Data analysis
To show the variation in soil water salinity, median, minimum and maximum values were
calculated. However, at three of the seven sites no soil water could be extracted at certain
dates (Figure 2, black stars). In these cases, the highest soil water salinity measured
during fieldwork expeditions in the rainy season of 2005 and 2006 and the dry season of
2007 and 2009 was taken. For the basin forest the highest salinity of the water in the
puddle was taken. Monthly rainfall data were averaged for the period 1966-2006 and are
from the Kenyan Meteorological Department, Mombasa, Kenya.