Farmers’ local knowledge and topsoil properties of agroforestry practices in Sidama,Southern Ethiopia |
| |
Authors: | Zebene Asfaw Göran I Ågren |
| |
Institution: | (1) Wondo Genet College of Forestry, P. O. Box 128, Shashamene, Ethiopia;(2) Department of Ecology and Environmental Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P. O. Box 7072, Uppsala, 750 07, Sweden |
| |
Abstract: | Based on farmers’ knowledge and laboratory studies, the nutrient accumulation in the topsoil (0–20 cm) under Cordia africana Lam (Cordia), Millettia ferruginea Hochst (Millettia) and Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnhardt (Red gum) managed under two agroforestry practices on different farms at three sites was evaluated. The number
of these trees on individual farms has increased during the last two decades. The number of stems ha−1 of Red gum was higher on farms of wealthier households than on farms of poor and medium households at two of the sites, but,
at one site the number of stems ha−1 on farms of poor households was higher than on farms of wealthier households. Apart from the concentration of Na in the topsoil,
there were significant variations in the analysed soil nutrients between the tree species. At all study sites, significantly
higher concentration of P was observed under Millettia and Cordia than under Red gum. At one site, concentrations of available
P under Cordia were nearly two-fold, and four and half-fold greater than under Millettia and Red gum, respectively. At one
site, total N under Red gum was 14% and 24% lower than under Cordia and Millettia, respectively. In contrast, organic C content
under Red gum was 11.6% greater than under Millettia and 23.8% greater than under Cordia. The pH under Millettia and Cordia
were significantly higher than concentrations under Red gum at one site. Topsoil under Millettia and Cordia also had significantly higher levels of exchangeable Ca and Mg than Red gum. |
| |
Keywords: | Cordia africana Eucalyptus camaldulensis Farmers’ knowledge Enset fields Households Millettia ferruginea Traditional agroforestry |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|