In the Sudan Savanna of West Africa, Plinthosols with a petroplinthic or pisoplinthic horizon at ≤ 50 cm from the surface comprise the major soils. Because these horizons limit the rooting volume and water and nutrient storage capacities of the soils, they should be a major cause of decreased crop yield in the Sudan Savanna. However, the local distribution of Plinthosols is not precisely known, and the relationships between soil classes, effective soil depth, and crop yield, which are considered to be closely related to each other on the Plinthosol soils, are not fully understood. To clarify these relationships, we first reassessed the soil toposequence on a slope at the Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research Saria station in Burkina Faso using the current World Reference Base soil classification system. We then determined the relationships between soil classes and sorghum yield and between the effective soil depth and yield. We also assessed whether ground penetrating radar could predict the position of a petroplinthic horizon. We found (1) that Pisoplinthic Petric Plinthosols were found at the upper slope, Petric Plinthosols were found at the middle slope, and Ferric Lixisols were found at the lower to toe slope; (2) that sorghum yield was significantly larger at the Ferric Lixisols, then at the Petric Plinthosols, and lower at the Pisoplinthic Petric Plinthosols; (3) that sorghum yield was proportional to the effective soil depth at which upper boundary of petroplinthic horizon was found (n = 26, R 2 = 0.78*** exclusion of waterlogged soil); and (4) that ground penetrating radar could predict the effective soil depth and the position of petroplinthic horizons (n = 4, R 2 = 0.99**), suggesting that we could roughly but easily predict sorghum yield and local distribution of Plinthosols having a petroplinthic horizon using GPR. These results may enable us to take more account of the inherent soil conditions when studying soil and water conservation, fertilization methods, and crop breeding, all of which are crucial if sustainable agricultural methods are to be achieved in the Sudan Savanna.

Conservation agriculture (CA) as recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations consists of three components: minimum soil disturbance, soil cover, and crop rotation/association. CA was expected to become an effective countermeasure against water erosion in the Sudan Savanna, but it has not been adopted by local smallholder farmers. As markets for grain legumes (including cowpea) have not been developed in the Sudan Savanna, crop rotation/association should be considered impractical for these farmers. Therefore, we examined whether legume intercropping as a crop rotation/association component is necessary for preventing soil erosion in the Sudan Savanna. Three-year field experiments were conducted in runoff plots at Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research Saria station. The four treatments were conventional practice (full tillage, no sorghum residue mulching, and no intercropping), two-component CA (minimum tillage (MT) and sorghum residue mulching without intercropping), and three-component CA with velvet bean (VB) or pigeon pea (PP) intercropping. It was revealed that: (1) MT and sorghum residue mulching (without intercropping) effectively reduced the annual soil loss by 54% mainly due to the improvement of soil permeability by the boring of termites and wolf spiders found under the sorghum stover mulch; (2) intercropping in combination with MT and crop residue mulching had no effect on soil erosion control mainly because: (a) PP did not survive the long dry season; (b) VB did not serve effectively as a cover crop since soil loss was concentrated at the beginning of the rainy season when VB was still too small; (c) unexpectedly, in combination with MT and crop residue mulching, intercropping with VB did not increase mulch biomass, especially sorghum biomass which prompts the boring of termites and wolf spiders. These results demonstrate that the third component of CA, namely legume intercropping, is not always necessary; rather, the two remaining componentsminimum soil disturbance and soil coverare sufficient for soil conservation in the Sudan Savanna. This finding lightens the burden of adopting CA and thus facilitates its future promotion to the smallholder farmers in the Sudan Savanna.

Conservation agriculture (CA), which consists of minimum soil disturbance, soil cover, and crop rotation/ association, has been promoted as an indivisible three-component package to control water erosion in the Sudan Savanna. However, CA has not been adopted by local smallholder farmers, probably because the three-component package constitutes a large burden for the farmers. Our previous study revealed that two components-minimum tillage and crop residue mulching-are sufficient for soil conservation and intercropping, when used in combination with minimum tillage and crop residue mulching, had no effect on erosion control. In the present study, we conducted a 3-year field experiment in Burkina Faso to evaluate the effects of the intercropping component on sorghum yield. The four treatments employed were conventional practice (full tillage, no sorghum residue mulching, no intercropping), two-component CA (minimum tillage and sorghum residue mulching without intercropping), and three-component CA with velvet bean (VB) or pigeon pea (PP) intercropping. We found that sorghum yield was similar between treatments during the first 2 years but higher for CA with PP intercropping than for conventional practice in the third year. This increased yield was mainly attributed to higher soil nitrogen and carbon content as well as panicle mass and harvest index observed for CA with PP intercropping than for conventional practice. Unexpectedly, however, PP produced few seeds and did not survive the dry season. Therefore, we concluded that CA with PP intercropping is effective to increase sorghum yield but practical only for the prosperous farmers who can afford to purchase PP seeds every year and accept no increased yield during the first 2 years after its installation. For most smallholder farmers, it would be realistic to promote two-component CA without intercropping because it can effectively control water erosion and reduce the farmers' burden of its adoption in the Sudan Savanna.

Farmed parklands of the Central Plateau, Burkina Faso, integrate native woody vegetation with managed cropland. However, sapling survival in the parklands is increasingly threatened. This study characterized woody vegetation abundance along a 2.7 km long transect in the Doulou Basin, Boulkiemdé Province, Central West Region, to assess changes in vegetation composition since 1984. In addition, a householder survey was conducted to gain insight into tree uses and preferences and residents’ knowledge of regulations. In total, 4999 individuals from 26 tree species were recorded, including 123 individuals (11 species) with stem DBH ≥ 5 cm, and 4876 individuals (21 species) with stem DBH < 5 cm. The three species with the highest importance value index provided fruit for sale or self-consumption. Tree abundance was associated with soil type and topography; highest abundance was on Lixisol soils along the lower transect. Soil degradation and preference changes among residents since 1984 may have influenced tree abundance. Certain beneficial species (e.g., Vitellaria paradoxa) have declined in abundance, and certain exotics (Azadirachta indica and Eucalyptus camaldulensis) have expanded in distribution. Respondents expressed strongest interest in three species, including V. paradoxa, that show high versatility. These results supported the recorded tree composition. The respondents generally understood forest conservation regulations. Dissemination of regreening technology and awareness promotion among residents is essential for sustainable tree use in farmed parklands.