Soil productivity management and plant growth in the Sahel: Potential of an aerial monitoring technique

Buerkert, Andreas; Mahler, F.; Marschner, H.

doi:10.1007/bf00015408

Cited by 39 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…However, several studies analyzing farmers' soil fertility management have also been published. Buerkert et al (1996) documented the judicious use of residual fertility around farmers' moving hamlets to increase the productivity of acid sandy soils in western Niger. Harris and Yusuf (2001) presented a detailed analysis of cropland and manure management of three farm households in the Kano close settled zone of northern Nigeria.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic inputs and farmers' management strategies in millet fields of western Niger

Schlecht

Buerkert

2004

Geoderma

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Research on soil fertility management in sub-Saharan Africa was criticized lately for largely ignoring farmers' management strategies and the underlying principles. To fill this gap of knowledge, detailed interviews were conducted with 108 farm households about their rationale in managing the soil fertility of 307 individual fields in the agro-pastoral village territory of Chikal in western Niger. To amplify the farmers' information on manuring and corralling practices, repeated measurements of applied amounts of manure were carried out within six 1-km 2 monitoring areas from February to October 1998.The interviews revealed that only 2% of the fields were completely fallowed for a period of 1 -15 years, but 40% of the fields were at least partially fallowed. Mulching of crop residues was mainly practiced to fight wind erosion but was restricted to 36% of the surveyed fields given the alternative use of straw as livestock feed. Manure application and livestock corralling, as most effective tools to enhance soil fertility, were targeted to less than 30% of the surveyed fields. The application of complete fallow and manuring and corralling practices were strongly related to the households' endowment with resources, especially with land and livestock. Within particular fields, measures were mainly applied to spots of poor soil fertility, while the restoration of the productivity of hard pans was of secondary importance. Given the limited spatial coverage of indigenous soil fertility measures and their strong dependence on farmers' wealth, supplementary strategies to restrict the decline of soil fertility in the drought prone areas of Niger with their heavily weathered soils are needed. D

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic inputs and farmers' management strategies in millet fields of western Niger

Schlecht

Buerkert

2004

Geoderma

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“…In the Sahel, manure rates of over 10 Mg ha −1 per year have been reported for the typical confined areas (corrals) of 10-20 m in diameter close to farmers' homesteads in the cropland, whereas application rates in uncorraled manured fields average 1.5 Mg ha −1 (Powell and Williams, 1993). Given the low buffering capacities of the predominantly acid sandy soils, this uneven distribution of manure contributes to a marked pattern of variability in crop growth short distances (microvariability) often described as characteristic for the Sahel (Brouwer et al, 1993;Buerkert et al, 1996). That manure application at high rates can lead to considerable leaching losses of nutrients on sandy soils has been concluded by Brouwer and Powell (1995) from a trial under controlled conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decomposition of and nutrient release from ruminant manure on acid sandy soils in the Sahelian zone of Niger, West Africa

Esse

Buerkert

Hiernaux³

et al. 2001

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

103

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In ago-pastoral systems of the semi-arid West African Sahel, targeted applications of ruminant manure to the cropland is a widespread practice to maintain soil productivity. However, studies exploring the decomposition and mineralisation processes of manure under farmers' conditions are scarce. The present research in south-west Niger was undertaken to examine the role of micro-organisms and meso-fauna on in situ release rates of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) from cattle and sheep-goat manure collected from village corrals during the rainy season. The results show that (1) macro-organisms played a dominant role in the initial phase of manure decomposition; (2) manure decomposition was faster on crusted than on sandy soils; (3) throughout the study N and P release rates closely followed the dry matter decomposition; (4) during the first 6 weeks after application the K concentration in the manure declined much faster than N or P. At the applied dry matter rate of 18.8 Mg ha −1 , the quantities of N, P and K released from the manure during the rainy season were up to 10-fold larger than the annual nutrient uptake of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.), the dominant crop in the traditional agro-pastoral systems. The results indicate considerable nutrient losses with the scarce but heavy rainfalls which could be alleviated by smaller rates of manure application. Those, however, would require a more labour intensive system of corralling or manure distribution.

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“…Geo-referenced digital maps of the oases were produced from satellite images and low altitude aerial photography (Buerkert et al 1996). Ground-truth data collected with a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS; Trimble Pathfinder, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) with decimeter precision were used to record the outlines of the terraces.…”

Section: Data Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mountain oases in northern Oman: An environment for evolution and in situ conservation of plant genetic resources

Gebauer

Luedeling

Hammer

et al. 2007

Genet Resour Crop Evol

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Several botanical studies have been conducted in different parts of Oman, but knowledge about agro-biodiversity in the rapidly decaying ancient mountain oases of this country remains scarce. To fill this gap we assessed the genetic resources of three mountain oases in the al-Hajar range using a GIS-based field survey and farmer interviews. While arid conditions prevail throughout the mountain range, the different elevations of Balad Seet (950-1020 m a.s.l.), Maqta (930-1180 m a.s.l.) and Al Jabal al Akhdar (1750-1930 m a.s.l.) provide markedly differing agro-climatic conditions. Overall, 107 different crop species were identified belonging to 39 families. Species number was highest among fruits (33 spp.), followed by vegetables (24 spp.). Intensive irrigation allows cultivation of a broad range of species at all oases. However, the number of species varied significantly between sites. Fruit species diversity and homogeneity of distribution of individual fruit species was highest at Balad Seet and lowest at Maqta as indicated by respective Shannon indices of 1.00 and 0.39 and evenness values of 32% and 16%. Century plant (Agave americana L.), faba bean (Vicia faba L. var. minor Peterm. em. Harz) and lentil (Lens culinaris Medik.) were identified as relict crops, supporting oral reports of past cultivation and providing evidence of genetic erosion. Some species, such as the temperate fruits of Al Jabal al Akhdar, were exclusively found at the coolest site, while others only occurred at the hotter locations. Overall greatest species similarity was found between Balad Seet and Al Jabal al Akhdar as indicated by a Sørensen coefficient of similarity of 67%. At all oases a multilayered vegetation structure dominated with a canopy, an understory and a ground layer. Greatest species richness was recorded in the lowest stratum. Overall the study shows a location-specific but surprisingly diverse mosaic of crops in Omani mountain oases which merits further studies and conservation efforts.Dedicated to the memory of Richard N. Lester , keen researcher of plant genetic resources.

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Soil productivity management and plant growth in the Sahel: Potential of an aerial monitoring technique

Cited by 39 publications

References 21 publications

Organic inputs and farmers' management strategies in millet fields of western Niger

Organic inputs and farmers' management strategies in millet fields of western Niger

Decomposition of and nutrient release from ruminant manure on acid sandy soils in the Sahelian zone of Niger, West Africa

Mountain oases in northern Oman: An environment for evolution and in situ conservation of plant genetic resources

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