MOA NAL FURP Phase 1 Final Report Annex 111 Vol 23 Kirinyaga District 1987

Abstract

The t ypical agro -ecological pattern of the south-eastern slopes of the Nyandarua Range is continued on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kenya due to the effects of the south-east Trade Winds increase precipitation to a maximum of > 2200 mm, the annual average being about 2500 mm. Higher up , the rainfall decreases due to the lower moisture content of the trade wind inversion . This higher altitudes are still comparatively wet but also steep so that forests or National Parks are the best land use. Due to the demands of increasing land pressure , the lower , herbaceous parts of the Tropical Alpine Zones may in future be used by those farmers living below the forests for seasonal grazing of livestock