Agricultural land degradation by piping erosion in Chaco Plain, Northwestern Argentina

The world is undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. More than half of the world’s population now lives in towns and cities, and by 2030 this number will swell to about 5 billion. ‘Urbanization has the potential to usher in a new era of wellbeing, resource efficiency and economic growth. But due to increased population the pressure of demand also increases in urban areas’ (Drakakis-Smith, David, 1996). The loss of agricultural land to other land uses occasioned by urban growth is an issue of growing concern worldwide, particularly in the developing countries like India. This paper is an attempt to assess the impact of urbanization on land use and land cover patterns in Ajmer city. Recent trends indicate that the rural urban migration and religious significance of the place attracting thousands of tourists every year, have immensely contributed in the increasing population of city and is causing change in land use patterns. This accelerating urban sprawl has led to shrinking of the agricultural land and land holdings. Due to increased rate of urbanization, the agricultural areas have been transformed into residential and industrial areas (Retnaraj D,1994). There are several key factors which cause increase in population here such as Smart City Projects, potential for employment, higher education, more comfortable and quality housing, better health facilities, high living standard etc. Population pressure not only directly increases the demand for food, but also indirectly reduces its supply through building development, environmental degradation and marginalization of food production (Aldington T, 1997). Also, there are several issues which are associated with continuous increase in population i.e. land degradation, pollution, poverty, slums, unaffordable housing etc. Pollution, formulation of slums, transportation congestion, environmental hazards, land degradation and crime are some of the major impacts of urbanization on Ajmer city. This study involves mapping of land use patterns by analyzing data and satellite imagery taken at different time periods. The satellite images of year 2000 and 2017 are used. The change detection techniques are used with the help of Geographical Information System software like ERDAS and ArcGIS. The supervised classification of all the three satellite images is done by ERDAS software to demarcate and analyze land use change.

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Soil sodicity in Victoria

Soil Research ◽

10.1071/sr9930869 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 31 (6) ◽

pp. 869 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

GW Ford ◽

JJ Martin ◽

P Rengasamy ◽

SC Boucher ◽

A Ellington

Keyword(s):

Land Degradation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Current Knowledge ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Irrigated Agriculture ◽

Future Research ◽

Sodic Soils ◽

Diverse Range ◽

Key Issues

This paper gives a broad overview of the distribution and agricultural importance of sodic soils in Victoria. Sodic soils are estimated to occupy at least 13.4 Mha, representing at least 73% of Victoria's agricultural land. Most of this land is used for dryland farming; about 85% of the cropped land and 66% of the land sown to dryland pastures occurs on sodic soils. The largest sodicity class is 'alkaline sodic', dominated by a diverse range of soils (red duplex, yellow duplex, calcareous earths and self-mulching cracking clays). Alkaline sodic soils comprise half of the total agricultural land area, or about 24% of the area of land currently used for dryland cropping and 21% of the land under sown pasture. Land degradation problems are recognized as affecting most agricultural land in Victoria, and to be substantially limiting its productivity. The nature, extent and severity of the various forms of land degradation are a consequence of both intrinsic soil properties and of management practices. There is an urgent need to improve current farming practices to prevent further deterioration of the soil resource. Existing knowledge of the behaviour of sodic soils under both dryland and irrigated agriculture is reviewed. It is concluded that substantial gains in productivity are possible, but will require effective collaboration between soil scientists, agronomists, and land managers. Collation and integration of current knowledge on the properties and management of sodic soils in Victoria, and the acquisition of additional relevant information by targeted long-term research is required. Key issues for future research are identified.

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Exploring the role of land degradation on agricultural land use change dynamics

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.412 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 636 ◽

pp. 1373-1381 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

S. Bajocco ◽

D. Smiraglia ◽

M. Scaglione ◽

E. Raparelli ◽

L. Salvati

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Use Change ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Agricultural Land Use ◽

Change Dynamics

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Land Degradation in the Peruvian Amazon: Applying GIS in Human Ecology Research

Anthropology, Space, and Geographic Information Systems ◽

10.1093/oso/9780195085754.003.0005 ◽

1996 ◽

Author(s):

William M. Loker

Keyword(s):

Social Science ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Human Ecology ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Agricultural Research ◽

Science Inquiry ◽

Complex Problem ◽

Productive Capacity ◽

Environmental Consequences ◽

The Social

Land degradation, a reduction in the productive capacity of land, is a process of increasing concern in the challenge to maintain and enhance global food production. It is an especially critical problem in developing countries faced with the need to increase food availability for growing populations. Billions of dollars are invested in agricultural research and development aimed at increasing the food supply. At the same time, land degradation threatens to reduce production in large areas of agricultural land. While estimates of the magnitude of the problem vary widely (see WCED 1987; WRI/IIED 1988; and Lal and Stewart 1990 for recent reviews), there is a growing consensus that land degradation is a serious and complex problem that merits increased attention from both natural and social scientists. A recent review of this topic by Blaikie and Brookfield (1987) highlights the role of the social sciences in studying land degradation problems. According to these authors, the term “land degradation” refers to a reduction in the actual or potential uses of land due to human activities (1987: 1). The costs of land degradation (“the product of work on degraded lands is less than that on the same land without degradation”) make it a serious social problem for millions of farmers around the world and thus a priority for social science inquiry. A central actor for understanding the causes and consequences of land degradation is the land manager—most often the farmer—who makes the landuse decisions for particular plots of land. Social science has a key role in understanding this process of decision making, including the social and ecological contexts in which decisions are carried out. Anthropology’s emphasis on working with peasants, small farmers, and indigenous people holds out the promise for important empirical and theoretical contributions in understanding land degradation. A human ecology approach that focuses on the adaptive strategies of individuals and groups and the environmental consequences of these behaviors seems particularly well placed to contribute to this topic.

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Spatial-based assessment of land use, soil erosion, and water protection in the Jeneberang valley, Indonesia

Biologia ◽

10.2478/s11756-009-0074-y ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 64 (3) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Sumbangan Baja ◽

Muhamad Ramli ◽

Syamsul Lias

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Spatial Distribution ◽

Soil Erosion ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Sustainable Land Use ◽

Water Protection ◽

Large Area ◽

Soil Erosion Rate ◽

Analytical Procedures

AbstractSoil erosion by water is considered as one of the most significant forms of land degradation that affects sustained productivity of agricultural land use and water quality. It is influenced by a considerable number of factors (including climate, soil, topography, land use and types of land management), so that the information on the spatial distribution of soil erosion rate and its related effects can be effectively employed as a baseline data for land use development and water protection. The principal aim of this study is three-fold: (i) to map existing land use; (ii) to assess and map the spatial distribution of average annual rate of soil losses in the study area; (iii) to evaluate spatial matching between existing and proposed land use including a distance analysis from the water body (the Bili-Bili Dam). An analytical procedures used, respectively, include supervised classification of satellite imagery, application of RUSLE (Revised USLE), and overlay analysis in a raster GIS environment, utilising available information in the region covering some parts of Jeneberang catchment, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The results suggest that the outputs of this study can be used for the identification of land units on a cell-basis with different land use types, rate of soil loss, inconsistency between proposed and planned land use, as well as the threat of land degradation to the main river and the dam. The analytical procedures developed in this research may be useful in other areas, particularly in the studies related to the assessment and mapping of land use and erosion for the importance of sustainable land use at a relatively large area.

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Land Access, Agricultural Land Use Changes and Narratives about Land Degradation in the Savannahs of Northeast Ghana during the Pre-Colonial and Colonial Periods

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci6010035 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 35 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Peter Boateng

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Land Use Changes ◽

Agricultural Land Use ◽

Land Access

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Effects of Land Degradation on Agricultural Land Use: A Case Study of Smallholder Farmers Indigenous Knowledge on Land Use Planning and Management in Kalama Division, Machakos County

Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology ◽

10.9734/cjast/2019/v34i330134 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Masila Samson Muloo ◽

Kauti Matheaus Kioko ◽

Kimiti Jacinta M.

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Indigenous Knowledge ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Land Use Planning ◽

Water Conservation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Agricultural Land Use ◽

Planning And Management

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of land degradation on agricultural land use, planning and management in Kalama Division, Machakos County; and specifically determined farmers’ considerations of land suitability for selected types of agricultural land uses in varying cropping zones, investigated farmers’ local environmental knowledge of land degradation indicators and finally documented farmers’ land management strategies and practices for soil and water conservation. Data was collected using a questionnaire, along a road transect cutting across upper, middle and lower zones (parts) of a slope. A total of 40 households along the transect on the three zones were interviewed. Results obtained revealed that crop farming, livestock, poultry, farm forestry and bee keeping were the major agricultural land use activities carried out in the study area. Overall, steep slope was the most important factor considered for farm forestry (17%) (5.29 STDEV). Bee farming was the least land use practice accounting for only 1% of total land use. Most land degradation (15%) was reported in the middle zone while lowest land degradation (7%) was reported in the upper zone. The study found out that most households were aware of land degradation indicators in their local environment and described them using their indigenous environmental knowledge. The smallholder farmers prevented further land degradation by use of their local or traditional ways such as application of organic manure, planting of trees, crop rotation, use of gabions and stone lines. Different zones had different land use and management practices due to differences in terrain and other physical and biophysical characteristics. Overall, the major land management practices included tree planting (23%) (4.04 STDEV) and water conservation and gabion making (10%) (2.52 STDEV). This study clearly established an existence of smallholder farmers’ indigenous knowledge, perceptions, and beliefs of the local environmental factors of land condition which are necessary for the farmer’s decision-making on land use planning and management. On the basis of these findings, the study argues for place-based analysis and understanding of the landscape structure and local micro-environments in enhancing understanding of local-level decision-making on land use planning and management by smallholder farmers in maintaining livelihood security. Even though the study is limited to the local scope, it can provide a basis for designing policies aimed at rural livelihood security improvement and inform and facilitate targeting of outside interventions such as land use planning and management programs which can be built on existing indigenous knowledge.

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Analysis of Farmers’ Perception on the Impact of Land Degradation Hazard on Agricultural Land Productivity in Jeldu District in West Shewa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia

Energy and Environment Research ◽

10.5539/eer.v8n2p20 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 20

Author(s):

Tesfaye Samuel Saguye

Keyword(s):

Soil Erosion ◽

Land Management ◽

Land Degradation ◽

Management Practices ◽

Local Community ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Land Productivity ◽

Community Knowledge ◽

Process Indicators ◽

The Impact

Land degradation is increasing in severity and extent in many parts of the world. Success in arresting land degradation entails an improved understanding of its causes, process, indicators and impacts. Various scientific methodologies have been employed to assess land degradation globally. However, the use of local community knowledge in elucidating the causes, process, indicators and effects of land degradation has seen little application by scientists and policy makers. Land degradation may be a physical process, but its underlying causes are firmly rooted in the socio-economic, political and cultural environment in which land users operate. Analyzing the root causes and effects of land degradation from local community knowledge, perception and adapting strategies perspective will provide information that is essential for designing and promoting sustainable land management practices. The main objective of this study was to analyze the perceptions of farmers’ on the impact of land degradation hazard on agricultural land productivity decline associated with soil erosion and fertility loss. The study used a multistage sampling procedure to select sample respondent households. The sample size of the study was 120 household heads and 226 farm plots managed by these farmers. The primary data of the study were collected by using semi-structured Interview, focus group discussions and field observation. Both descriptive statistics and econometric techniques were used for data analysis. Descriptive results show that 57percent of the respondents were perceived the severity and its consequence on agricultural land productivity. The following indicators of soil erosion and fertility loss were generally perceived and observed by farmers’ in the study area: gullies formations, soil accumulation around clumps of vegetation, soil deposits on gentle slopes, exposed roots, muddy water, sedimentation in streams and rivers, change in vegetation species, increased runoff, and reduced rooting depth. The direct human activities which were perceived to be causing land degradation in the study area include: deforestation and clearing of vegetation, overgrazing, steep slope cultivation and continuous cropping. The farmers’ possibility of perceiving the impact of land degradation hazard on agricultural land productivity was primarily determined by institutional, psychological, demographic and by bio-physical factors. Farmers who perceive their land as deteriorating and producing less than desired, tend to adopt improved land management practices. On the other hand, farmers who perceive their land to be fertile tend to have low adoption of conservation practices. In order to overcome this land degradation and its consequent effects, the study recommended a need for the government to enforce effective policies to control and prevent land degradation and these policies should be community inclusive /participatory founded up on indigenous and age-honored knowledge and tradition of farmers' natural resource management as well as introduced scientific practices.

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