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Remediation of acid soils and soil property amelioration via Acacia decurrens-based agroforestry system

OAR@ICRISAT

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/11947/
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-021-00721-8
doi:10.1007/s10457-021-00721-8
 
Title Remediation of acid soils and soil property amelioration via Acacia decurrens-based agroforestry system
 
Creator Amare, T
Amede, T
Abewa, A
Woubet, A
Agegnehu, G
Gumma, M K
Schulz, S
 
Subject GIS Techniques/Remote Sensing
Soil
Soil Science
 
Description Land degradation and the associated soil
acidity are critical challenge for crop production in
Ethiopian highlands. Since liming is expensive, farmers
have developed an alternative agroforestry system
by integrating Acacia decurrens into their landscapes.
The expansion rate of this system was assessed over
the last three decades. The effects of the agroforestry
system and charcoal-making kiln sites on soil properties
were investigated for over five years compared
to the adjacent croplands. Soil samples were collected
from A. decurrens plantations, kiln sites, and adjacent
croplands at 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil depths. In the last
30 years, the plantation and croplands increased by
8% and 17.5%, respectively, compared to the land-use
system in 1993, mainly at the expense of grassland and
abandoned land. The main incentive for expansion of
A. decurrens plantations was farmers’ income generated
from charcoal making. This intervention also
improved soil properties with a significantly positive
effect on soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC), cation
exchange capacity (CEC), and available Bray phosphorus
(Bray-P) compared to the adjacent croplands.
Results revealed that the SOC content in year 2
increased significantly (1.3–1.7 times) under A. decurrens
plantation compared to adjacent crop fields.
Moreover, soil pH increased by one unit on charcoalmaking
fields, which was equivalent to application of
4–5 t lime ha-1, while SOC increased by * 10% on
kiln sites compared to the control. Charcoal making
kiln spots increased available soil phosphorus by
112% compared to the adjacent non-kiln sites. The
Bray- P was strongly and significantly (P\0.05)
correlated (r = 0.75) with soil pH. We conclude that
integrating A. decurrens-based agroforestry practices
would improve livelihoods by restoring degraded
lands, improving income generation and carbon
sequestration.
 
Publisher Springer
 
Date 2022-01
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/11947/1/Regenerative%20agriculture%20in%20Practice%20-%20our%20paper%20out.pdf
Amare, T and Amede, T and Abewa, A and Woubet, A and Agegnehu, G and Gumma, M K and Schulz, S (2022) Remediation of acid soils and soil property amelioration via Acacia decurrens-based agroforestry system. Agroforestry Systems (TSI). ISSN 0167-4366