Abstract

*John E. Milton, Bhasker V. Patel and Sudkir Mukwaya

Infestation and destruction of rangeland vegetation by subterranean termites is a major constraint to
livestock production in the rangelands of Uganda, particularly, in semi-arid Nakasongola. Ethnoecological studies on termite dynamics are central to formulation of sustainable termite management
strategies in such ecosystems. This study was thus conducted to investigate farmers’ traditional
ecological knowledge of the termite problem with the intent to build more coherent principles required in
the development of appropriate termite management strategies. Focus group discussions and individual
interviews were conducted to capture information on farmers’ ethno-ecological knowledge of the factors
enhancing termite damage on vegetation, temporal and spatial variability of damage and diversity of
termite species in the Nakasongola ecosystem. Kruskal–Wallis test showed that there was a significant
difference (X2
=451.5, P>0.0001) among farmers’ ranking of factors responsible for the destructive
behavior of termites on rangeland vegetation. Overgrazing and deforestation ware ranked significantly
higher (X2
=156, P>0.0001) than other factors. Eight species were identified and the species belonged to
one family (Termitidae) and two sub-families (Macrotermitinae and Termitinae). The study provided basic
information about farmers’ knowledge of the biology and ecology that could aid the development of
sustainable and socially acceptable termite control strategies.