Farmers' knowledge of wind erosion processes and control methods in Niger

Field research on wind erosion processes in Sahelian Africa has revealed that wind-blown particle transport forms a constraint for local crop production systems. This paper describes the results of an on-farm survey on wind-erosion processes and soil conservation practices. Interviews were held with 138 farmers from seven villages in southern Niger. Of the interviewed farmers, 63 per cent consider wind-blown particle transport as damaging to their cropping systems. Nearly all farmers reported to observe differences between fields with respect to wind erosion. Fields that are mainly eroded were said to lose fertility and produce less, whereas deposition of material results in a better fertility and production. These differences occur also on a smaller scale, with erosion and deposition spots in the same field. Most farmers (96 per cent) are familiar with techniques to reduce wind erosion, and 92 per cent applied one or more of these techniques in the field. The indigenous soil conservation techniques are application of manure and mulching with crop residues or tree branches. New techniques are tree planting, natural regeneration of woody vegetation, and application of zai , a method of soil preparation from Burkina Faso, using pits filled with compost for sowing crops. The farmers who have applied these new techniques reported to have less wind-erosion problems in their fields. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Farmers' perceptions of the role of scattered vegetation in wind erosion control on arable land in Burkina Faso

This paper describes the results of a survey on farmers' perceptions of the effect of woody natural vegetation on wind erosion. Sixty farmers were interviewed in three villages in northern Burkina Faso. The farmers mentioned that the presence of woody vegetation between the crops could benefit yield, but feared competition between the natural vegetation and the crop. Vegetation in a field was considered to increase deposition and decrease erosion on that field. The most important vegetative characteristics that affect wind erosion were, according to the farmers, vegetation's shape, porosity, flexibility and arrangement of the vegetation in the field. At present, most farmers do not apply this knowledge to the management of the natural woody vegetation on their fields. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Public Views on Family and Corporate Farms

ABSTRACT

Contemporary agricultural practices and the public's understanding of the same are not necessarily in synchrony. Beliefs about the economic contribution of agriculture, farming practices, and their impacts on the environment and community, and the motivations of farmers were explored via a mail survey of Illinois residents. Respondents were asked to consider farms by structure and describe what they perceive to be attributes or behaviors differentiating family or corporate farms. Respondents recognized the value of agriculture to the state. Overall, agriculture was ranked among the seven standard industry categories as that with the most important economic impact. However, this sector was ranked lower by residents in counties with or adjacent to population centers of a hundred thousand residents or more and by the non farm population. Although perceived distinctions between crop and livestock operations were not substantial, strong differences were perceived between corporate and family farms. Perceived factors differentiating the two farm types included ownership, operation size, business motivation, separation of management and labor, operator's concern for and participation with the local community and environment, heritage, source of labor, and locale of residence. Family farms were perceived in a much more favorable light than their corporate counterparts.     

Farmers' perceptions of soil erosion and its consequences in India's semiarid tropics

This paper investigates farmers' perceptions of soil erosion and how it affects crop yields, land values, and private conservation investments in India's semiarid tropics. It is based on three types of data: (1) a survey of farmers in three study villages; (2) a plot survey by a professional soil surveyor in the same villages; and (3) experimental and simulated data from nearby research stations with similar conditions. Farmers' perceptions of erosion are compared to the surveyor's using kappa, a statistical measure of interrater agreement. Perceived erosion–yield relationships are estimated econometrically and compared to experimental and simulated data. Effects on land values and conservation investments are estimated econometrically. Findings suggest that farmers are keenly aware of rill erosion but less aware of sheet erosion; kappa values ranging from 0 to 0·28 suggest low agreement with the soil surveyor. They anticipate annual yield losses of 5·8–11 per cent due to rill erosion; these figures are reasonably consistent with those from nearby research stations. They anticipate yield increases of 3·8–14·5 per cent due to installation of soil conservation bunds, largely because they can harvest soil from up the slope and capture organic matter. Perceived erosion has some effect on land values and soil conservation investments, but other factors such as irrigation and soil type have a much greater effect. These findings suggest that promoting soil conservation requires capitalizing on farmers' interest in short‐term gains, such as from water and nutrient management. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reducing runoff by managing crop location at the catchment level,considering agronomic constraints at farm level

Runoff and erosion cause frequent damage through muddy floods in the loess belt of Northern Europe. One possibility for reducing damage is to lower runoff on agricultural land by spatially alternating different crops at the catchment level. But crop location results from decisions taken at the farm level. This study aimed to assess the existing leeway to modify crop location in the farms of a catchment, in order to reduce runoff at the catchment's outlet. The case study was the Bourville catchment (1086 ha), cultivated by 28 farmers and located in Pays de Caux, France. First, crop location rules in the 14 main farms of the catchment were analysed on the basis of surveys carried out with farmers, distinguishing spatial constraints from temporal ones. These rules made it possible to simulate crop location on each farm territory for the 2001–2002 crop year. Each field of the catchment was classified depending on whether one or several crops could be sown, taking into account both field history and farmer decision rules. Then two extreme scenarios of crop location in the Bourville catchment were built. Runoff simulation at the outlet with the STREAM model showed that runoff could be reduced while sticking to current farmer decision rules in terms of crop location. Depending on rainfall event characteristics, runoff reduction varied between 13·5 per cent and 4·5 per cent. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil conservation policy measures to control wind erosion in northwestern Europe

Wind erosion is not as significant or a widespread problem in Europe as in dryer parts of the world, but it can cause major damage in small areas. The hazard is greatest in the lowlands of northwestern Europe with more than 3 million ha at high-potential wind erosion risk. Crop damage and off-site damage have prompted farmers and policymakers to pay more attention to wind erosion control. A great variety of measures have been developed in the last decades. Most farmers, however, only use measures to protect their high value crops. In existing policies, little attention is paid to the off-site effects and long-term effects of wind erosion. There are no direct policy measures at a European level to control soil erosion, and few measures exist in individual Member States. Agricultural or environmental EC policies offer different policy tools to approach the wind erosion problems related to agricultural practices. Tools like subsidies for the re-afforestation of arable land can help regional policy makers with the implementation of wind erosion control measures. A case study concerning the ‘Code of Good Agricultural Practice’ shows that regional differences result in different control measures that fits best given the physical, social and economic context. The formulation of the practical details of such code should therefore remain a task of the local or regional government. The main objectives of a Code of Good Agricultural Practice could be formulated at national or European level.     

Scientific evaluation of smallholder land use knowledge in Central Kenya

The following study was conducted to determine smallholders' land use management practices and agricultural indicators of soil quality within farmers' fields in Chuka and Gachoka divisions in Kenya's Central Highlands. Data on cropping practices and soil indicators were collected from farmers through face‐to‐face interviews and field examinations. Farmers characterised their fields into high and low fertility plots, after which soils were geo‐referenced and sampled at surface depth (0–20 cm) for subsequent physical and chemical analyses. Farmers' indicators for distinguishing productive and non‐productive fields included crop yield, crop performance and weed species. Soils that were characterised as fertile, had significantly higher chemical characteristics than the fields that were of poor quality. Fertile soils had significantly higher pH, total organic carbon, exchangeable cations and available nitrogen. Factor analysis identified four main factors that explained 76 per cent of the total variance in soil quality. The factors were connected with farmers' soil assessment indicators and main soil processes that influenced soil quality in Central Kenya. Soil fertility and crop management practices that were investigated indicated that farmers understood and consequently utilised spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability in soil quality status within their farms to maintain and enhance agricultural productivity. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Fallow Band System,” a land management practice for controlling desertification and improving crop production in the Sahel,West Africa. 1. Effectiveness in desertification control and soil fertility improvement

Wind erosion is a major contributor to desertification in the Sahel. Although three effective countermeasures for wind erosion (i.e. ridging, mulching with post-harvest crop residue, and windbreaks) have been proposed, they are not practical for Sahelian farmers. Therefore, we designed a new land management practice, termed the “Fallow Band System,” which can be used for both controlling wind erosion and improving soil fertility and crop production. This method does not impose additional expense and labor requirements on Sahelian farmers who are economically challenged and have limited manpower. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of this system on wind-erosion control and soil-fertility improvement. We conducted field experiments at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics West and Central Africa and showed that (i) a fallow band can capture 74% of wind-blown soil particles and 58% of wind-blown coarse organic matter, which suggests that it can effectively control wind erosion, (ii) the amount of soil nutrients available for crops in a former fallow band was increased by the decomposition of trapped soil materials containing considerable amounts of nutrients, and (iii) the amount of soil water available for crops in a former fallow band was increased by the trapped wind-blown soil materials through improvement of rainwater infiltration into surface soil. These results lead to the conclusion that the “Fallow Band System” can be useful for preventing desertification and improving soil fertility in the Sahel, West Africa.     

A systematic review of soil erosion control practices on the agricultural land in Asia

Soil is the basis of production in agriculture activities. The combination of intensive farming activities, improper farming practices, rainfall regimes, and topography conditions that taken place in agricultural land lead to the soil erosion problem. Soil erosion is the major constraint to agriculture that affects the yield production and degraded environmental sustainability. Furthermore, soil erosion that occurs in the agricultural area has jeopardized the sustainability of agriculture activities. Asia is one of the major agricultural producers in the world. It is essential to know how to mitigate soil erosion in Asian agricultural land. This systematic review aims to analyze the existing literature on research that has been done on control practices that had been taken in Asia agricultural land towards soil erosion. This article is guided by the PRISMA Statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis) review method. The authors systematically reviewed the literature to study the control practices that been taken and tested to control soil erosion on the agricultural land in Asia. Accordingly, this systematic review identified 39 related studies about the topic based on the Web of Science and Scopus databases. This article divided the control practices into three main themes, which are agronomic practices, agrostological practices, and mechanical practices. The three main themes then produced a total of 11 sub-themes. Further specific and sustained research is needed to tackle this severe environmental problem through a better method, such as this systematic review method. The systematic review helps farmers and policymakers to implement the most practical approach to control and reduce soil erosion.     

On‐site and off‐site effects of wind erosion on European light soils

In intensively cultivated areas with light soils in Europe, wind erosion can have important on‐site and off‐site effects. In the framework of the EU research project Wind Erosion and European Light Soils (WEELS), an assessment has been made of these effects and of the order of magnitude of the damage and costs caused by these effects. An analysis is made of the land use and cropping in four selected sites, and farmers have provided information about the damage of wind erosion. This damage consists mainly of crop losses and additional inputs in the case of resowing. Detailed information from one of these sites shows that depending on the crop the average annual on‐site costs in high‐risk areas amount to about €60 per hectare. However, for sugar beet and oilseed rape the costs can be once in five years as much as €500 per hectare. Farmers are generally well aware of the erosion risk and do apply a variety of control measures. With these measures the average annual costs of wind erosion can be reduced significantly. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Farmers' knowledge and perceptions of soil erosion and conservation measures in the Central Highlands,Kenya

A lack of appreciation of Kenyan farmers' knowledge and their perceptions of soil erosion and soil conservation measures was the reason for low adoption of recommended technologies. This research was carried out to identify the criteria that farmers used to distinguish farm‐types and to use these types to evaluate different knowledge levels and perceptions of soil erosion and existing soil and water conservation (SWC) measures in the Central Highlands of Kenya. Community meetings and semi‐structured household surveys were carried out in a small catchment, with 120 households. Results partly support the idea of using farmer‐developed criteria to distinguish among land managers with reference to a farm‐type classification. Criteria distinguishing three classes of land managers (good, moderate and poor) were significant with regard to the following land husbandry practices: use of hybrid or recycled seed and use of organic and/or inorganic fertilizers. Farmers were aware of on‐going soil erosion and of several erosion control measures. Whereas a majority of farmers preferred grass‐strips as a SWC measures, they did not recognize agroforestry as a form of SWC measure. Farmers perceived that SWC measures could successfully increase crop yields and soil‐water retention, and increase land value. In general, farmers did not perceive that SWC measures successfully prevented erosion phenomena, given the evidence of on‐site erosion indicators. They attributed the continued erosion to high rainfall, steep slopes, lack of maintenance and poorly designed SWC measures. They did not consider poor soil‐cover, up‐down tillage and tall trees to be the causes of erosion. Farmers faced several constraints in adopting SWC measures: lack of labour, tools, capital and know‐how to construct the measures. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Soil acidity under multiple land-uses: assessment of perceived causes and indicators,and nutrient dynamics in small-holders’ mixed-farming system of northwest Ethiopia

Knowledge on farmers’ perspectives is of paramount importance in order to design appropriate agricultural research and development interventions attuned to local farming systems. A participatory rural appraisal was conducted in order to understand perceived causes and indicators of soil acidity under multiple land-uses in three Districts of northwest Ethiopia. Soil samples were also collected from five dominant land-uses. The samples were analysed for soil pH, exchangeable acidity and other physico-chemical properties. The result indicated that the pH_(H2O) of most of the soils in the study sites were in a strongly acidic range (4.6–5.5). Gashena Akayita of the Banja District was the most acidic of all. Among the land-uses, eucalyptus fields were the most acidic followed by crop outfields and grazing lands in that order. At all the study sites, exchangeable Al was detected in soils having a pH of less than 5.0. Overall, the nutrient dynamics showed variation across land-uses and study sites. Farmers’ perceived causes of soil acidity included: soil erosion; contending use of fertility replenishing local resources; abandoning traditional fertility management practices and minimal use of external inputs. The farmers attributed the exclusive use of acid-forming inorganic fertilizers to exhaustion of the soil. Various land and soil characteristics, plant growth attributes, changes in genetic diversity were mentioned as indicators of soil acidity. Particularly, the farmers used prevalence of acidophilic weed species on crop fields and grazing lands as marker of strongly acidic soil. Farmers’ perceived causes and indicators were in agreement with scientific facts and can be utilized as input in designing sustainable acid soil management strategies. Decline in genetic diversity of the once widespread crop species and land races, and expansion of newly introduced soil acidity tolerant species, suggests the need to undertake rescue collections in these areas.     

土壤风蚀方程应用初探

<正> 土壤风蚀方程自1965年由美国学者伍德拉弗(N .P .Woodruff)和西多威(F.H.Siddoway)提出来以后,已经过多次改进和不断完善。目前,该方程已在欧美许多国家的土壤风蚀预报、风蚀防治措施设计、土壤风蚀图的绘制以及大气污染的研究等方面得到了广泛的应用。     

Nutrient dynamics—wind and water erosion at the village scale in the Sahel

The loss of nutrients by wind erosion is generally attributed to losses by suspension, since suspension selectively removes the finest particles. However, because the main mass of sediment is moved by saltation during an event, the main mass of nutrients is also moved by saltation. Nutrient losses from one field during one wind erosion event can be as high as 73 per cent of the N and 100 per cent of the P needs for crop production. Vegetated areas have a higher dust deposition because of the filtering effect of the vegetation and the reduction of drag forces causing a higher deposition. This refutes the general assumption that deposition of suspended dust is homogeneous for a larger area. In the Sahel, two types of dust can be distinguished, the Harmattan dust is richer in nutrients and regarded as a real input of nutrients. The convectional storm dust has a nutrient content comparable with the nutrient content of the dust fraction of the topsoil and can't be regarded as input of nutrients. From research on nutrient losses by water erosion at the plot scale, it is concluded that nutrient erosion by water can cause serious losses of nutrients. But at the village scale, the losses are considerably smaller than at the plot scale. Measurement and subsequent nutrient budget analyses around the village Dangadé in Burkina Faso indicated that this area is especially vulnerable for wind erosion by saltation transport. This demonstrates that in the Sahelian environment, the effect of wind erosion at the village scale can't be ignored. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Farmers' perception of environmental degradation and their adoption of improved management practices in Alxa,China

The environment and the natural resource base have been severely degraded in Alxa League, western Inner Mongolia, China, over the past half‐century. This study reports surveys that reveal farmers' perceptions of environmental degradation and their adoption of improved management practices in this poor and remote desert region. Surveys were made in villages that had been engaged in a large environmental rehabilitation and management project [Alxa League environmental rehabilitation and management project (ALERMP)] and those that had not. The survey results showed that farmers perceived environmental degradation in terms of increased frequency and severity of sandstorms, movement of sand dunes, deterioration of pasture quality and declines in groundwater depth and quality. Farmers had low adoption rates for improved management practices, ranging from zero to a maximum of 28·5 per cent for the most adopted practice. A Tobit model analysis showed that the education level of farmers, the availability of extension services and whether farmers had participated in ALERMP were highly significantly correlated with the farmers' perception of degradation. The farmers' adoption of improved management practices was found to be significantly correlated only with whether they had participated in ALERMP. This shows that specific extension activities of the type possible in large and well‐funded projects are required if farmers are to recognise degradation and adopt improved management practices. The promotion of farmer education and strengthening of extension services are recommended as the best policy strategies for improving environmental management in this region. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From experimental research to an on‐farm tool for participatory monitoring and evaluation: an assessment of soil erosion risk in organic olive orchards

The conservation of soil in agricultural systems prone to erosion can occur as a result of conscientious soil management practices by individual farmers. Although soil is one of the world's most important and highly threatened natural resources, and should be among the top priorities in organic agriculture, soil management practices and the effect of those practices on erosion risk are rarely, if ever, taken into account as a part of organic certification. In order to fulfil the need for a tool to monitor soil erosion in organic olive orchards in Southern Spain, we have developed a methodology that assesses erosion risk through an easy to use, illustrated erosion risk field manual to be used by farmers, inspectors for certifying agencies and field technicians. The methodology developed for the assessment is based on a simplified version of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), combined with an evaluation of key visual symptoms of soil erosion. The methodology is described, and the results from use of the assessment in the field and in workshops with farmers are presented. The potential for use of the methodology for other crops and in other regions is discussed and also the future relevance of farmer‐oriented tools in the context of changing regulations within the common agricultural policy of the European Union. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Upland Farming System Erosion Yields and Their Constraints to Change for Sustainable Agricultural Conservation Practices: A Case Study of Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) Change in Indonesia

In the upper catchments of Southeast Asia, land use change from forest to agricultural systems generated land degradation and conflicts between uplanders and lowlanders. More sustainable cropping systems are proposed to upper‐catchment farmers. Grass fodder strip (GFS) is an effective anti‐erosion practice, and it involves lower costs for farmers. However, labour and cash constraints are sometimes preventing farmers to implement it. To evaluate farms' current impact and adaptation capacities, we need a comprehensive understanding of farm and farm household characteristics that influence their activities. This paper proposes an approach that combines farm household surveys and modelling of farm erosion yield to help project planners and policy makers to identify such farmers in a data‐scarce environment. We developed two farm typologies—one based on both farm and farm household characteristics and one based on their erosion yield and constraints. We calculated erosion yields on plot level by using revised universal soil loss equation method and identified their constraints. We found that a typology based on farm constraints and calculated farm erosion was a good complement to identify farmers who are generating the highest erosion yields and would be able to change their production systems. This methodology is mainly useful at the beginning of conservation projects, when very few hard data are available. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

吉林省西部地区的风蚀灾害和防治措施

吉林省西部地区风沙很大。其中主要的12个县市,解放后经过多年努力,已治理风蚀面积约44.4万公顷,占原风蚀面积的82%。这对减轻该区的风沙危害,改善生态环境和提高农业生产水平,都起了重要的作用。不幸的是,这个地区经历了3年经济困难时期的破坏,长期“左”倾错误的折腾和十年内乱的干扰,使风蚀面积从解放初期的54.2万公顷剧增到近几年的140多万公顷。除去前两年停耕严重风蚀地近22万公顷外,还有亟待治理的沙荒面积119.5万公顷。这些风蚀面积,多数是流动沙丘。它们每年以20米的速度向村镇涌进。许多庄户人家的庭院内堆沙1米多高,掩埋了大门。由于“三料”奇缺,当地居民生活非常穷困。主要治理措施如下: 1、合理利用土地,改广种薄收为精耕细作; 2、大力植树种草,积极发展农村能源,全面防治风沙危害,有效地改善生态环境; 3、推广户包治理,认真落实政策,提高防治风沙的效益,加快治理风沙速度。