Delineation of sites suitable for optimal growth of pitch pine trees using GIS and remote sensing. A case study of Jinja, Uganda

Abstract

Pitch pine is a commonly grown pine species in Uganda. It has been cultivated for its good resin and wood. At present many authorities dealing in forestry in Uganda are enforcing polices that will increase on the country’s forest cover. The policies encourage afforestation and reforestation of exotic tree species to meet future intervention on production of timber to save the indigenous tree species in the natural forests. Areas in the country that support optimum growth of pitch pine have not been delimited and current method of attaining sites suitable for optimum growth of the tree is cumbersome, expensive and covers few areas. The research implements the use of geospatial technologies and remote sensing technology to produce a map showing sites suitable for optimum growth of pitch pine basing on the natural and geographic requirements for optimal growth met by the study area. The existing pitch pine plantation in the study area were used to assess the accuracy of the suitability map.