Socioeconomic Indicators and Desertification in the Upper Course of the Paraíba River Watershed

Alves, Telma Lucia Bezerra; Azevedo, Pedro Vieira de; Cândido, Gesinaldo Ataí­de

doi:10.1590/1809-4422asoc179r1v2022017

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…It is necessary to maintain large areas of natural or restored vegetation for sustainable agroscapes in combination with production systems (agroecosystems) that use crop diversity, crop rotation, and mixed farming [9]. Currently, the Cariri region needs help to improve its social indicators while managing its low stock of natural resources [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Soil Quality of Smallholder Agroecosystems in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil

Macedo,

Lima,

de Almeida Alves Carneiro

et al. 2024

Land

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The assessment of soil quality is crucial for the sustainable development of agriculture in semiarid regions. Due to their sensitivity to management practices, soil chemical and physical quality indicators are used for investigating soil quality. This study aimed to assess the soil quality of smallholder agroecosystems from the Brazilian semiarid region. Soil physical and chemical attributes were screened using principal component analysis (PCA) and integrated into a weighted additive soil quality index (SQI). Soil quality was obtained using linear and non-linear scoring methods, a total data set (TDS), and a minimum data set (MDS). The soil quality of the agroecosystems was designated as being of moderate grade. The MDS for soil quality assessment includes cation exchange capacity, C stock, exchangeable sodium percentage, flocculation degree, pH, electrical conductivity, available P, and K+ from twenty-five indicators of the TDS. This MDS mainly reflects the input of manure and crop residues associated with moderate weathering of easily weatherable minerals given the semiarid conditions. The SQI obtained can be used to synthesize the information of the TDS and is a valuable tool to indicate the soil quality of agroecosystems; thereby, it can be used with indicators of sustainable management for application at a regional scale.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Soil Quality of Smallholder Agroecosystems in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil

Macedo,

Lima,

de Almeida Alves Carneiro

et al. 2024

Land

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“…The combination of these aspects, as well as other difficulties, have resulted in the absence of systematic, methodologically robust, and conclusive regional assessments regarding the progression of desertification, which is particularly severe in the case of the Brazilian semiarid region. In this regard, there are still a lack of models, or systems of indicators, that characterize and identify areas that are undergoing the process of desertification or are effectively desertified [21,23,24,27,[31][32][33][37][38][39].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Desertification Using a Small Set of Biophysical Indicators in the Brazilian Semiarid Region

et al. 2022

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Desertification is defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry sub-humid regions, and it is caused primarily by human activities and climate change. The semiarid region of Northeast (NE) Brazil is a very large, populous region, and thus, it is hard to monitor the dynamics of its desertified areas; therefore, the present study aimed to develop a minimum set of biophysical indicators to qualify and monitor desertification in this region. This approach included sampling a pair of preserved forested areas and nearby degraded, non-forested areas which had no vegetation growth in the previous years. The study was developed in four stages: (a) pilot site selection; (b) quantification and analysis of soil and vegetation biophysical indicators; (c) biophysical indicator selection; and (d) elaboration of the minimum set of biophysical indicators and desertification levels. Of the analyzed 24 biophysical indicators, 11 were retained and subjected to factor analysis by its principal components. This yielded the minimum set of indicators used to estimate the desertification levels of the pilot sites, which consisted of four soil characteristics: Total Organic Carbon (TOC), cation exchange capacity, clay content, and magnesium content. Regressions were conducted using the SQI, and these indicators showed that the TOC had the highest coefficient of determination. In an exploratory analysis, high SQI (low desertification) showed a positive correlation with the normalized difference vegetation index (R = 0.70) and Aridity Index (R = 0.97). This methodological approach could form the basis of a dynamic monitoring system that is capable of supplying objective, quantitative, and easy to obtain information to decision-makers in NE Brazil and other dry ecosystems around the globe.

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“…Soil is an essential factor for agricultural production; nevertheless, it has undergone an increasing pressure of use, compromising its productive capacity and quality. Anthropogenic activities can cause soil degradation (MIKHA et al, 2014), such as loss or reduction of biological or economic yield of agricultural land, pasture, and native forest or a combination of processes (ALVES; AZEVEDO; CÂNDIDO, 2017). Salinization is a common type of degradation in arid and semi-arid regions worldwide, triggered by climatic conditions that favor soil salinization, such as salt richness in the parent material and deficient drainage.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomass production and salt extraction by species alone or associated in the revegetation strategy

Leite¹,

Freire²,

Pessoa³

et al. 2022

RCA

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Anthropogenic actions have caused soil degradation and revegetation is a way to recover degraded soils. However, salt-affected soils require the use of suitable species to extract salts from the soil. This study investigated the growth of shrub and tree species in a soil degraded by salts, alone or associated with a phytoextraction salt species, evaluating plant biomass yield and extraction of elements by plants. A field experiment was assembled with eight treatments: 1) Atriplex nummularia Lindl., 2) Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth, 3) Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) Wit, 4) Azadirachta indica A. Juss, 5) A. nummularia + M. caesalpiniifolia, 6) A. nummularia + L. leucocephala and 7) A. nummularia + A. indica; in randomized blocks with four replications. After 30 months of cultivation, plants were collected to measure biomass and concentrations of Na, K, Ca, Mg, Cl, P, and N. A. indica plants had the highest total biomass (10.75 kg plant -1 ), about 15 times more than M. caesalpiniifolia, both in associated cultivation with A. nummularia. A. nummularia plants extracted more Na and Cl in the dry matter, maximum of 124.70 and 166.79 g plant -1 , respectively. The highest production of plant biomass (23.55 t ha -1 ) and total extraction of elements (1438.51 kg ha -1 ) were obtained by associated cultivation of A. nummularia and A. indica. Associated cultivation did not decrease the phytoextractor potential of Na and Cl by A. nummularia plants and it can be used to regenerate degraded areas.

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Socioeconomic Indicators and Desertification in the Upper Course of the Paraíba River Watershed

Cited by 9 publications

References 10 publications

Assessment of Soil Quality of Smallholder Agroecosystems in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil

Assessment of Soil Quality of Smallholder Agroecosystems in the Semiarid Region of Northeastern Brazil

Monitoring Desertification Using a Small Set of Biophysical Indicators in the Brazilian Semiarid Region

Biomass production and salt extraction by species alone or associated in the revegetation strategy

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