Protection of trees and forests within or adjacent to sugarcane monoculture harnesses ecosys-tem services and biodiversity conservation. However, there is limited information on the ef-fect of sugarcane production on land use land cover change, and the nutrition status of chil-dren in the Buikwe district which the present study tried to adresss. ArcGIS software prefera-bly Arcmap 10.2 version was used in satellite imagery geospatial data analysis to assess land use/cover classes of vegetation cover converted to sugarcane monoculture over three decades. Transects were as well established in regenerated areas formally used for sugarcane growing and those that have never been used for sugarcane production. A procedure of nested quad-rats was employed for a systematic sampling of mature trees at 60 m interval(s), whereas, a multi-stage random sampling procedure was employed where a total of 143 households at-tending to the sugar cane fields were selected. Tree diversity analysis was conducted in spe-cies diversity and richness (SDRiv) software. The results showed a significant transformation in the land cover, over three decades (1988-2018), which is attributed to the expansion of sugarcane plantations, Built areas, and, Agriculture. Built-up (8.9%) areas and Agriculture (14.67%) had the highest percentage incensement, then forests (-8.89%) and Bush- land (10.20%) declined the most in acreage. A total of 40 species of trees belonging to 24 families were recorded. The dominant tree species, also with high Importance Value Indices were Brown mahogany,(Lovoa swynnertonii)and Jack fruit, (Artocarpus heterophyllus), among others. Most caretakers for selected children were from households headed by male spouses (65.0%), and a large proportion had attained primary education (65.0%) whereas most were house-wives (56.7%) and casual laborers on sugarcane farms. The mean Z-scores for wasting, stunt-ing, and underweight were -0.71 ± 0.24, -1-0.73 ± 0.24, and --0.73 ± 0.241, respectively.

show more