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Fentaw AE, Abegaz A. Soil erosion assessment and identification of erosion hotspot areas in the upper Tekeze Basin, Northern Ethiopia. Heliyon 2024; 10:e32880. [PMID: 38988574 PMCID: PMC11234008 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e32880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Revised: 06/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Soil erosion is a major environmental problem in Ethiopia, reducing topsoil and agricultural land productivity. Soil loss estimation is a critical component of sustainable land management practices because it provides important information about soil erosion hotspot areas and prioritizes areas that require immediate management interventions. This study integrates the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) with Google Earth Engine (GEE) to estimate soil erosion rates and map soil erosion in the Upper Tekeze Basin, Northern Ethiopia. SoilGrids250 m, CHIRPS-V2, SRTM-V3, MERIT Hydrograph, NDVI from sentinel collections and land use land cover (LULC) data were accessed and processed in the GEE Platform. LULC was classified using Random forest (RF) classification algorithm in the GEE platform. Landsat surface reflectance images from Landsat 8 Operational land imager (OLI) sensors (2021) was used for LULC classification. Besides, different auxiliary data were utilized to improve the classification accuracy. Using the RUSLE-GEE framework, we analyzed the soil loss rate in different agroecologies and LULC types in the upper Tekeze basin in Waghimra zone. The results showed that the average soil loss rate in the Upper Tekeze basin is 25.5 t ha-1 yr-1. About 63 % of the basin is experiencing soil erosion above the maximum tolerable rate, which should be targeted for land management interventions. Specifically, 55 % of the study area, which is covered by unprotected shrubland is experiencing mean annual soil loss of 34.75 t ha-1 yr-1 indicating the need for immediate soil conservation intervention. The study also revealed evidence that this high mean soil loss rate of the basin can be reduced to a tolerable rate by implementing integrative watershed management and exclosures. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that GEE could be a good source of datasets and a computing platform for RUSLE, in particular for data scarce semi-arid and arid environments. The results from this study are reliable for decision-making for rapid soil erosion assessment and intervention prioritization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alemu Eshetu Fentaw
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Woldia University, Woldia, Ethiopia
| | - Assefa Abegaz
- Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Jiang C, Wang Y, Yang Z, Zhao Y. Do adaptive policy adjustments deliver ecosystem-agriculture-economy co-benefits in land degradation neutrality efforts? Evidence from southeast coast of China. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2023; 195:1215. [PMID: 37713117 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11821-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystem restoration projects (ERPs) facilitate land degradation neutrality (LDN). However, the response dynamics and interactions of sectors within ecosystem-agriculture-economy nexus (EAEN) have not been sufficiently explored, which constrains the coordinated efficacy of LDN efforts. To bridge the knowledge gaps, the present study selected a land restoration hotspot in southeastern China as a case to investigate the simultaneous responses of the EAEN sectors to ERPs from a novel social-ecological system (SES)-based LDN perspective. Various biophysical models and Manne-Kendall trend test as well as multi-source spatially explicit data and socioeconomic statistics were applied to quantify the co-evolution of natural and socioeconomic indicators. ERPs converting cropland to woodland and grassland promoted vegetation restoration, reduced soil erosion, and enhanced carbon sequestration. However, cropland loss initially resulted in a decline in grain productivity. Policy adjustments and improvements in ecosystem restoration efforts and agricultural production conditions improved food security and increased agricultural production capacity. Effective policymaking and favorable resident engagement accelerated the transformation from a grain-production-based agriculture to diversified industries and, by extension, economic output, income, and population. The success of socioeconomic development under the SES framework for LDN demonstrated that this strategy could achieve the desired environmental, agricultural, and economic targets. EAEN under the SES conceptual framework provides an inclusive, comprehensive LDN perspective and improves ERP efficacy. The findings of the present work might be applicable to other land restoration areas challenged by the complex interactions among multidimensional factors. Comparably successful implementation of these ERPs could be realized if individual environmental and socioeconomic conditions are thoroughly considered during the formulation of coordinated development policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Coupling Process and Effect of Natural Resources Elements, Beijing, 100055, China.
- Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 511458, China.
- Changsha Comprehensive Survey Center of Natural Resources, China Geological Survey, Changsha, 410600, China.
- Dongying Base of Integration Between Industry and Education for High-Quality Development of Modern Agriculture, Ludong University, Dongying, 257509, China.
- Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510070, China.
| | - Yixin Wang
- Research Institute of Management Science, Hohai University, Nanjing, 211100, China
| | - Zhiyuan Yang
- Department of Infrastructure Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, 3010, Australia
| | - Ying Zhao
- Dongying Base of Integration Between Industry and Education for High-Quality Development of Modern Agriculture, Ludong University, Dongying, 257509, China.
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Adelisardou F, Mederly P, Minkina T. Assessment of soil- and water-related ecosystem services with coupling the factors of climate and land-use change (Example of the Nitra region, Slovakia). ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY AND HEALTH 2023; 45:6605-6620. [PMID: 37344755 PMCID: PMC10403436 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-023-01656-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Climate and land use change can profoundly impact the provision of ecosystem services (ES) over time, particularly in the landscape of open fields along with growing urbanization and rising demand for space, food and energy. Policymakers are keen on knowing the combined effects of climate and land use change on ESs as a critical issue in human well-being. However, deep knowledge of how to identify these relationships is still lacking. This research aims to undertake a comprehensive assessment of soil- and water-related ES, and improvement in understanding how they are affected by climate and land use change. We applied the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs model for four ES (soil retention, nutrient delivery ratio, carbon storage, and water yield) for the years 2000 and 2018 in the Nitra region, Slovakia. We investigated the spatial and temporal changes in ES provision and determined the hotspots and coldspots of multiple ES. We found that soil retention, water yield, and carbon storage display a rising trend while the nutrient delivery ratio showed a decreasing trend over the past 18 years. Although all the mentioned services mainly attributed to land use change, the relative contribution of climate change was not deniable. Forests in the north and east and distributed urbanization and agriculture are the hotspots and coldspots for all ESs, respectively. Our results, in terms of determining the relative importance of land use and climate change and identifying the sensitive areas of ES provision, provide a scientific basis for ecosystem conservation and management priority setting at the local and regional levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Adelisardou
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Science and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia
| | - Peter Mederly
- Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Natural Science and Informatics, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia.
| | - Tatian Minkina
- Department of Soil Science and Land Resources Estimation, Southern Federal University, Rostov-On-Don, Russia
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Exploring the frontiers of sustainable livelihoods research within grassland ecosystem: A scientometric analysis. Heliyon 2022; 8:e10704. [PMID: 36203909 PMCID: PMC9529551 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
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Falayi M, Gambiza J, Schoon M. ‘The ghost of environmental history’: Analysing the evolving governance of communal rangeland resources in Machubeni, South Africa. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Menelisi Falayi
- Department of Environmental Science Rhodes University Makhanda South Africa
| | - James Gambiza
- Department of Environmental Science Rhodes University Makhanda South Africa
| | - Michael Schoon
- School of Sustainability Arizona State University Tempe AZ USA
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Feng R, Wang F, Wang K. Spatial-temporal patterns and influencing factors of ecological land degradation-restoration in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 794:148671. [PMID: 34323775 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Despite the fact that urban agglomerations have undergone extensive ecological land coverage modifications, exploration of the patterns and driving mechanisms associated with ecological land degradation (ELD) and ecological land restoration (ELR) in urban agglomerations is still limited. This study combined remote sensing technology, as well as landscape index and geographical detector to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of ELD (isolating, adjacent, and enclosing degradation) and ELR (outlying, edge-expansion, and infilling restoration) in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) from 1990 to 2019. Subsequently, the contributions, interactions, and driver changes were quantified. The results showed an ecological land shift from over-exploitation to balanced co-existence, which was facilitated by a spatiotemporal pattern transition from adjacent degradation-led (1990-2010) to edge-expansion restoration-led (2010-2019). Land urbanization rate and population density showed a stronger promoting effect on ELD than natural factors, while tertiary industry, topography, and soil conditions were more significant in ELR. The factors' nonlinear interaction enhanced the degradation-restoration pattern evolution and continued to increase over time-particularly the interaction between construction land expansion and other drivers. Additionally, from 2010 to 2019, 80% of the ELR socio-economic factors turned from negative to positive and gradually became to play a significant role. This study is expected to help ecological protection and restoration planners/managers recognize the factors' interactions and variations, and ultimately improve the ecological network structure that is designed to integrate the city with the ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rundong Feng
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
| | - Fuyuan Wang
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Kaiyong Wang
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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Rosano-Peña C, Teixeira JR, Kimura H. Eco-efficiency in Brazilian Amazonian agriculture: opportunity costs of degradation and protection of the environment. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:62378-62389. [PMID: 34196866 PMCID: PMC8246439 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14867-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 06/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Aiming to assist the environmental sustainability of the Brazilian Amazonian agriculture, this article developed an eco-efficiency index, indicating the possible limits to maximize economic and environmental objectives, taking into account the best practices in the municipalities of the region. Shadow prices of degraded areas and forest preservation were also estimated using data envelopment analysis with directional distance functions. The results indicate that, on average, the analyzed municipalities are able to expand the production and the forest areas by 38% and reduce degraded areas and their inputs in the same proportion. The shadow prices allowed the estimation of the annual opportunity cost of the degraded areas and the preservation of the forest on the farms. The first, US$ 3,131,571, represented 0.04% of the annual output value, indicating that the internalization of that cost should be a low burden for the eco-efficient producer. The second, the total cost of preserving 80% of the area of property, represented US$ 120,890,662 or 1.7% of the annual income of the biome producers studied. Therefore, the main conclusion of this work is that the internalization of negative and positive externalities of agricultural production in the Amazonian biome does not make agricultural production economically unfeasible in the region. In addition, the reimbursement of damages avoided by carbon sequestration, through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) established by the Kyoto Conference, should further increase the economic and environmental sustainability of agriculture in the area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Rosano-Peña
- Department of Management, University of Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Federal District 70910–900 Brazil
| | - Joanílio Rodolpho Teixeira
- Department of Economics, University of Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Federal District 70910–900 Brazil
| | - Herbert Kimura
- Department of Management, University of Brasília, Campus Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília, Federal District 70910–900 Brazil
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Mani S, Osborne CP, Cleaver F. Land degradation in South Africa: Justice and climate change in tension. PEOPLE AND NATURE 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Suma Mani
- Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Colin P. Osborne
- Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
- Plants, Photosynthesis and Soil, School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
| | - Frances Cleaver
- Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures University of Sheffield Sheffield UK
- Lancaster Environment Centre Lancaster University Lancaster UK
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Predicting the Potential Geographic Distribution and Habitat Suitability of Two Economic Forest Trees on the Loess Plateau, China. FORESTS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/f12060747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The Loess Plateau is one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world. In order to increase the biodiversity in the area, develop sustainable agriculture and increase the income of the local people, we simulated the potential geographic distribution of two economic forest trees (Malus pumila Mill and Prunus armeniaca L.) in the present and future under two climate scenarios, using the maximum entropy model. In this study, the importance and contributions of environmental variables, areas of suitable habitats, changes in habitat suitability, the direction and distance of habitat range shifts, the change ratios for habitat area and land use proportions, were measured. According to our results, bioclimatic variables, topographic variables and soil variables play a significant role in defining the distribution of M. pumila and P. armeniaca. The min temperature of coldest month (bio6) was the most important environmental variable for the distribution of the two economic forest trees. The second most important factors for M. pumila and P. armeniaca were, respectively, the elevation and precipitation of the driest quarter (bio17). At the time of the study, the area of above moderately suitable habitats (AMSH) was 8.7967 × 104 km2 and 11.4631 × 104 km2 for M. pumila and P. armeniaca. The effect of Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) 5-85 was more dramatic than that of SSP1-26. Between now and the 2090s (SSP 5-85), the AMSH area of M. pumila is expected to decrease to 7.5957 × 104 km2, while that of P. armeniaca will increase to 34.6465 × 104 km2. The suitability of M. pumila decreased dramatically in the south and southeast regions of the Loess Plateau, increased in the middle and west and resulted in a shift in distance in the range of 78.61~190.63 km to the northwest, while P. armeniaca shifted to the northwest by 64.77~139.85 km. This study provides information for future policymaking regarding economic forest trees in the Loess Plateau.
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McElwee P, Calvin K, Campbell D, Cherubini F, Grassi G, Korotkov V, Le Hoang A, Lwasa S, Nkem J, Nkonya E, Saigusa N, Soussana JF, Taboada MA, Manning F, Nampanzira D, Smith P. The impact of interventions in the global land and agri-food sectors on Nature's Contributions to People and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2020; 26:4691-4721. [PMID: 32531815 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Interlocked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation require transformative interventions in the land management and food production sectors to reduce carbon emissions, strengthen adaptive capacity, and increase food security. However, deciding which interventions to pursue and understanding their relative co-benefits with and trade-offs against different social and environmental goals have been difficult without comparisons across a range of possible actions. This study examined 40 different options, implemented through land management, value chains, or risk management, for their relative impacts across 18 Nature's Contributions to People (NCPs) and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We find that a relatively small number of interventions show positive synergies with both SDGs and NCPs with no significant adverse trade-offs; these include improved cropland management, improved grazing land management, improved livestock management, agroforestry, integrated water management, increased soil organic carbon content, reduced soil erosion, salinization, and compaction, fire management, reduced landslides and hazards, reduced pollution, reduced post-harvest losses, improved energy use in food systems, and disaster risk management. Several interventions show potentially significant negative impacts on both SDGs and NCPs; these include bioenergy and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, afforestation, and some risk sharing measures, like commercial crop insurance. Our results demonstrate that a better understanding of co-benefits and trade-offs of different policy approaches can help decision-makers choose the more effective, or at the very minimum, more benign interventions for implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela McElwee
- Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Katherine Calvin
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Joint Global Change Research Institute, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Donovan Campbell
- The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Francesco Cherubini
- Industrial Ecology Program, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Giacomo Grassi
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
| | - Vladimir Korotkov
- Yu. A. Izrael Institute of Global Climate and Ecology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anh Le Hoang
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Shuaib Lwasa
- Department of Geography, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Johnson Nkem
- United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Ephraim Nkonya
- International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC, USA
| | - Nobuko Saigusa
- Centre for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Jean-Francois Soussana
- French National Institute for Agricultural, Environment and Food Research (INRA), Paris Cedex 07, France
| | - Miguel Angel Taboada
- Natural Resources Research Centre (CIRN), Institute of Soils, National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Frances Manning
- Institute of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Dorothy Nampanzira
- Department of Livestock and Industrial Resources, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Pete Smith
- Institute of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Unpacking Changing Multi-Actor and Multi-Level Actor Ties in Transformative Spaces: Insights from a Degraded Landscape, Machubeni, South Africa. LAND 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/land9070227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The loss of ecosystem services through land degradation continues to be a significant concern for policymakers and land users around the world. Facilitating collective action among various actors is regarded as imperative in halting land degradation. Despite extensive research on collective action, there have been few studies that continuously map social ties and detect network evolution as a way of enabling longitudinal analysis of transformative spaces. This paper seeks to examine the changing dynamics of multi-actor and multi-level actor ties over a period of two years in Machubeni, South Africa. To do this, we used social network analysis to detect continuities and/or discontinuities of multi-actor and multi-level actor ties over time. Overall, edge density, clustering coefficient, and reciprocity scores steadily increased over the two years despite a decline in the number of active organisations within the network. Our results demonstrate that the proportion of strong ties gradually increased over time across three governance networks. However, multi-level linkages between the local municipality and the local organisations remained weak due to a lack of trust and collaborative fatigue. While the transformative space has succeeded in enhancing collaboration and knowledge sharing between local organisations and researchers, further long-term engagement with government agencies might be necessary for promoting institutional transformations and policy outcomes, and building network resilience in complex polycentric governance systems.
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A Framework to Tackling the Synchrony between Social and Ecological Phases of the Annual Cyclic Movement of Transhumant Pastoralism. SUSTAINABILITY 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/su12083462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Transhumant pastoralism is mobile livelihood strategy in which families and their herds move seasonally from lowlands, where they settle during the winter, towards the highlands, located in mountainous areas, during the summer. We propose a framework, rooted in a socio-environmental coevolutionary perspective, for the transhumant annual cycle as comprised by the winter-phase, the summer-phase, and movement transitions between them. The aim was to assess the level of synchrony between ecological phases and social phases and the benefit of moving between pasturelands in selected study cases from Patagonia, Argentina. Ecological phases were addressed by the difference between vegetation productivity of winter- and summer-lands, with Fourier transform applied to data series of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Social phases were estimated by the proportion of annual time spent by pastoralists and their herds in each site and during transitions, respectively, obtained from interviews. The framework was sensitive to capturing differences across study cases. There was an observed tendency towards more synchronisation in the cases with closer distances and asynchrony in the cases with longer distances and longer movement transitions between pasturelands. Results are encouraging as a step towards the development of a monitoring system of both transhumant pastoralism activity and environmental changes.
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Briske DD, Coppock DL, Illius AW, Fuhlendorf SD. Strategies for global rangeland stewardship: Assessment through the lens of the equilibrium–non‐equilibrium debate. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David D. Briske
- Department of Ecosystem Science & Management Texas A&M University College Station TX USA
| | - D. Layne Coppock
- Department of Environment and Society Utah State University Logan UT USA
| | - Andrew W. Illius
- School of Biological Sciences University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Samuel D. Fuhlendorf
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management Oklahoma State University Stillwater OK USA
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Mngumi LE. Ecosystem services potential for climate change resilience in peri-urban areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. LANDSCAPE AND ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s11355-020-00411-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
AbstractEcosystem services provide considerable development opportunities, including incorporating land use planning and enhancing climate change resilience in peri-urban communities. However, the application of this concept in planning and enhancing climate change resilience is negligible in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This article reviews state-of-the-art research on the potential contribution of peri-urban ecosystem services to climate change resilience in SSA and identifies research gaps for further work. This study was conducted through systematic review of articles from the Web of Science. The literature shows limited knowledge on peri-urban ecosystem services research globally and SSA in particular. The gaps in this knowledge stem from inadequate conceptualization and lack of understanding about how such knowledge can be translated into policy, planning and management and, hence, realizing development goals. In nutshell, the potential for climate change resilience of well-managed peri-urban ecosystem services includes reducing the physical exposure of peri-urban areas to floods and droughts and minimizing climate change risks through increased socio-economic resilience to hazard impacts and provision of the carbon sequestration function. However, specific peri-urban studies describing ecosystem service types and how they can be synchronized into mainstream urban planning and climate change resilience strategies are lacking in most SSA urban regions/landscapes. Therefore, case studies need to be conducted to contextualize and downscale the concept in peri-urban areas and to determine how the concept can be synchronized into broad urban planning and strategies for enhancing resilience to climate change in vulnerable urban and peri-urban communities.
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Daryanto S, Fu B, Zhao W. Evaluating the use of fire to control shrub encroachment in global drylands: A synthesis based on ecosystem service perspective. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2019; 648:285-292. [PMID: 30118941 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2018] [Revised: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 08/10/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
With the proliferation of woody plant species in much of the world's grasslands, human has manipulated landscape fire to return their forage provisioning service. Yet other ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, erosion control) in the post-managed areas compared to those previously available in the shrub-encroached area are largely unknown, including trade-offs between ecosystem services. Using data from previous publications, we quantitatively synthesized the sustainability of fire as shrub management practice, expressed as its efficacy to control shrubs and its capacity to maintain different ecosystem services. A simple indicator (δ), defined as the ratio of an observed ecological attribute between area experiencing shrub management and untreated control, was used to quantify the changes. Our results showed that fire could be an effective strategy to control shrubs and to increase forage provisioning service (δherbaceous biomass = 1.39). However, there are possible trade-offs with other ecosystem services (e.g., erosion control, nutrient cycling) when a 54% increase in bare soil cover (δbare soil = 1.54) and ~74% loss of biological soil crusts cover (δbiological crust = 0.26) were found. Because increasing forage provisioning at the cost of other ecosystem services might not be sustainable, management should focus on strategies to minimize such trade-offs, which may include but not limited to rotational grazing, adjustment in stocking rate, or supplementary external inputs (e.g., fertilizer). Unless those measures are employed, there is possible emergence of a novel crash (i.e., vegetation- and resource-poor scabland) resulting from a combination of soil erosion and high vulnerability of burnt landscape to exotic species invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefani Daryanto
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resources Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Bojie Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resources Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Wenwu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resources Ecology, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Institute of Land Surface System and Sustainable Development, Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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Berry E, Metternicht G, Baumber A. ‘This country just hangs tight’: perspectives on managing land degradation and climate change in far west NSW. RANGELAND JOURNAL 2019. [DOI: 10.1071/rj18030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Discussions of land degradation often display a disconnect between global and local scales. Although global-scale discussions often focus on measuring and reversing land degradation through metrics and policy measures, local-scale discussions can highlight a diversity of viewpoints and the importance of local knowledge and context-specific strategies for sustainable land management. Similarly, although scientific studies clearly link anthropogenic climate change to land degradation as both cause and consequence, the connection may not be so clear for local rangelands communities due to the complex temporal and spatial scales of change and management in such environments.
In research conducted in October 2015, we interviewed 18 stakeholders in the far west of New South Wales about their perspectives on sustainable land management. The results revealed highly variable views on what constitutes land degradation, its causes and appropriate responses. For the pastoral land managers, the most important sign of good land management was the maintenance of groundcover, through the management of total grazing pressure. Participants viewed overgrazing as a contributor to land degradation in some cases and they identified episodes of land degradation in the region. However, other more contentious factors were also highlighted, such as wind erosion, grazing by goats and kangaroos and the spread of undesired ‘invasive native scrub’ at the expense of more desirable pasture, and alternative views that these can offer productive benefits.
Although few participants were concerned about anthropogenic climate change, many described their rangeland management styles as adaptive to the fluctuations of the climate, regardless of the reasons for these variations. Rather than focusing on whether landholders ‘believe in’ climate change or agree on common definitions or measurement approaches for land degradation, these results suggest that their culture of adaptation may provide a strong basis for coping with an uncertain future. The culture of adaption developed through managing land in a highly variable climate may help even if the specific conditions that landholders need to adapt to are unlike those experienced in living memory. Such an approach requires scientific and expert knowledge to be integrated alongside the context-specific knowledge, values and existing management strategies of local stakeholders.
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Gu Q, Wei J, Luo S, Ma M, Tang X. Potential and environmental control of carbon sequestration in major ecosystems across arid and semi-arid regions in China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 645:796-805. [PMID: 30031338 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2018] [Revised: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
With the continuous expansion of drylands in the context of global climate change, governments have implemented a series of greening policies such as afforestation, to reduce ecological degradation. However, owing to historical conditions and technical constraints, few attempts have been made to quantitatively assess the differences in carbon sequestration capacity and the associated environmental controls among major ecosystems in the arid and semi-arid areas. Based on six flux towers located in northwestern China measuring the carbon fluxes in a maize (Zea mays L.) cropland, alpine meadow, wetland, swamp meadow, Tamarix, and gobi desert, this work revealed that all ecosystems sequestered CO2 at various magnitudes. The cropland had the highest carbon uptake, followed by the alpine meadow, swamp meadow, wetland and Tamarix, respectively. Distinct seasonal dynamics in carbon sequestration were observed across these ecosystems with the peak values in summertime, whereas the gobi desert exhibited as a weak carbon sink with considerable fluctuations around the year. In this water-limited region, soil water content instead of rainfall, is expected to be the primary environmental control on the land-atmosphere carbon fluxes, and regarded as a key linkage between hydrologic and ecologic processes. Therefore, not only the appropriate vegetation types, but also the water availability controlled by the local climatic constraints and soil characteristics, should be addressed in order to identify management strategies for ecological restoration in the dry areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Gu
- Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Jin Wei
- Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Shuchang Luo
- Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Mingguo Ma
- Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Xuguang Tang
- Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China; Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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Cerretelli S, Poggio L, Gimona A, Yakob G, Boke S, Habte M, Coull M, Peressotti A, Black H. Spatial assessment of land degradation through key ecosystem services: The role of globally available data. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2018; 628-629:539-555. [PMID: 29453183 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.02.085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Revised: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Land degradation is a serious issue especially in dry and developing countries leading to ecosystem services (ESS) degradation due to soil functions' depletion. Reliably mapping land degradation spatial distribution is therefore important for policy decisions. The main objectives of this paper were to infer land degradation through ESS assessment and compare the modelling results obtained using different sets of data. We modelled important physical processes (sediment erosion and nutrient export) and the equivalent ecosystem services (sediment and nutrient retention) to infer land degradation in an area in the Ethiopian Great Rift Valley. To model soil erosion/retention capability, and nitrogen export/retention capability, two datasets were used: a 'global' dataset derived from existing global-coverage data and a hybrid dataset where global data were integrated with data from local surveys. The results showed that ESS assessments can be used to infer land degradation and identify priority areas for interventions. The comparison between the modelling results of the two different input datasets showed that caution is necessary if only global-coverage data are used at a local scale. In remote and data-poor areas, an approach that integrates global data with targeted local sampling campaigns might be a good compromise to use ecosystem services in decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefania Cerretelli
- The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, AB15 8QH Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom; University of Udine, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy; University of Trieste, Department of Life Sciences, Via Weiss 2, 34128 Trieste, Italy.
| | - Laura Poggio
- The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, AB15 8QH Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.
| | - Alessandro Gimona
- The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, AB15 8QH Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.
| | - Getahun Yakob
- Southern Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), P.O. Box 06, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Shiferaw Boke
- Southern Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), P.O. Box 06, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Mulugeta Habte
- Southern Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), P.O. Box 06, Hawassa, Ethiopia
| | - Malcolm Coull
- The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, AB15 8QH Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.
| | - Alessandro Peressotti
- University of Udine, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Via delle Scienze 206, 33100 Udine, Italy.
| | - Helaina Black
- The James Hutton Institute, Craigiebuckler, AB15 8QH Aberdeen, Scotland, United Kingdom.
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Revisiting the Factors Shaping Outcomes for Forest and Landscape Restoration in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Way Forward for Policy, Practice and Research. SUSTAINABILITY 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/su10040906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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20
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Classification of the Relationship between Household Welfare and Ecosystem Reliance in the Miyun Reservoir Watershed, China. SUSTAINABILITY 2017. [DOI: 10.3390/su9122290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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21
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Abstract
Drylands are home to over 2 billion people globally, many of whom use the land for agricultural and pastoral activities. These vulnerable livelihoods could be disrupted if desert dunefields become more active in response to climate and land use change. Despite increasing knowledge about the role that wind, moisture availability and vegetation cover play in shaping dryland landscapes, relatively little is known about how drylands might respond to climatic and population pressures over the 21st century. Here we use a newly developed numerical model, which fully couples vegetation and sediment-transport dynamics, to simulate potential landscape evolution at three locations in the Kalahari Desert, under two future emissions scenarios: stabilising (RCP 4.5) and high (RCP 8.5). Our simulations suggest that whilst our study sites will experience some climatically-induced landscape change, the impacts of climate change alone on vegetation cover and sediment mobility may be relatively small. However, human activity could strongly exacerbate certain landscape trajectories. Fire frequency has a primary impact on vegetation cover, and, together with grazing pressure, plays a significant role in modulating shrub encroachment and ensuing land degradation processes. Appropriate land management strategies must be implemented across the Kalahari Desert to avoid severe environmental and socio-economic consequences over the coming decades.
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Orchard SE, Stringer LC, Manyatsi AM. Farmer Perceptions and Responses to Soil Degradation in Swaziland. LAND DEGRADATION & DEVELOPMENT 2017; 28:46-56. [PMID: 30393450 PMCID: PMC6199004 DOI: 10.1002/ldr.2595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2016] [Revised: 07/29/2016] [Accepted: 07/29/2016] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Soil degradation is globally concerning due to its adverse effects on the environment and agricultural production. Much of Swaziland is at risk from degradation. This paper assesses farmer perceptions and responses to soil degradation in 2002 and 2014, focusing on two land uses that underpin rural livelihoods: arable land and rangeland areas. It uses repeat household surveys and semi-structured interviews, in two case study chiefdoms in the country's middleveld (KaBhudla and Engcayini) in the first longitudinal study of its kind. We find that observations of land degradation are perceived mainly through changes in land productivity, with chemical degradation occurring predominantly on arable land and physical degradation and erosion mainly in rangeland areas. Changes in rainfall are particularly important in determining responses. While perceptions of the causes and impacts of degradation largely concur with the scientific literature, responses were constrained by poor land availability, shorter and more unpredictable cropping seasons because of changing rains and low awareness, access to or knowledge of agricultural inputs. We suggest that sustainable arable land management can be enhanced through improved access to alternative sources of water, use of management practices that retain soil and moisture and greater access to agricultural inputs and capacity building to ensure their appropriate use. We suggest collaborative management for settlement planning that integrates soil conservation and livestock management strategies such as controlled stocking levels and rotational grazing could improve land quality in rangeland areas. Together, these approaches can help land users to better manage change. © 2016 The Authors. Land Degradation & Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven E. Orchard
- Sustainability Research Institute (SRI), School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of LeedsLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Lindsay C. Stringer
- Sustainability Research Institute (SRI), School of Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of LeedsLeedsLS2 9JTUK
| | - Absalom M. Manyatsi
- Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department, Faculty of AgricultureUniversity of SwazilandLuyengoM205Swaziland
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Lohani S, Heilman P, de Steiguer JE, Guertin DP. Linking ecosystem services with state-and-transition models to evaluate rangeland management decisions. Glob Ecol Conserv 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2016.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
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Dougill AJ, Akanyang L, Perkins JS, Eckardt FD, Stringer LC, Favretto N, Atlhopheng J, Mulale K. Land use, rangeland degradation and ecological changes in the southern Kalahari, Botswana. Afr J Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/aje.12265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J. Dougill
- School of Earth and Environment; University of Leeds; Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
| | - Lawrence Akanyang
- School of Earth and Environment; University of Leeds; Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
- Department of Environmental Sciences; University of Botswana; Private Bag UB 0022 Gaborone Botswana
| | - Jeremy S. Perkins
- Department of Environmental Sciences; University of Botswana; Private Bag UB 0022 Gaborone Botswana
| | - Frank D. Eckardt
- Department of Environmental and Geographical Sciences; University of Cape Town; Private Bag X3 Rondebosch 7701 South Africa
| | - Lindsay C. Stringer
- School of Earth and Environment; University of Leeds; Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
| | - Nicola Favretto
- School of Earth and Environment; University of Leeds; Woodhouse Lane Leeds LS2 9JT U.K
- United Nations University - Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH); 175 Longwood Road South, Suite 204 Hamilton Ontario Canada
| | - Julius Atlhopheng
- Department of Environmental Sciences; University of Botswana; Private Bag UB 0022 Gaborone Botswana
| | - Kutlwano Mulale
- Department of Environmental Sciences; University of Botswana; Private Bag UB 0022 Gaborone Botswana
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A Fifty-Year Sustainability Assessment of Italian Agro-Forest Districts. SUSTAINABILITY 2015. [DOI: 10.3390/su8010032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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Baptista I, Ritsema C, Geissen V. Effect of Integrated Water-Nutrient Management Strategies on Soil Erosion Mediated Nutrient Loss and Crop Productivity in Cabo Verde Drylands. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0134244. [PMID: 26230549 PMCID: PMC4521870 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0134244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2015] [Accepted: 07/07/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Soil erosion, runoff and related nutrient losses are a big risk for soil fertility in Cabo Verde drylands. In 2012, field trials were conducted in two agro-ecological zones to evaluate the effects of selected techniques of soil-water management combined with organic amendments (T1: compost/manure + soil surfactant; T2: compost/animal or green manure + pigeon-pea hedges + soil surfactant; T3: compost/animal or green manure + mulch + pigeon-pea hedges) on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses in eroded soil and runoff and on crop yields. Three treatments and one control (traditional practice) were tested in field plots at three sites with a local maize variety and two types of beans. Runoff and eroded soil were collected after each erosive rain, quantified, and analysed for NO3-N and PO4-P concentrations. In all treatments runoff had higher concentrations of NO3-N (2.20-4.83 mg L-1) than of PO4-P (0.02-0.07 mg L-1), and the eroded soil had higher content of PO4-P (5.27-18.8 mg g-1) than of NO3-N (1.30-8.51 mg g-1). The control had significantly higher losses of both NO3-N (5.4, 4.4 and 19 kg ha-1) and PO4-P (0.2, 0.1 and 0.4 kg ha-1) than the other treatments. T3 reduced soil loss, runoff and nutrient losses to nearly a 100% while T1 and T2 reduced those losses from 43 to 88%. The losses of NO3-N and PO4-P were highly correlated with the amounts of runoff and eroded soil. Nutrient losses from the applied amendments were low (5.7% maximum), but the losses in the control could indicate long-term nutrient depletion in the soil (19 and 0.4 kg ha-1 of NO3-N and PO4-P, respectively). T1-T3 did not consistently increase crop yield or biomass in all three sites, but T1 increased both crop yield and biomass. We conclude that T3 (combining crop-residue mulch with organic amendment and runoff hedges) is the best treatment for steep slope areas but, the pigeon-pea hedges need to be managed for higher maize yield. T1 (combining organic amendment with soil surfactant) could be a better choice for flatter areas with deeper soils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaurinda Baptista
- Instituto Nacional de Investigação e Desenvolvimento Agrário, INIDA, Praia, Cabo Verde
- Soil Physics and Sustainable Land Management group (SLM), Wageningen University (WUR), Wageningen, The Netherlands
- * E-mail:
| | - Coen Ritsema
- Soil Physics and Sustainable Land Management group (SLM), Wageningen University (WUR), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Violette Geissen
- Soil Physics and Sustainable Land Management group (SLM), Wageningen University (WUR), Wageningen, The Netherlands
- INRES, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
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