scholarly journals Soil Mechanical Composition and Texture as Indices for On-site and Field Precise Choice of Land Use Type to Adopt

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-43
Author(s):  
M. O. Eyong ◽  
K. I. Ofem
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Field Investigation ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Clayey Soils ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Subsistence Farmers ◽  
Mutual Adaptation ◽  
Land Use And Management

The soils of Agoi-Ibami in central Cross River State of Nigeria were evaluated for their mechanical and textural compositions in the field. The objective was to present to small scale, subsistence farmers, with limited access to external farm-inputs for time consuming and expensive laboratory analysis, soil data for on-site and field land use and management decisions. Three profile pits were sunk, along three well defined and selected toposequences, on three landscape elements of crest, middleslope and valley bottom in three land use types of forest (FS), rubber (RS), and arable (AS). Relevant environmental properties were inventorized and the profiles described in the moist state. Their textures were determined by the feel method in the field among other morphological properties. The field investigation showed the soils to be predominatly loamy soils. After the field investigation, soil samples were collected from the morphogenetic horizons for determination of their mechanical composition in the laboratory to supplement the field investigation. Their loamy textures and mechanical composition inferred from their loamy texture impact unique physical and chemical properties like good water holding capacity, good drainage, fertile and productive soils and good for irrigation. Loamy soils exhibit properties intermediate between sandy and clayey soils. Loamy soils are considered best for agricultural production because they hold more water and nutrients than sandy soils and have better drainage, aeration and tillage properties than clayey soils. They have slight plastic and sticky workable properties ideal for crop growth and crop productivity. Therefore knowing the texture of soils and their mechanical composition in the field their properties can be inferred and land use and management decisions can be taken on-site without recourse to expensive and time consuming laboratory analyses which are beyond the capacity of resource poor small-scale and subsistence farmers in developing countries and or sub-Saharan Africa. The land use and management decisions are taken after mutual adaptation and adjustments of the description of the land use and the increasingly known soil qualities in the field.

scholarly journals Using Participatory Spatial Tools to Unravel Community Perceptions of Land-Use Dynamics in a Mine-Expanding Landscape in Ghana

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane J. Aggrey ◽  
Mirjam A. F. Ros-Tonen ◽  
Kwabena O. Asubonteng
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Eastern Region ◽  
Food Crop ◽  
Mosaic Landscape ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
The Future

AbstractArtisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in sub-Saharan Africa creates considerable dynamics in rural landscapes. Many studies addressed the adverse effects of mining, but few studies use participatory spatial tools to assess the effects on land use. Hence, this paper takes an actor perspective to analyze how communities in a mixed farming-mining area in Ghana’s Eastern Region perceive the spatial dynamics of ASM and its effects on land for farming and food production from past (1986) to present (2018) and toward the future (2035). Participatory maps show how participants visualize the transformation of food-crop areas into small- and large-scale mining, tree crops, and settlement in all the communities between 1986 and 2018 and foresee these trends to continue in the future (2035). Participants also observe how a mosaic landscape shifts toward a segregated landscape, with simultaneous fragmentation of their farming land due to ASM. Further segregation is expected in the future, with attribution to the expansion of settlements being an unexpected outcome. Although participants expect adverse effects on the future availability of food-crop land, no firm conclusions can be drawn about the anticipated effect on food availability. The paper argues that, if responsibly applied and used to reveal community perspectives and concerns about landscape dynamics, participatory mapping can help raise awareness of the need for collective action and contribute to more inclusive landscape governance. These findings contribute to debates on the operationalization of integrated and inclusive landscape approaches and governance, particularly in areas with pervasive impacts of ASM.

scholarly journals EVALUATION OF THE PHYSICO-CHEMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF AN EXPOSED SOIL PROFILE IN AN EXCAVATED ACRISOL, SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-136
Author(s):  
Nnabude, P.C. ◽  
Onunwa, A.O. ◽  
Ijeoma, E.O. ◽  
Madueke, C.O.
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Road Construction ◽  
Infiltration Rate ◽  
Morphological Properties ◽  
Land Capability ◽  
Anambra State ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Natural Land ◽  
Land Use And Management ◽  
Management Recommendations

Increased population density has led to a lot of pressure on the limited natural/land resources of south-eastern Nigeria. This includes the need for laterite, sand, kaolin, gravel and clay for buildings, backfills and road construction. This has led to extensive unmoderated excavation of these resources, particularly in Anambra state. The excavation has in turns, culminated in increased intensity of land degradation in the state, underscoring the need to characterize and evaluate the land use potentials of such sites to better understand the nature of the soils and the impacts of the attendant land use. Samples were collected from the different horizons of the profile to evaluate the physical, chemical and morphological properties of the soils. Coefficient of variation was used to measure the soil variability within the profile. Land capability class was determined, which informed the land use and management recommendations. The results show that the soil is very deep (>21.5m). The soil texture ranged from sandy clay loam to sandy. Infiltration rate and saturated hydraulic conductivity decreased by up to 300 to 560 % with excavation. The soils were strongly acidic; organic carbon and total nitrogen was low but highly variable; Al, H, Ca, Mg, K, Na, and phosphorus were moderately variable while pH, CEC and base saturation (BS) were the least variable. The land capability class was IIIes. Given the evidence of erosion and preponderance of erodible Nanka sands in the subsoil, the site should be reclaimed as soon as the mining activities are discontinued.

scholarly journals Small-Scale Variability in the Soil Microbial Community Structure in a Semideveloped Farm in Zambia

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru Hamamoto ◽  
Meki Chirwa ◽  
Imasiku Nyambe ◽  
Yoshitaka Uchida
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Community Structure ◽  
Microbial Community ◽  
Microbial Community Structure ◽  
Soil Microbial Community ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Soil Microbial Community Structure ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
Sub Saharan

The conversion of natural lands into agricultural lands can lead to changes in the soil microbial community structure which, in turn, can affect soil functions. However, few studies have examined the effect of land use changes on the soil microbial community structure in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, the aim of this research was to investigate the relationships among soil characteristics and microbial communities in natural and agricultural ecosystems in a semideveloped lowland farm in the central region of Zambia, within which small-scale wetlands had been partly developed as watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) and/or maize (Zea mays) farms. We sampled soils from four different land use types within this farm: “native forest,” “grassland,” “watermelon farm,” and “maize farm.” We found that the land use type had a significant effect on the soil bacterial community structure at the class level, with the class Bacilli having significantly higher relative abundances in the forest sites and Gammaproteobacteria having significantly higher relative abundances in the maize sites than in the other land use types. These findings indicate that these bacterial classes may be sensitive to changes in soil ecosystems, and so further studies are required to investigate microbial indicators for the sustainable development of wetlands in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Watershed Atlas Project

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D. Lee ◽  
Corey L. Wilson ◽  
Angela Schörgendorfer
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Natural Environment ◽  
Human Influence ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Ecological Features ◽  
Political Boundaries ◽  
Land Use And Management ◽  
The Impact

The Watershed Atlas project visualizes landscape indicator aspects of multiple watersheds throughout Kentucky simultaneously. By viewing the landscape from a watershed perspective, this atlas is offers new insights into the impact of land use and management decisions on waterways. This atlas seeks to reveal the ways that human influence on the natural environment does not observe political boundaries. A watershed-based approach for making land management decisions takes into account that though cities, counties, and states may appear to be distinct entities, they are connected by ecological features and processes. This atlas can be used as a tool to identify which landscape characteristics are potentially relevant as a guide for future prioritization and management decisions, which may influence waterway quality.

The nature of the land: the Dukuduku forest and the Mfolozi flats, KwaZulu-Natal

2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 487-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Knut G. Nustad ◽  
Frode Sundnes
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Rights ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Land Uses ◽  
Commercial Agriculture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
Kwazulu Natal ◽  
Sub Saharan

ABSTRACTGreen-grabbing has recently been suggested as a label for describing processes of dispossessions undertaken in the name of conservation in sub-Saharan Africa. For the case examined here, the Dukuduku forest and the Mfolozi flats in northern KwaZulu-Natal, we will argue that the label obscures more than it helps illuminate the complex processes leading up to the present-day struggle over land rights. The land in question has been subjected to a number of different land uses in the past: hunting, conservation, commercial agriculture and small-scale agriculture. We show how contestation over desirable future land use options lies at the heart of the problems raised by an ongoing land claim to the forest.

Land-Use Management and Carbon Sequestering in Sub-Saharan Africa

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 199-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Perlack ◽  
R. L. Graham ◽  
A. M. G. Prasad
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Land Use Management ◽  
Carbon Sequestering ◽  
Sub Saharan

scholarly journals Food security among dryland pastoralists and agropastoralists: The climate, land-use change, and population dynamics nexus

2021 ◽  
pp. 205301962110075
Author(s):  
Ilan Stavi ◽  
Joana Roque de Pinho ◽  
Anastasia K Paschalidou ◽  
Susana B Adamo ◽  
Kathleen Galvin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Global Changes ◽  
Food Utilization ◽  
Special Importance ◽  
Food Security Status ◽  
Global Action ◽  
Land Use And Management

During the last decades, pastoralist, and agropastoralist populations of the world’s drylands have become exceedingly vulnerable to regional and global changes. Specifically, exacerbated stressors imposed on these populations have adversely affected their food security status, causing humanitarian emergencies and catastrophes. Of these stressors, climate variability and change, land-use and management practices, and dynamics of human demography are of a special importance. These factors affect all four pillars of food security, namely, food availability, access to food, food utilization, and food stability. The objective of this study was to critically review relevant literature to assess the complex web of interrelations and feedbacks that affect these factors. The increasing pressures on the world’s drylands necessitate a comprehensive analysis to advise policy makers regarding the complexity and linkages among factors, and to improve global action. The acquired insights may be the basis for alleviating food insecurity of vulnerable dryland populations.

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