Grass Burning : Some Uganda Experience

Abstract

Although a great deal of practical knowledge exists throughout East Africa on the subject of grass burning, there are, so far as I am aware, no written summaries of it available. Particularly in teaching students on this subject, I have found the difficulty that there is no literature to which to refer them. It is therefore proposed in this article to try to present a summary of experience on the problem as it is known in Uganda. In other parts of the tropics, and even in other East African territories, where conditions are different, divergent views are no doubt held on many of the points at issue. In the first part of the article, extensive burning of grasslands or grazing land only will be dealt with. Localized burning to clear vegetation off small areas prior to cultivation will be considered later.