Soil aggregate stability of forest islands and adjacent ecosystems in West Africa

Abstract

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One-time conventional tillage, crop diversification and mulching enhanced hydro-physical properties of a tropical sandy loam soil

“…Besides contributing to increased SOC, maize roots are also known to produce exudates, which instantaneously bind soil aggregates (Six et al, 2004); thus, maize and legume systems in rotation as in CMr, enhanced macroaggregate stability more than cowpea monoculture (Tables 4 and 5). Some studies reported association of macroaggregates with soil organic carbon content (Six et al, 2000;Curaqueo et al, 2010;Bougma, et al, 2022;Mesele et al, 2024). In consonance with the significantly (p < 0.05) greater macroaggregates fraction and stability under wet soil condition, greater sorptivity, cumulative infiltration amount, steady state infiltration and saturated hydraulic conductivity were produced under Mm and CMr than Cm.…”

Soil carbon, nutrient, and vegetation dynamics of an old Anogeissus grove in Mole National Park, Ghana

“…The relative soil condition of the abandoned anthropogenic grove in the Mole National Park (Tables 1 and 2) seems to exhibit similarity to the Amazonian dark earth or the Terra preta phenomenon with greater carbon and nutrient status than surrounding landscapes (Glaser & Birk, 2012). Apart from the carbon sequestration abilities of these anthropogenic vegetation features in the landscape, their role in soil aggregate stabilization and erosion reduction (Bougma et al., 2022), biodiversity conservation (Fairhead & Leach, 1996) etc., have been reported, making them very useful in the provision of important ecosystem services in the Anthropocene.…”

Exploring the West African forest island phenomenon: scientific insights gained, successes achieved and capacities strengthened

“…Agricultural field plots or farmlands which were under cultivation were selected in as close proximity as possible to the forest island and savanna plots (see Bougma et al [5]). These in Burkina Faso were cotton or cereal-based fields and comprised monocultures of maize in Ghana and maize or intercrop of maize and cassava or legumes in Nigeria.…”

“…Early botanists considered forest islands as relics of larger forests destroyed by indiscriminate human activity [2][3][4]. However, more recently, they have been considered 'presumably the direct outcome of human activity' [5]. This notion has been supported by palaeo evidence showing that forest islands are cultivated deliberately on what were originally savanna soils [6].…”