The role of Enset (Enset vetricosum (Welw.) in Soil rehabilitation
The rehabilitation of degraded soil and water resources will be critical in meeting future global food demand in the context of future climate variability and in addressing associated negative impacts on the environment that are a consequence of current agricultural systems. At the global level, combating soil degradation (soil rehabilitation) will help offset greenhouse gas emissions, provide a better environment, guarantee more food to an increasing population, and contribute to the economic progress of future generations. However, in Ethiopia there is practice of rehabilitating the degraded low-potential areas mainly by construction of physical soil and water conservation
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It indicates that enset cultivation is sustainable system with regard to maintain soil fertility significantly higher in the enset field. This might be due to the materials added to the soil from the plant parts and organic farming (application of manure and domestic waste). Enset has highly degradable parts such as leaf midribs; pseudo stem sheath, Pseudostem core/ which are used to maintain soil fertility. Any practice of cultivating enset could improve soil structure. However, in some cases these improvements may not be sustainable at the time of scraping it, because of labor movement which may compress the soil. Enset can reduce soil erosion and land degradation. The root system and non-fertilizer cultivation are other important characteristics to protect soil erosion and land degradation. Some farmers cultivate enset in the face of flood and drain it in to enset farm in order to reduce further soil erosion (Chakoro Tamire, Mekuria Argaw). According (Chakoro Tamire, Mekuria Argaw(2015)) Soil laboratory analysis result revealed that enset field had significantly (p<0.05) higher level of TN (0.3%), OC (3.6%), Av. P (66.7ppm) and lower level of BD (1.2) than annual crop fields. Laboratory analysis of soil has shown that an average size of clay, silt and sand fraction under enset cultivation was 31.2%, 49.3% and 19.5%, respectively, while in the annual crop land the proportion of clay, silt and sand were 37.5%, 40.3% and 22.2%, respectively. The overall output from the research showed that enset has contribution in environmental rehabilitation (Chakoro Tamire,
“Clearing a rain forest to plant annuals is like stripping an animal first of its fur, then its skin. The land howls. Annual crops fly on a wing and a prayer. And even if you manage to get a harvest, why, you need roads to take it out! Take one trip overland here and you'll know forever that a road in the jungle is a sweet, flat, impossible dream. The soil falls apart. The earth melts into red gashes like the mouths of whales. Fungi and vines throw a blanket over the face of the dead land. It's simple, really. Central Africa is a rowdy society of flora and fauna that have managed to balance together on a trembling geologic plate for ten million years: when you clear off part of the plate, the whole slides into ruin… To be here without doing everything wrong requires a new agriculture, a new sort of planning, a new religion” (524-525).
Somalia is one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries (Campbell). Because of the Civil War, which broke out in 1991, much of Somalia’s economy has been devastated. The war left many homeless and drove them to raise livestock as a means of survival. The economy used to be based on exports of cattle, goats, and bananas but as of early 1992 much of the economic trade had come to a halt. Now the economy is primarily based on the raising of livestock, which accounts for 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Alhaus). Due to overgrazing, soil erosion, and the clearing away of many trees, Somalia has very few natural resources, which have not been exploited.
Desert pavements are common landforms in arid regions. They consist of flat or sloping surfaces where stones are closely packed angular or rounded, and generally exhibit low relief (Mabbutt, 1977). Pavements tend to form on both alluvial fan toposequences and on weathering volcanic flow fields in arid regions. Soils are often found under desert pavements and they play an important role in the evolution of pavements (McFadden et. al., 1987). In the past there have been several theories as to the formation pavements and soil development beneath them. Deflation, or the erosion of finer grained particles from a surface, stone concentration by wash erosion and upward displacement of stone due to shrink and swell clay characteristics were at one time believed to be the main factors in the formation of desert pavements (Mabbutt, 1977). However, more recent research has shown that desert pavements are born and maintained at the surface, and that the soil below them is mainly eolian in origin. Slow accretion of eolian dust below the pavement is a process that eventually develops cumulate horizons. Eolian dust in environments where pavements often develop is rich in carbonate salts and clays due to the fact it often originates from nearby playa lake evaporate basins (McFadden et. al., 1987). Soils that form below the pavements over time develop calcic horizons and clay rich structure due to the influx of these eolian fines through the pavement surface. In turn the development of mature or plugged calcic horizons effects the form of the pavement surface because it alters the water drainage infiltration rate and causes pavements to decline.
Envirofit, in their effort to reduce indoor air pollution (IAP) in India via low emission cookstoves, faced a number of challenges between from 2007-2011 leading up to the meeting on April 2, 2011 between Harish Anchan and Envirofit’s Board. In the following, three large challenges will be examined to lead into the one small challenge which I posit is holding back revenue. From this a recommendation will be made for what Mr. Anchan should do to increase sales.
There are now many conservation programs and measures. “A lot of people in agriculture here recognize that the programs implemented as a result of the Dust Bowl are having a really important effect on holding the soil in place,” ("When the Dust Settled") People in agriculture have listened to programs implemented since the Dust Bowl. They have changed
Traditional agriculture requires massive forest and grassland removal to obtain land necessary to farm on. Deforestation and overgrazing has caused erosion flooding, and enabled the expansion of deserts. But with drainage systems, leveling, and irrigation provided by the Green Rev, all this terra deforming will unlikely happen again. We can retain clean air and lessen the global warming effect caused by deforestation.Many people argue that a revamp in agriculture will be way too expensive and unrealistic especially for those poor farmers in third world countries. However many times, they exaggerate the price.
Environmental conservancy efforts protect the environment and provide farmers with ways we can contribute to restore the productivity of farms and by reducing pollution. The article describes why it is important to plant trees. It is believed that planting trees on the grassland may result in the destruction of the land since it affects soil’s ability to store nutrients (Vence, 2016). As mentioned before, scientific research is needed to study activities regarding environment conservation so that we do not cause more damage, even though we started with good
In order to understand how desertification is in relation to the world, it must be defined first. To be completely clear, desertification is the process of fertile grasslands becoming unusable desert because of natural causes and poor land use (Collins). This is a widely recognized problem since it is happening so rapidly around the world, not to mention it affects so many people. The numbers are astonishing. Worldwide, two billion people suffer the consequences of desertification (Roos). Not only that, but according to Bogumil Terminski, “Desertification of soils appears to be one of the fundamental causes of hunger in many regions of the world” (Current Dynamics). More deserts equals less land area to plant crops and tend animals. This creates a problem with food shortages in certain areas of the world. Roughly twenty-fou...
Much of Ethiopia is covered by highlands, plateaus and mountains and with this country’s climate is categorized as primarily H with some subcategories of B on the Köppen system (Attoh). The Western Highlands and Eastern Highlands that consume most of Ethiopia are dissected by the Eastern Rift Valley that slices through from the northeast to the southwest. The highlands here are classified as H climates which means that they experience temperate climates and dry winters. The highlands here can receive up to 80 inches of rainfall a year and average temperatures in the low 60s F (Brittanica.com). Attoh classifi...
Take, for example, that livestock agriculture and the plant-based agriculture specifically used for feeding that livestock utilizes 30 percent of land on Earth. With crops in high demand to feed the many animals that are slaughtered or otherwise used by humans, it's been found that the soil has lost a great deal of its nutritional value and has eroded to the point that, in the United States, nearly 33 percent of topsoil is diminished.
Put simply, alternative farming is an agricultural system that seeks for techniques to achieve crops yields while respecting natural life-cycle systems. Different from the conventional farming methods, alternative farming’s farmers do not only use the basic farming methods but as well combining them with modern scientific knowledge, along with all the materials that are available. (HDRA, What is Alternative Farming). For plants, grains specifically, they need water and nutrients from soil to develop. Therefore, building good soil structure and plant fertility can assuage the food crisis by helping plants grow rapidly while making sure the products maintain high quality. By composing the already supplied material such as leaves, fruit skin to make composer, farmers already save a good amount of money for other purposes, s...
Agriculture also leads to soil erosion, both through rainfall and wind. This soil can damage the aquatic ecosystems it ends up in, an...
Soils may be formed in place from rock or formed in weathered rock and minerals that have been transported from where the original rock occurred. Soils may be formed in place from rock or formed in weathered rock and minerals that have been transported from where the original rock occurred. are natural media for the growth of plants. They are mixtures of fragmented and partly or wholly weathered rocks and minerals, organic matter, water, and air, in greatly varying proportions, and live more or less distinct layers or horizons developed under the influence of climate and living organisms.
Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good