Combining local knowledge and soil science for integrated soil health assessments in conservation agriculture systems

Hermans, Thirze D. G.; Dougill, Andrew J.; Whitfield, Stephen J.; Peacock, Caroline L.; Eze, Samuel; Thierfelder, Christian

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112192

Cited by 32 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The CA systems were maize-based and consist of maize monocrop systems, as well as maize intercrop or rotation with cowpea, pigeon pea, and velvet bean. Soil health indicators of conventional maize monocrop under ridge and furrow system with crop residues removed after harvest were compared with those of the CA practices [23,24]. Farmers' awareness and use of soil health indicators influence their choice of land management practices when these also reduce pests and diseases and reduce labour demands.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some farmers burn crop residues or remove them from their farms for use as livestock feed, fuel, or fencing material limiting the benefits in terms of soil carbon storage, aggregate stability, and water retention capacity that are vital for enabling CA to build maize system resilience to heat stress and dry spells [14,15]. This limits the number of crop residues available for covering the soil surface, which is a key principle of CA, and highlights the need for integrated soil science and community perception studies [10] which can enable deeper learning and empowerment of farming communities [24].…”

Section: Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our integrated approach combining soils studies and community interviews in participatory soil health assessments helped to identify the discrepancies between the science and real-life experience in farm systems. Such studies connect scientific appraisals with the farmer rationale see [24] and build on social science explanations on limited CA uptake [12] and disadoption [6]. A key example of the integrative value of combining soil science and farmer decision-making studies can be seen around the different views on tillage in ridge and furrow systems that remain viewed locally as a sign of a good farmer, despite the scientific evidence showing the benefits of shifts to no-till, conservation agriculture systems.…”

Section: Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating Climate-Smart Agriculture as Route to Building Climate Resilience in African Food Systems

et al. 2021

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Efforts to meet the growing demand for food across Africa have led to unsustainable land management practices that weaken the resilience of African Food Systems. Soil health is key to building more climate-resilient agricultural systems and can be improved through Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices that also enhance soil carbon storage. Many CSA practices are being implemented by African farmers, whereas others are being actively promoted but adoption remains low due to multiple factors including weak policy integration, limited institutional support, and inadequate agricultural extension advice. This Short Communications paper presents overview findings from trans-disciplinary research projects from Southern, East, and West Africa to evaluate the potential importance of integrated participatory soil health studies designed to inform context-specific recommendations and policies for resilient African food systems. The use of soil health indicators to measure the effectiveness of implemented CSA practices including Conservation Agriculture in maize-based systems and Soil and Water Conservation in Highland African systems are discussed. The paper identifies how more integrated research can help to enable shared learning and the enhanced knowledge exchange required for the upscaling of sustainable land management practices enabled through enhanced farmer participation in the chain of CSA activities from intervention design to community evaluation of impacts.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluating Climate-Smart Agriculture as Route to Building Climate Resilience in African Food Systems

et al. 2021

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“…Regardless of the availability of innovative crop protection products that support soil health, implementation of conservation practices can vary substantially based on location, farm size, and farmer knowledge and perceptions, all of which influence the management approach (Scopel et al, 2013;Hermans et al, 2021). For increased impact on soil health at scale, crop protection innovations should aim to support localized management approaches for farms of all sizes, across a wide variety of cropping systems and environmental contexts.…”

Section: Crop Protection Innovation Should Enable Conservation Manage...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil Health: New Opportunities to Innovate in Crop Protection Research and Development

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Diggelmann

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Soil health-based agricultural management practices are widely promoted to reduce erosion, increase nutrient use efficiency, improve soil structure, and sustain or increase yields. Pest and disease management are less frequently considered as components of a soil health management system. We present a framework for how the crop protection industry can advance soil health by developing systems of crop protection innovation that simultaneously target soil health outcomes, either through direct impact on soil or by enabling practices that promote soil health outcomes. Such an approach could lead to cross-sectoral, integrated agricultural solutions that achieve agronomic, environmental, and economic goals.

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“…As farmers tend to draw from their lived experiences and observations in making land management decisions (Hermans et al, 2021), combining conventional soil testing with farmers' observations in an integrative approach will help to build a comprehensive evidence base on the impacts of CSA on soil health.…”

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Assessing soil system changes under climate‐smart agriculture via farmers' observations and conventional soil testing

et al. 2022

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Soil degradation remains a challenge in African highlands, where land management lacks a strong context-specific evidence base. We investigated the impacts of recently implemented soil and water conservation (SWC) practices-farmyard manure addition, incorporation of crop residues in soil and fanya juu terracing under an agroforestry system on soil health indicators in the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania. Farmers' observations of soil changes were combined with conventional soil testing to assess the initial impacts of SWC practices relative to conventional non-SWC practice. Majority of farmers (66%-83%) reported that combining fanya juu terracing with organic amendments led to soil colour change from red to black and an increase in crop yield.Despite the observed darkening of the soil, there was no significant increase in soil organic carbon stock and the contents of N, P, K. There were important changes in soil physical properties, including greater aggregate stability (mean weight diameter of 1.51-1.71 mm) in the SWC plots, a greater volume of transmission pores (>60 μm) and coarse storage pores (10-60 μm) in the surface soil layer (0-15 cm), and greater volume of fine storage pores (0.2-10 μm) and residual pores (0.2 μm) in the sub-surface layer (15-30 cm) of the SWC plots compared with the conventional plots. These changes indicate that SWC rapidly enhances infiltration and retention of water within the root zone, which are important for increasing crop yields and improving the resilience of the agro-ecosystem to environmental stress. Combining SWC with effective soil fertility management is needed for sustainable highland agriculture.

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Combining local knowledge and soil science for integrated soil health assessments in conservation agriculture systems

Cited by 32 publications

References 45 publications

Evaluating Climate-Smart Agriculture as Route to Building Climate Resilience in African Food Systems

Evaluating Climate-Smart Agriculture as Route to Building Climate Resilience in African Food Systems

Soil Health: New Opportunities to Innovate in Crop Protection Research and Development

Assessing soil system changes under climate‐smart agriculture via farmers' observations and conventional soil testing

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