Abundance, casting activity, and cast quality of earthworms in an acid Ultisol under alley-cropping in the humid tropics

Henrot, J.; Brussaard, L.

doi:10.1016/s0929-1393(97)00007-3

Cited by 31 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…High abundance and biomass in earthworms were found in soil with low pH, similar to the findings of Henrot and Brussaard (1997) in the humid forest zone of southeast Nigeria where more than 60 ind m -2 were recorded in soils of low pH of 4.1. The fact that earthworm communities were dominant in degraded soils with the lowest SOC content and the highest cast production, confirm the assumption that endogeic worms consume increasingly high quantities of soil in order to assimilate the amount of soil organic matter needed for growth and reproduction (Lavelle 1978).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Effect of land-use on the earthworm assemblages in semi-deciduous forests of Central-West Ivory Coast

et al. 2010

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In this study, the impact of forest disturbance on earthworm assemblages was assessed using monoliths dug out at 5 m intervals along a gradient of land-use intensification. The land-use types comprised primary forest (as a baseline), secondary forest, tree plantation, fallow, perennial and annual crop. Forest disturbance resulted in a significant decrease in soil organic carbon and pH, while earthworm abundance and biomass increased along the gradient of disturbance. Surprisingly, anthropogenic disturbances in semideciduous forest areas have not led to the disappearance of native species to the benefit of exotic species as revealed in former studies. As a result, in this study land-use change had no impact on species richness at the landscape level, even if at local scales, recurrent Chromolaena odorata fallows, multispecies tree plantations and 4 year-old teak plantations hosted the highest average species richness. Multiple regression analyses performed between earthworm communities and environmental variables showed that soil organic carbon and pH are potential indicators of earthworm abundance change.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Effect of land-use on the earthworm assemblages in semi-deciduous forests of Central-West Ivory Coast

et al. 2010

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“…SA Andropogon straw, CD cattle dung, SM maize straw, CO compost, SD sheep dung, C control harvest), likely due to an improved soil physical properties (Ouédraogo et al 2006a). Moreover, many studies report that the excrements dejected by soil fauna are remarkably higher in soil organic matter concentration than the surrounding soil (Lavelle et al 1994;Henrot and Brussaard 1997). Brussaard and Juma (1996) summarised the role of soil fauna in soil organic matter build-up as the result of (1) comminution of plant residues, (2) coarse mixing of plant residues and (3) fine mixing of organic and mineral particles.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil fauna and organic amendment interactions affect soil carbon and crop performance in semi-arid West Africa

2007

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“…Buresh and Tian (1998); 2, Hauser and Asawalam (1998);3, Hauser et al (1997);4, Asawalam (1997);5, Hauser (1993b); 6, Henrot and Brussaard (1997); 7, Kanmenge et al (1996);8, Tian et al (1993); 9, Adejuyigbe et al (1999); 10, Tian et al (1998). compared with a no-tree control (Hauser 2002).…”

Section: Positivementioning

confidence: 99%

What role can planted fallows play in the humid and sub-humid zone of West and Central Africa?

Häuser

Nolte

Carsky

2006

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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Crop management without fertilizer input, which is commonly practiced by most farmers in the humid forest zone of West and Central Africa, requires soil fertility replenishment during a fallow period. Hypothetical relationships between fallow length and crop yields assume, that after the cropping phase replenishment starts with high annual increments, leading to an early recovery of most soil fertility, then slowly approaching a maximum level. The few available empirical data, however, indicate that this assumption is wrong. Within the first 8 years of fallow, biomass and nutrient accumulation is either progressive (low initial increments) or linear. Planted fallows are supposed to replenish soil fertility faster or to higher levels than natural regrowth and should thus lead to higher crop yields. Two major types of planted fallow are distinguished: tree-based and herbaceous fallows. Data from West and Central Africa do not confirm that tree based fallows are generally capable of attaining higher crop yields than natural regrowth or other planted fallows. The majority of experiments with tree-based fallows showed no differences to the control (60.0%). Crop yield declines were found in 15.7% of cases, and only 24.3% resulted in significant yield increases. Changes in soil properties were more frequently positive (34.3%) than negative (9.8%), yet, most often (55.9%), there was no effect. Herbaceous fallow had dominantly positive effects on crop yields (52.5% of cases), with only 3% of cases in which significant reductions were observed. Positive features of some herbaceous fallows, such as easy establishment, rapid weed suppression, and labor efficient slash-and-burn crop establishment make the technology more likely to be accepted and adopted by farmers. It appears that fallows have to be specifically designed for responsive crops, i.e. maize. It is unlikely that one type of fallow can serve the multitude of crops and intercrops grown in the region. Depending on the major constraints to crop production or income generation, planted fallows have to be specifically designed to address these constraints. This may require de-emphasizing the soil fertility aspect and focusing on marketable fallow by-products, weed and pest suppression and reduced labor requirements. Thus, future impact through research on planted fallows will depend on exact targeting of specific fallow types and species to the most responsive crops and to explicit farmer circumstances.Deceased.

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Abundance, casting activity, and cast quality of earthworms in an acid Ultisol under alley-cropping in the humid tropics

Cited by 31 publications

References 9 publications

Effect of land-use on the earthworm assemblages in semi-deciduous forests of Central-West Ivory Coast

Effect of land-use on the earthworm assemblages in semi-deciduous forests of Central-West Ivory Coast

Soil fauna and organic amendment interactions affect soil carbon and crop performance in semi-arid West Africa

What role can planted fallows play in the humid and sub-humid zone of West and Central Africa?

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