Soil Chemical Property Variation under Different Conservation Agriculture Practices, in Bako Tibe District, West Shoa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Conservation agriculture is claimed to be one of the solutions for the problems of poor agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan countries. The impact of conservation agriculture depends on environmental factors such as slope, vegetation, soil type, rain fall pattern and intended crops. This study was conducted from 2013 to 2014 with the objective of assessing the impact of conservation agriculture practices on soil chemical properties. Five main treatments were selected for the study: Monocropping (maize) without crop residue, Monocropping (maize) with crop residue, Crop rotation (maize and haricot bean) with crop residue, Intercropping (Haricot bean with maize) with crop residue and a grazing land as a control. A Randomized complete block design with four replications was used. A total of 40 composite soil samples (4 replication * 5 treatments * 2 soil depth) were collected and analysed for selected soil chemical properties. Results showed that soils in the study area were moderately acidic, and contained medium level of available phosphorus (AP) (7.33±0.58

Culm Density and Biomass Variation across Forest Type and Age Gradient of Oxytenanthera abyssinica (A. Rich.) Munro, in north-western Ethiopia

“…The goal of managing native bamboo ecosystems in the tropical regions, and tropical Africa specifically should be to prevent a worldwide shortage of forest products and maintain the sustainable production capacity of these forests (Mulatu & Kindu., 2010;Terefe et al, 2016). In developing nations, for example, Ethiopia, forest destruction and its repercussions have hampered socioeconomic development as well as growth (Sharma & Baral, 2018;Embaye et al, 2003).…”

“…This indicates the influence of management on biomass production and the carbon stock potential of bamboo forests. Embaye et al (2005) (Terefe et al, 2016;Li et al, 2000). The two indigenous bamboo species have significantly contributed to Ethiopia's carbon sequestration potential, even though the sequestration potential varied across age, forest type, and vegetative parts of the culm.…”

Adaptation and Growth Performance of Different Introduced Lowland Bamboo Species in Central Tigray, Ethiopia

“…Bamboo is a perennial plant that is a member of the Poaceae family (Terefe et al, 2016), is the fastest-growing plant in the world, and is one of the most important nontimber forest resources used as a potential alternative to wood and wood products (Oumer et al, 2020). Bamboo is a multipurpose plant (Diriba et al, 2019), with rapid regeneration capacity, and within the possibility of harvesting between 3-5 years afterplanting, which offers significant advantages over the other forest species (Oumer et al, 2020).…”

“…There are more than 1,500 species of bamboo, of which 43 are found in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the world's richest countries in terms of natural bamboo forest cover, estimated at 1.47 million hectares in the western and southern parts of the country (Diriba et al, 2019;Oumer et al, 2020), representing about 7% of the world's total and 67% of Africa's bamboo forest area (Terefe et al, 2016;Diriba et al, 2019).…”

“…Bamboo products for domestic and export markets contribute to generating income. It can also create employment opportunities for a significant part of society and take advantage of the problems of environmental degradation (Terefe et al, 2016). Bamboo forests are essential components of ecosystems that offer certain basic environmental functions.…”