Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders' farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices

Soil organic carbon plays a key role in plant biomass production. On smallholder farms, crop and livestock are traditionally integrated and support each other. However, due to changes in socio-economic factors, this relationship is lost as resources are mismanaged. The present study was conducted in...

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Main Authors: Alemayehu, N., Masafu, M.M., Tegegne, Azage
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Academic Journals 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99451
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author Alemayehu, N.
Masafu, M.M.
Tegegne, Azage
author_browse Alemayehu, N.
Masafu, M.M.
Tegegne, Azage
author_facet Alemayehu, N.
Masafu, M.M.
Tegegne, Azage
author_sort Alemayehu, N.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Soil organic carbon plays a key role in plant biomass production. On smallholder farms, crop and livestock are traditionally integrated and support each other. However, due to changes in socio-economic factors, this relationship is lost as resources are mismanaged. The present study was conducted in the Central Ethiopian highlands that represent about 90% of the country’s smallholder farmers. The objective of this study was to quantify soil organic carbon in different agricultural management systems and to document the contribution of livestock to carbon storage. The study included a socio-economic survey and soil laboratory analysis. Results showed that different land uses and conservation measures had various impacts on soil carbon addition and depletion. The comparison between different land uses showed that the highest soil organic carbon was found in grazing land (27%), followed by fenced-off land (2.59%) at 0 to 15 cm soil depth. It also showed that animal waste and farmyard manure added to soil had the highest amount of organic carbon (3.90 and 1.85%, respectively) at 0-15 cm soil depth. It was concluded that livestock waste, farmyard manure, and crop residues improved soil fertility and soil organic carbon in the top soil indicating that livestock and by-products made a significant contribution to carbon storage.
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spelling CGSpace994512024-10-03T07:40:51Z Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders' farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices Alemayehu, N. Masafu, M.M. Tegegne, Azage crops crop residues soil farming systems Soil organic carbon plays a key role in plant biomass production. On smallholder farms, crop and livestock are traditionally integrated and support each other. However, due to changes in socio-economic factors, this relationship is lost as resources are mismanaged. The present study was conducted in the Central Ethiopian highlands that represent about 90% of the country’s smallholder farmers. The objective of this study was to quantify soil organic carbon in different agricultural management systems and to document the contribution of livestock to carbon storage. The study included a socio-economic survey and soil laboratory analysis. Results showed that different land uses and conservation measures had various impacts on soil carbon addition and depletion. The comparison between different land uses showed that the highest soil organic carbon was found in grazing land (27%), followed by fenced-off land (2.59%) at 0 to 15 cm soil depth. It also showed that animal waste and farmyard manure added to soil had the highest amount of organic carbon (3.90 and 1.85%, respectively) at 0-15 cm soil depth. It was concluded that livestock waste, farmyard manure, and crop residues improved soil fertility and soil organic carbon in the top soil indicating that livestock and by-products made a significant contribution to carbon storage. 2018-03-15 2019-02-15T09:27:14Z 2019-02-15T09:27:14Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99451 en Open Access Academic Journals Alemayehu, N., Masafu, M.M. and Tegegne, A. 2018. Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders’ farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices. African Journal of Agricultural Research 13(12):588-595.
spellingShingle crops
crop residues
soil
farming systems
Alemayehu, N.
Masafu, M.M.
Tegegne, Azage
Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders' farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices
title Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders' farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices
title_full Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders' farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices
title_fullStr Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders' farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices
title_full_unstemmed Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders' farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices
title_short Addressing Soil organic carbon issues in smallholders' farms in Ethiopia: Impact of local land management practices
title_sort addressing soil organic carbon issues in smallholders farms in ethiopia impact of local land management practices
topic crops
crop residues
soil
farming systems
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99451
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AT tegegneazage addressingsoilorganiccarbonissuesinsmallholdersfarmsinethiopiaimpactoflocallandmanagementpractices