What is land degradation and how much agricultural land is. Although both pathways can potentially reduce human and animal drudgery, the body of. Land degradation caused by erosion and nutrient depletion in the andes poses serious existential threats to small. The keyline must be established to meet the minimum and maximum row grades required by the criteria. Broadly categorizing there are two methods of soil conservation. An understanding of how to maintain healthy soil is essential to reverse and prevent land degradation. The equipment employed in land farming is typical of that used in agricultural operations. Strategies for improved soil and water conservation. Climatesmart agriculture csa is an alternative approach to managing land sustainably while increasing agricultural productivity. Land degradation caused by agriculture takes many forms and has many causes. Causes and impacts of land degradation and desertification.
Many impact studies point to severe crop yield reductions in the next decades without strong adaptation measures particularly in subsaharan africa and south asia, where rural households are highly dependent on agriculture and farming. Pdf allocation of degraded hillsides to landless farmers. Landfarming, also known as land treatment or land application, is an aboveground remediation technology for soils that reduces concentrations of petroleum constituents through biodegradation. The principal constraints which have hampered development are steeply sloping terrain, application of inappropriate soil conservation measures, and the cessation of direct funding associated with the demise of the former yallahs valley land authority. The topsoil is then more easily eroded by wind or rain. Contaminated soils, sediments, or sludges are transported to the landfarming site, incorporated into the soil surface and periodically turned over to aerate the mixture. Contour farming consists of plowing sideways across a hillside, perpendicular to the hills slope. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods. For reasons outlined above, poor farmers are led to clear forest, cultivate steep slopes without conservation, overgraze rangelands, make unbalanced fertilizer applications, and the other causes noted above.
Terrace farming is used for rice, barley and wheat in east and southeast asia and is a key part of the agricultural system. The keyline is typically laid out on the most uniform area of the hillside slope segment to be protected. Emanated from increasing land degradation, landlessness and poverty, local farmers were at the forefront to respond land degradation. Live barriers and associated organic amendments mitigate land. Land degradation soil erosion and desertification are the physical expressions of land degradation, while the social and economic impacts are degraded lifestyles and pernicious poverty. If youre cutting trees, the stumps can be used to make log barriers. Land degradation and hillside farming in the fall river basin, jamaica. Land degradation as the land use section earlier in this chapter shows, demands on the land for economic development and pressures from a burgeoning population are leading to unprecedented land use change. Land degradation can be defined in several ways depending upon the subject that needs to be emphasized. Sustainability free fulltext responsible agricultural.
However, despite the prospect of land degradation, not every farmer cultivating on unleveled ground will practice soil and water conservation swc technologies. These concerns are linked to overuse or misuse of the natural resources base. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable. Potential environmental consequences span from famine and water pollution to reductions in biodiversity and ecosystem efficiency. How to evaluate alternative cleanup technologies for. Pdf on mar 1, 20, hailemariam meaza and others published impact of degraded hillside plantation on the livelihoods of landpoor farmers in tigray, ethiopia find, read and cite all the. Hillside farming a growing practice lead stories jamaica. Land degradation and hillside farming in the fall river basin.
This extension of agriculture and increased logging of rainforests has caused considerable erosion but there is a lack of quantitative information. Landfarming commonly uses a clay or composite liner to intercept leaching contaminants and. The decision to strive to achieve a landdegradation neutral world in the context of sustainable. Assessment of linkages between population dynamics and.
Katie spring owns and operates good heart farmstead with her husband edge fuentes in worcester, vt. Factors influencing the adoption of soil and water. Keywords bench terraces soil erosion control hillside farming landscape restoration soil fertility status soil nutrient enrichment introduction land degradation caused by soil erosion is one of the most serious environmental problems affecting resourcepoor tropical hillside farmers budry and curtis 2007. The following are the research question of the study. This has resulted in degradation of the landscape in the area. Jun 01, 2016 major causes of land degradation greentumble soil degradation june 1, 2016 whether it is through building homes and settlements, the cultivation of crops, the harvesting of plants for food, medicine, fiber, or fuel, or by setting fires to the landscape for hunting purposes, humans have always influenced the landscape around them. Raizada 7 1 school of environmental design and rural development. Despite its complex climatic and topographic setting, the country. Generally, lack of security of land tenure, power, wealth and greed may cause land degradation amidst institutional and market failure and further result in creation of poverty. Many landless people depended on the remnants of communal hillside forest patches by selling firewood and charcoal, timbering, traditional mining, cutting tree branches and. Plants prevent wind and water erosion by covering the soil and binding the soil with their roots. The condition of the soil is one of the best indicators of land degradation.
Live barriers and associated organic amendments mitigate land degradation and improve crop productivity in hillside agricultural systems of the ecuadorian andes. Landfarming is an exsitu waste treatment process that is performed in the upper soil zone or in biotreatment cells. Chapter 6 causes of land degradation food and agriculture. Although both pathways can potentially reduce human and animal drudgery. These land farming activities cultivate and enhance microbial degradation of hazardous compounds. Hillsides, in contrast, can bring a range of challenges for the farmer. The miniature version of hillside farming, displayed in the kingston and st andrew parish pavilion, demonstrated the creative use of tree stumps, old tyres and stones. Hillside conservation agriculture for improving land and. Almost all farming methods increase the rate of soil erosion.
Live barriers and associated organic amendments mitigate. This technology usually involves spreading excavated contaminated soils in a thin layer on the ground surface and stimulating aerobic microbial. The asian rural life development program has developed an erosion control technique that is both easier and less expensive to implement than the traditional methods. Mcgregor centre for developing areas research, department of geography, royal holloway and bedford new college, egham hill, egham, surrey tw20 oex, uk and david barker department of geography, university of the west indies, mona, kingston 7, jamaica, wi abstract the. Healthy soil carries a good plant cover and enables rain. Mcgregor centre for developing areas research, department of geography, royal holloway and bedford new college, egham hill, egham, surrey tw20 oex, uk and david barker department of geography, university of the west indies, mona, kingston 7. Farmers plant trees and grass to cover and bind the soil. The benefits of hillside farming high mowing organic non. The areas between 1 500 to 4 000 m above sea level are characterised by a multitude of microclimates and low productivity associated with soil erosion and declining soil fertility. While the potential of hedgerows to decrease water erosion is well recognised, their potential dual. Soil degradation is, in itself, an indicator of land degradation. Contour farming reduces erosion on gently sloping hillsides.
Some of the most important types of land degradation and those that we will focus on include. This case study explores factors involved with the adoption of swc technologies within. For example, plowing loosens topsoil and removes plants that hold the soil in place. The best choice of plants to prevent soil erosion are herbs, wild flowers and small trees. Mining was a primary activity that has competed with farming in the area. Normally, the land will possess a vegetational cover so as to prevent. Applied geography 1991, il, 143156 land degradation and hillside farming in the fall river basin, jamaica duncan f. The overall objectives of tbe project are to generate basic knowledge on soil degradation and erosion processes of andean inceptisols and develop conservation.
Based on their own initiative, farmers recommended to respective village councils to allocate the degraded hillsides to landless and nearlylandless farmers for tree planting. Hillside conservation agriculture for improving land and water productivity in tanzania t anzania has a total area of 945,000 km2 mari, 2006. Smallholder farmers are the primary losers since they lack ability to diversify. The livelihood effects of landless people through communal. The time that land is left in natural fallow has steadily declined as more land. Dec 09, 2015 the use of terraces help to prevent erosion and soil runoff, something that would be an immediate result of trying to till a hillside into farmland without using terraced steps. Land degradation land degradationhappens when human activity or natural processes damage the land so that it can no longer support the local. This technology is known as salt sloping land agricultural technology. The lower third of the slope segment is generally the most uniform landform.
The effects of erosion include land degradation and decreased productivity, sediment deposition in rivers with subsequent increase in. Prime agricultural soils are often found in floodplain, where the land is nutrientrich and fertile. As a rule of thumb, the higher the molecular weight i. The role of climatesmart agriculture in addressing land. The result is a loss of land productivity with impacts on livelihoods and the. Ethiopia where land degradation is the major reason for low level of land productivity and devoid of vegetation hengsdijk et al. Landfarming, also known as land treatment or land application, is an\r\naboveground remediation technology for soils that reduces\r\nconcentrations of petroleum constituents through biodegradation. Cause of land degradation and its impacts on livelihoods of. Pdf on mar 1, 20, hailemariam meaza and others published impact of degraded hillside plantation on the livelihoods of landpoor farmers in tigray, ethiopia. Strategies for improved soil and water conservation practices. The contemporary geomorphological and agricultural status of the fall river catchment, jamaica, is examined.
A general definition of land degradation is presented by wasson 1987 as. Its inland lakes cover 59,000 km2 6% of total area and the remaining land covers 886,000 km2 94% of total area. Agricultural mechanization in developing countries has taken at least two contested innovation pathwaysthe incumbent trajectory that promotes industrial agriculture, and an alternative pathway that supports smallscale mechanization for sustainable development of hillside farming systems. Desertification has been defined as land degradation in arid, semiarid, and dry subhumid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities11. Furthermore, cropping systems utilized by small, poor and often parttime farmers reflect shortterm economic goals which are not necessarily environmentally. The plowed furrows follow the contours of the land, and the downhill side of each furrow acts as a dam that catches soil before it is carried. These hillside soils were particularly susceptible to erosion when cleared for farming. Shortterm effects of bench terraces on selected soil. Responsible agricultural mechanization innovation for the. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the physical environment is affected by a. Land cover change, landscape degradation, and restoration along a railway line in the amazon biome, brazil. Land degradation is a change to land that makes it less useful for human beings.
In turn, unsustainable land use is driving land degradation. The biological measures are again divided into agronomic, agrostilogical and dry farming we shall study these measures in some detail. What is land degradation and how much agricultural land. Soil degradation and erop productivity research for conservation technology development in andean hillside farming objective of researcb. Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of humaninduced processes acting upon the land. Sapphire and other minerals such as corundum, zircon, ruby and garnet were the minerals mined in the area. Land degradation is a major problem in many areas of tanzania. Land degradation and hillside farming in the fall river. Soil degradation and crop productivity research for. The soil integrates a variety of important processes involving vegetation growth, overland flow of water, infiltration, land use and land management. The benefits of hillside farming katie spring owns and operates good heart farmstead with her husband edge fuentes in worcester, vt. Soil degradation is the inability of soil to support the growth of crops. Of the total, 25% of land area is highly degraded, 8% moderately or slightly degraded, 36% stable and 10% improving faostate of the worlds land and water resources for food and agriculture. This agricultural problem could detrimentally impact our food and water supplies as well as the general sustenance of life.
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