda’s dryland

Camels thrive best in arid and semi-arid lands of Africa and have the potential to reduce the vulnerability of pastoral communities to impacts of climate change and variability. The study was conducted in Karamoja sub-region and involved assessment of vegetation with intent to characterize the foraging range for the camels. The camel grazing area was stratified based on vegetation classes namely; woodland, bushland, grassland and farmland using the District vegetation maps. A total of 46, 10, 6 and 5 plots were assessed in the bushland, woodland, farmland and grassland strata respectively. In each plot, all the tree and shrub species were identified. The findings revealed high species diversities in the bushlands and woodlands of both districts and the lowest species diversities in the farmlands of both districts. Also, species compositional similarity statistics revealed a high similarity between the plant communities in the bushlands and the woodlands and a low similarity among the plant communities in the farmlands and those of other habitats. The study therefore brought to light the unique opportunity for exploration of camel rearing offered by Karamoja region as evidenced by its vegetation spectrum.