Methods to stimulate plant regrowth on bare sahelian forest soils in the region of Niamey, Niger

Chase, Robert; Boudouresque, Eric

doi:10.1016/0167-8809(87)90085-5

Cited by 32 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Besides the soil protection afforded by mulches, mulching is largely practised for its positive impact on soil fertility and for rehabilitation of hardpans. All these positive effects have been largely documented in the scienti®c literature (Bielders et al, 2000;Chase and Boudouresque, 1987;Michels et al, 1995b,c). However, the use of straw or branches reduces their availability for alternative uses, such as forage for livestock, ®re wood or building material, which was a concern to farmers in 21 per cent of the villages.…”

Section: Wind-erosion Control Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Wind erosion: the perspective of grass‐roots communities in the Sahel

2001

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Under the harsh conditions prevailing in the West African Sahel, farmers must deal with a range of environmental and socioeconomic issues that constrain agriculture. Although scienti®c evidence indicates that wind erosion is potentially a major land degradation process, little is known about the Sahelian farmer's perception of the relative importance of wind erosion as a constraint to agricultural production. A village-level survey was therefore undertaken to assess farmers' views about the relative importance of perceived constraints to agricultural production in 41 villages across Niger. During the interviews, the communities' views were also recorded regarding the causes and consequences of wind erosion as well as known wind erosion control measures. Wind erosion ranked eighth overall and was listed by male farmers among the top 10 constraints in 54 per cent of the villages. It was perceived by male farmers to be a moderate to high constraint in 39 per cent of the villages but was not considered important by female farmers. Wind erosion ranked third among environmental constraints, behind drought and soil fertility. Wind erosion related health problems were generally of more concern than crop damage or loss of topsoil by wind erosion. Deforestation, removal of crop residue and land-clearing practices were identi®ed by farmers as major contributors to soil losses by wind. To address this issue, at least 10 different low-cost technologies are currently being implemented by farmers, including leaving crop residue in the ®eld, mulching and natural regeneration of vegetation. The survey results indicate that farmers are well aware of the overriding importance of their management practices, as opposed to climatic factors, on the current extent of wind erosion.

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Section: Wind-erosion Control Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 92%

Wind erosion: the perspective of grass‐roots communities in the Sahel

2001

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“…Mando et al (1996) suggested that such findings result from the combined effects of soil cover and termite activity. Here, the combination of Gliricidia and Acacia was superior to all of the other treatments that were used for mulching to attract termites (as suggested by Chase and Boudouresque, 1987). Soil Isoptera build long-lasting nests that include extensive gallery networks and chambers and likely contribute to enhanced soil infiltration capacity (Pardeshi and Kumar Prusty, 2010).…”

Section: Impacts Of Macrofauna On Soil Attributesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Contribution of legume tree residues and macrofauna to the improvement of abiotic soil properties in the eastern Amazon

Moura

Aguiar

Piedade

et al. 2015

Applied Soil Ecology

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“…The most important factors controlling the hydrological behaviour of soils in the arid and semi-arid Sahelian region are the soil surface properties (Casenave and Valentin, 1989). A termite channel of 8 mm diameter (size of Macrotermes foraging holes) on bare Sahelian forest soil in Niger sustained a flow rate of 500-700 ml water min À1 for 30 minutes (Chase and Boudouresque, 1987). However, some studies revealed opposing results.…”

Section: Rainy Season 2005mentioning

confidence: 98%