Population pressure and soil quality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Panel evidence from Kenya

Mugizi, Francisco M.P.; Matsumoto, Tomoya

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104499

Cited by 25 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…This is late winter and spring in the northern hemisphere, when the average wind speed reaches its maximum, leading to an increase in dust emissions. Agricultural land provides the soil surface that is most affected by human activities [44], and agricultural activities that disturb the soil surface, such as straw burning, tillage, and harvesting, can greatly increase the frequency and intensity of wind erosion [15,45]. The vulnerability of agricultural land to erosion is highly dependent on agricultural management practices, such as planting and grazing schedules and soil conservation practices [14,15,46].…”

Section: Emission Characteristics and Influencing Factors For Dust Em...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Firstly, soil properties are important [55]. The three 'belts' and a 'zone' of black soil are areas of high soil quality, while the emission belt in Africa and the curved emission belt region in Oceania represent poor soil quality, with a lower organic carbon content [44]. The arid climate in the emission belt region of Africa is not conducive to the accumulation of organic matter, and the curved emission belt region of Oceania has serious soil sanding and easily loses organic matter.…”

Section: Loss Characteristics and Influencing Factors For Organic Car...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Estimates of Dust Emissions and Organic Carbon Losses Induced by Wind Erosion in Farmland Worldwide from 2017 to 2021

Liu

Zhao

et al. 2023

Agriculture

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Wind erosion can cause high dust emissions from agricultural land and can lead to a significant loss of carbon and nutrients from the soil. The carbon balance of farmland soil is an integral part of the carbon cycle, especially under the current drive to develop carbon-neutral practices. However, the amount of global carbon lost due to the wind erosion of farmland is unknown. In this study, global farmland dust emissions were estimated from a dust emission inventory (0.1° × 0.1°, daily) built using the improved Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System–FENGSHA (CMAQ-FENGSHA), and global farmland organic carbon losses were estimated by combining this with global soil organic carbon concentration data. The average global annual dust emissions from agricultural land from 2017 to 2021 were 1.75 × 109 g/s. Global dust emissions from agricultural land are concentrated in the UK, Ukraine, and Russia in Europe; in southern Canada and the central US in North America; in the area around Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, in South America; and in northeast China in Asia. The global average annual organic carbon loss from agricultural land was 2970 Gg for 2017–2021. The spatial distribution of emissions is roughly consistent with that of dust emissions, which are mainly concentrated in the world’s four major black soil regions. These estimates of dust and organic carbon losses from agricultural land are essential references that can inform the global responses to the carbon cycle, dust emissions, and black soil conservation.

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Section: Emission Characteristics and Influencing Factors For Dust Em...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Loss Characteristics and Influencing Factors For Organic Car...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimates of Dust Emissions and Organic Carbon Losses Induced by Wind Erosion in Farmland Worldwide from 2017 to 2021

Liu

Zhao

et al. 2023

Agriculture

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“…Although model results showed a fairly good agreement with observations, the authors suggested that future model evaluation for other managements (such as cover crops) in sequestering SOC and/or reducing N losses through leaching and gaseous N emissions would be needed to support the recommendation of sustainable agricultural practices in the tropics of SSA. To date, no studies have applied process-based models on the regional scale to detect the long-term joint impacts of environmental change and alternative management practices on associated changes in crop production, C sequestration, and cropland N losses in eastern Africa, a region where agricultural soils have been experiencing strong degradation due to the combined effects of agricultural intensification and mismanagement over recent decades (Wynants et al, 2019;Mugizi and Matsumoto, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the impacts of agricultural managements on soil carbon stocks, nitrogen loss, and crop production – a modelling study in eastern Africa

Rabin

Anthoni

et al. 2022

Biogeosciences

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Abstract. Improved agricultural management plays a vital role in protecting soils from degradation in eastern Africa. Changing practices such as reducing tillage, fertilizer use, or cover crops are expected to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) storage, with climate change mitigation co-benefits, while increasing crop production. However, the quantification of cropland management effects on agricultural ecosystems remains inadequate in this region. Here, we explored seven management practices and their potential effects on soil carbon (C) pools, nitrogen (N) losses, and crop yields under different climate scenarios, using the dynamic vegetation model LPJ-GUESS. The model performance is evaluated against observations from two long-term maize field trials in western Kenya and reported estimates from published sources. LPJ-GUESS generally produces soil C stocks and maize productivity comparable with measurements and mostly captures the SOC decline under some management practices that is observed in the field experiments. We found that for large parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, an integrated conservation agriculture practice (no-tillage, residue and manure application, and cover crops) increases SOC levels in the long term (+11 % on average), accompanied by increased crop yields (+22 %) in comparison to the conventional management. Planting nitrogen-fixing cover crops in our simulations is also identified as a promising individual practice in eastern Africa to increase soil C storage (+4 %) and crop production (+18 %), with low environmental cost of N losses (+24 %). These management impacts are also sustained in simulations of three future climate pathways. This study highlights the possibilities of conservation agriculture when targeting long-term environmental sustainability and food security in crop ecosystems, particularly for those with poor soil conditions in tropical climates.

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“…Recent findings indicate that the delicate balance of food security and agricultural sustainability hangs on a thin line between input intensification and careful management of agroecosystems [ 19 , 20 ]. Sustainable intensification of farms may be beneficial for the soil quality only when nutrient inputs and management practices are tailored according to soil properties, input availability, legume intercropping possibility, and irrigation [ 21 , 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Smallholder Farmers’ Practices and African Indigenous Vegetables Affect Soil Microbial Biodiversity and Enzyme Activities in Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya

Taskin

Misci

Bandini

et al. 2021

Biology

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Loss of soil biodiversity and fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) may put the food security of smallholder farmers in peril. Food systems in SSA are seeing the rise of African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) that are underexploited but locally consumed without being considered a primary source of food and income. Here we present a field study, a first of its kind, in which we investigated the effects of different cropping systems and inclusion of AIVs in the farming approach on bacterial and fungal biodiversity and community structures, enzymatic activity, and the alteration status of soils of the smallholder farmers in Kenya. When compared to mainstream farming approaches, the composition and biodiversity of bacteria and fungi under AIV cultivations was significantly different. Tillage had a significant impact only on the fungal communities. Fertilization and soil amendments caused shifts in microbial communities towards specialized degraders and revealed the introduction of specific microorganisms from amendments. Traditional homemade plant protection products did not cause any disturbance to either of soil bacteria or fungi. The soil alteration index based on enzyme activity successfully differentiated the alteration status for the first time in SSA. These findings could be useful for farmers to integrate AIVs with correct sustainable practices for a sustainable future.

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Population pressure and soil quality in Sub-Saharan Africa: Panel evidence from Kenya

Cited by 25 publications

References 35 publications

Estimates of Dust Emissions and Organic Carbon Losses Induced by Wind Erosion in Farmland Worldwide from 2017 to 2021

Estimates of Dust Emissions and Organic Carbon Losses Induced by Wind Erosion in Farmland Worldwide from 2017 to 2021

Assessing the impacts of agricultural managements on soil carbon stocks, nitrogen loss, and crop production – a modelling study in eastern Africa

Smallholder Farmers’ Practices and African Indigenous Vegetables Affect Soil Microbial Biodiversity and Enzyme Activities in Lake Naivasha Basin, Kenya

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