Traditional knowledge on soil management and conservation in the inter-Andean region, northern Ecuador

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leticia Salomé Jiménez Álvarez ◽  
Edwin Andrade ◽  
Edwin Daniel Capa Mora ◽  
Natacha Del Cisne Fierro Jaramillo ◽  
Pablo Geovanny Quichimbo Miguitama ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Soil Degradation ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Sustainable Soil Management ◽  
Management And Conservation ◽  
Local Farmers

Local farmers' knowledge of edaphic fertility indicators is a decisive factor for decision making and sustainable soil management. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine soil fertility indicators according to the criteria of small farmers and contrast it with scientific knowledge. A field study was developed in northern Ecuador, where 95 semi-structured surveys were applied to farm owners in the Andean and Subtropical zones. Each questionnaire grouped several questions with topics such as plant indicators of soil fertility, physical indicators of soil fertility, forms of soil degradation and conservation strategies, as well as the acquisition of knowledge over time according to farmers' perception. Farmers consider that crops are indicators of soil fertility, while the presence of “weeds” indicate poor soils. Additionally, characteristics like color, texture, stoniness, depth, the presence of macrofauna and crop yield indicated soil fertility. Also, farmers are aware of the soil's contamination and of conservation strategies available to avoid this; however, since their main objective is to improve crop yield and not precisely soil conservation, they do not always apply these strategies. Some of these practices are transmitted from one generation to the next and are at risk of being lost, hence the importance of integrating farmers’ perception and scientific knowledge to generate guidelines for sustainable soil management.

Stone bunds for soil conservation in the northern Ethiopian highlands: Impacts on soil fertility and crop yield

2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Vancampenhout ◽  
Jan Nyssen ◽  
Desta Gebremichael ◽  
Jozef Deckers ◽  
Jean Poesen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Ethiopian Highlands

Soil Management: An Overview

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony S. R. Juo ◽  
Kathrin Franzluebbers
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Surface Soil ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Compacted Soils ◽  
Slash And Burn ◽  
Over Time

The term “soil management” refers to the human manipulation of chemical, physical, and biological conditions of the soil for the production of agricultural plants. Good soil management helps maintain and improve soil fertility while sustaining optimum crop yield over time, whereas inappropriate soil management practices can lead to the degradation of soil fertility and a declining crop yield within a relatively short period of time. In a cropped field, where pests and disease are not limiting factors, the decline in crop yield over time may be attributed to several soil-related factors, namely, deterioration of soil physical conditions, such as surface crusting and subsurface compaction, depletion of available nutrients in the soil and soil acidification, soil moisture stress (drought or waterlogging), and the decline in soil organic matter and soil biological activity. Thus, major tasks of soil management for crop production include the following: • tillage and seedbed preparation • replenishment of soil nutrients • soil moisture management • maintenance of soil organic matter The main purposes of tillage are to loosen a compacted surface soil to facilitate seed emergence and root growth through improved soil aeration and water storage, and to eradicate weeds before planting and control subsequent weed growth during the cropping season. Common tillage practices used in tropical agriculture are as follows: • Slash-and-burn, followed by sowing seeds into holes made by punching a wooden stick into the porous surface soil. • Slash-and-burn, followed by heaping or ridging the compacted surface soil using a hand hoe. • Plowing, harrowing, and puddling in irrigated rice paddies using water buffalo or a two-wheel power-tiller. • Ridge tillage using a hand hoe, animal traction or an engine-powered tractor on crusted or compacted soils and poorly drained clayey soils. • Minimum or strip tillage with a crop-residue mulch on coarse-textured soils and on sloping land. • Conventional tillage involving plowing and harrowing on fine-textured soils and compacted soils on flatland. • Minimum tillage with a plant-residue mulch or cover crop in annual and tree crop mixed systems (agroforestry).

scholarly journals Geographic Range and Nest Architecture of Cephalotrigona Capitata Smith, 1854 (Apidae: Meliponini) in the State of Bahia, Northeastern Brazil

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-60
Author(s):  
Rogério M. D. O. Alves ◽  
Ana M. Waldschmidt ◽  
Joana F. Paixão ◽  
Daiane R. Santos ◽  
Carlos A. L. Carvalho
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Nest Architecture ◽  
Technical Management ◽  
Eastern Brazil ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Management And Conservation ◽  
Local Farmers

AbstractThe bees of the genus Cephalotrigona (locally known as “mombucas”) play a key role in natural environments but their bioecological features, required to design proper management and conservation strategies, are scarce in most species. Thus, the goal of the present study was to map the occurrence sites of C. capitata in the state of Bahia, north-eastern Brazil, and to provide useful information about nest architecture to their technical management. This species was recorded in fifteen municipalities in Bahia, totaling forty-one nests. The range of C. capitata varied from locations at sea level to seasonal ombrophilous forests at an altitude of 600 m high. The nests were built in trees with a mean diameter of 19.8 ±3.0 cm. The nest architecture was similar to that reported in other stingless bee species, with a variation in analyzed parameters. The thermoregulation was more efficient in highly populated boxes. The present results can be used for the conservation and management of this species, which represents a potential source of income for local farmers.

scholarly journals Soil Conservation Measures: Assessment of Economic Efficiency in Terms of Ukraine

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 71-78
Author(s):  
Oleksandr Shevchenko
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Soil Degradation ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Soil Protection ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Soil Conservation Measures

The solution of preserving and restoring the soil fertility problem of agricultural lands in the process of economic activity is one of the main tasks in achieving global food security. Implementation of a complex of soil protection measures, as a rule, ensures the preservation and even growth of soil fertility. Therefore, the purpose of the article is to determine the economic efficiency of introducing soil protection measures in the use of agricultural land. For this purpose, the following tasks were set and solved: the analysis of the current state and trends of the land resources use in agriculture; to investigate the tendencies of carrying out measures on preservation of soil fertility and prevention of its degradation; to substantiate scientific and methodical estimation principles of economic efficiency of introduction of soil protection measures in the conditions of Ukraine. The following basic methods were used to solve the research objectives: monographic analysis – when developing scientific publications on environmentally friendly use of agricultural land; comparative and statistical analysis – in studying the dynamics of the structure of the land fund of Ukraine by main types of land and economic activity; system-structural analysis and grouping – in the study of the nature and content of ecological and economic consequences of soil degradation, as well as approaches to assessing the economic effectiveness of soil protection measures; economic analysis and calculation of relative indicators – to evaluate the economic efficiency of soil protection measures in the process of agricultural land use; abstract-logical method - for theoretical generalizations and conclusions formation, etc. Established that soil degradation is now one of the most important industrial and environmental issues, which is the main reason for the inability to achieve high rates of environmental and economic efficiency of land use in the future. It was also substantiated scientific and methodical approach to determining the economic efficiency of soil conservation measures in the current market conditions, which is based on the additional income that is received as a result of increase crop yields on protected lands. It is established that effective protection of soils from degradation is possible with the systematic implementation of soil protection measures complex, developed taking into account the specific natural and economic conditions of each region or agricultural enterprise. The priority directions of realization measures on land protection are given.

K-MEANS CLUSTERING ALGORITHM BASED CLASSIFICATION OF SOIL FERTILITY IN NORTH WEST NIGERIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 780-787
Author(s):  
Ibrahim Hassan Hayatu ◽  
Abdullahi Mohammed ◽  
Barroon Ahmad Isma’eel ◽  
Sahabi Yusuf Ali
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Clustering Algorithm ◽  
Soil Samples ◽  
North West ◽  
R Programming ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Northwest Region ◽  
The Relationship

Soil fertility determines a plant's development process that guarantees food sufficiency and the security of lives and properties through bumper harvests. The fertility of soil varies according to regions, thereby determining the type of crops to be planted. However, there is no repository or any source of information about the fertility of the soil in any region in Nigeria especially the Northwest of the country. The only available information is soil samples with their attributes which gives little or no information to the average farmer. This has affected crop yield in all the regions, more particularly the Northwest region, thus resulting in lower food production.  Therefore, this study is aimed at classifying soil data based on their fertility in the Northwest region of Nigeria using R programming. Data were obtained from the department of soil science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The data contain 400 soil samples containing 13 attributes. The relationship between soil attributes was observed based on the data. K-means clustering algorithm was employed in analyzing soil fertility clusters. Four clusters were identified with cluster 1 having the highest fertility, followed by 2 and the fertility decreases with an increasing number of clusters. The identification of the most fertile clusters will guide farmers on where best to concentrate on when planting their crops in order to improve productivity and crop yield.

scholarly journals The economic value of sustainable soil management in arable farming systems – A conceptual framework

2021 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
pp. 126334
Author(s):  
M.C. Kik ◽  
G.D.H. Claassen ◽  
M.P.M. Meuwissen ◽  
A.B. Smit ◽  
H.W. Saatkamp
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Soil Management ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Sustainable Soil Management ◽  
Arable Farming

An assessment of policies affecting Sustainable Soil Management in Europe and selected member states

2017 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 241-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadine Turpin ◽  
Hein ten Berge ◽  
Carlo Grignani ◽  
Gema Guzmán ◽  
Karl Vanderlinden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Management ◽  
Member States ◽  
Sustainable Soil Management
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