A Handbook for the Field Assessment of Land Degradation

Stocking, Michael; Murnaghan, Niamh

doi:10.4324/9781849776219

Cited by 91 publications

(96 citation statements)

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“…In close collaboration with local scholars, several natural scientists visited the two study areas and collected qualitative and quantitative information on woody coverage and species composition [38], soil erosion and degradation processes [39] as well as impact of humans and livestock on soil and vegetation. In addition, several social scientists conducted interviews in nearby villages to gather information on people's perception on the local climate, environment in general, woody cover and species, crop yields and capacities of pasture.…”

Section: Qualitative Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Vegetation Trends in the Sahel of Mali and Senegal Using Long Time Series FAPAR Satellite Products and Field Measurement (1982–2010)

et al. 2014

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Local vegetation trends in the Sahel of Mali and Senegal from Geoland Version 1 (GEOV1) (5 km) and the third generation Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS3g) (8 km) Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR) time series are studied over 29 years. For validation and interpretation of observed greenness trends, two methods are applied: (1) a qualitative approach using in-depth knowledge of the study areas and (2) a quantitative approach by time series of biomass observations and rainfall data. Significant greening trends from 1982 to 2010 are consistently observed in both GEOV1 and GIMMS3g FAPAR datasets. Annual rainfall increased significantly during the observed time period, explaining large parts of FAPAR variations at a regional scale. Locally, GEOV1 data reveals a heterogeneous pattern of vegetation change, which is confirmed by long-term ground data and site visits. The spatial variability in the observed vegetation trends in the Sahel area are mainly caused by varying tree-and land-cover, which are controlled by human impact, soil and drought resilience. A large proportion of the positive trends are caused by the increment in leaf biomass of woody species that has almost doubled since the 1980s due to a tree cover regeneration after a dry-period. This confirms the re-greening of the Remote Sens. 2014, 6 2409 Sahel, however, degradation is also present and sometimes obscured by greening. GEOV1 as compared to GIMMS3g made it possible to better characterize the spatial pattern of trends and identify the degraded areas in the study region.

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Section: Qualitative Informationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Local Vegetation Trends in the Sahel of Mali and Senegal Using Long Time Series FAPAR Satellite Products and Field Measurement (1982–2010)

et al. 2014

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“…2018, 2, 24 5 of 13 Stocking and Murnaghan [63] account for up to nine global soil degradation processes: (a) loss of vegetation cover, (b) water erosion, (c) wind erosion, (d) increased stoniness and surface rocketing, (e) soil sealing, (f) reduced fertility, (g) salinization and (h) decrease of the water table. FAO [36] remarks the spatial importance of other processes such as point and diffuse contamination, soil organic decline and loss of biodiversity.…”

Section: Soil Propertiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry on the Biophysical Characteristics of Soils in Neotropical Agroecosystems

et al. 2018

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Abstract:The neotropical agroecosystems are important areas in the global scene in terms of livestock production. Therefore, a good conservation of their soils is crucial in order to both guarantee food safety and reduce the impact of land degradation processes. Conservation of neotropical soils used for farming activities could be obtained using veterinary medicine and adopting new grazing systems in the last decades. A wide bibliographical review was carried out which illustrates current issues in neotropical agroecosystems, the importance of their soil properties highlighting the role played by dung beetles within the edaphofauna, and the effects of the most common anti-parasitic practices as well as some natural alternatives. Finally, we present commonly adopted grazing systems and how they are affecting soil properties and animal welfare. The conversion of forest into agricultural and pasture land is altering the biochemical quality of soils. Furthermore, the use of ivermectin is dangerously reducing the total amount of dung beetles that are a key element in nutrient recycling processes. The implementation of new grazing systems (e.g., Voisin, Savory) is progressively fragmenting the habitat of many species. Nevertheless, there are also some benefits in this kind of practices and some natural alternatives to anthelmintics are being tested.

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“…Forest refers to an area of 0.05-1 ha, containing trees with average height of 2-5 m and canopy density of 20-30% (Haupt and von Lupke, 2007). Land, the basis for afforestation, reforestation or agroforestry is perceived variously as terra firma -solid portion of the earth, terrestrial ecosystem -self-maintaining habitat of micro-organisms, plants as well as animals and the relationship with the biophysical environment or as a resource comprising of soil, water, vegetation, rocks, air, climate and relief (Safriel, 2007, Stocking andMurnaghan, 2001). Land is bare if it has no cover.…”

Section: Review Of the Prospects Of Afforestationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable production of afforestation and reforestation to salvage land degradation in Asunafo District, Ghana

Peprah

2017

J.Degrade.Min.Land Manage.

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Savannazation and marshy areas are common features of once evergreen and deciduous forest of Ghana. Attempts to salvage such degraded lands have considered replacement with closed tree canopy. This study aims at examining efforts at Asunafo forest area to use tree planting of different species to remedy land degradation in a swamp area colonized by shrubs and grasses. Study methods include the use of field visits and transect walk, photography, archival data, key informant interview, community meeting and socio-economic survey for sourcing primary data for analysis. The results indicate that where the swamp is vegetated by shrubs of different kinds, afforestation shows rapid success. And, where the swamp is dominated by grass species, afforestation success is slow. Terminalia ivorensis, Triplochiton scleroxylon and Ceiba pentandra registered quick impacts in height growth, stem development, canopy formation where the degraded land was originally covered with shrubs. Trees grow well when weed competition for essential resources is reduced through weed control. The study concludes that tree planting in swamp area is sustainable land management practice to redeem land degradation. Also, environmental benefits are imperatives but host communities derived near to zero social and economic benefits because such projects happen outside clean development mechanisms' arrangement.

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A Handbook for the Field Assessment of Land Degradation

Cited by 91 publications

References 0 publications

Local Vegetation Trends in the Sahel of Mali and Senegal Using Long Time Series FAPAR Satellite Products and Field Measurement (1982–2010)

Local Vegetation Trends in the Sahel of Mali and Senegal Using Long Time Series FAPAR Satellite Products and Field Measurement (1982–2010)

The Impact of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Husbandry on the Biophysical Characteristics of Soils in Neotropical Agroecosystems

Sustainable production of afforestation and reforestation to salvage land degradation in Asunafo District, Ghana

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