Water, Land and Ecosystems - Burundi

Potential for soil organic carbon sequestration in grasslands in East African countries: A review

Anonymous — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 11:37:41 +0000

TypeJournal Article

Languageen

Authors

Tessema, Bezaye
Sommer, Rolf
Piikki, Kristin
Söderström, Mats
Namirembe, Sara
Notenbaert, An Maria Omer
Tamene, Lulseged D.
Nyawira, Sylvia
Paul, Birthe K.

Grasslands occupy almost half of the world's land area. Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a key indicator of soil fertility and grassland productivity. Increasing SOC stocks (so‐called SOC sequestration) improves soil fertility and contributes to climate change mitigation by binding atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Grasslands constitute about 70% of all agricultural land, but their potential for SOC sequestration is largely unknown. This review paper quantitatively summarizes observation‐based studies on the SOC sequestration potential of grasslands in six East African countries (Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda) and seeks to identify knowledge gaps related to SOC sequestration potential in the region. In the studies reviewed, SOC stocks in grasslands range from 3 to 93 Mg C/ha in the upper 0.3 m of the soil profile, while SOC sequestration rate ranges from 0.1 to 3.1 Mg C ha‐1 year‐1 under different management strategies. Grazing management is reported to have a considerable impact on SOC sequestration rates, and grassland regeneration and protection are recommended as options to stimulate SOC sequestration. However, a very limited number of relevant studies are available (n = 23) and there is a need for fundamental information on SOC sequestration potential in the region. The effectiveness of potential incentive mechanisms, such as payments for environmental services, to foster uptake of SOC‐enhancing practices should also be assessed.

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Citation

Tessema, B.; Sommer, R.; Piikki, K.; Söderström, M.; Namirembe, S.; Notenbaert, A.M.; Tamene, L.; Nyawira, S.; Paul, B. (2020) Potential for soil organic carbon sequestration in grasslands in East African countries: A review. Grassland Science 10 p. ISSN: 1744-697X

Accessibility

Open Access

Research Themes

Restoring Degraded Landscapes

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/107070

Dilemma of nitrogen management for future food security in sub-Saharan Africa – a review

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2020 22:02:41 +0000

Regions

Middle Africa

TypeJournal Article

Languageen

Authors

Masso, C.
Baijukya, Frederick P.
Ebanyat, Peter
Bouaziz, S.
Wendt, J.
Bekunda, Mateete A.
Vanlauwe, Bernard

Food security entails having sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet dietary needs. The need to optimise nitrogen (N) use for nutrition security while minimising environmental risks in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is overdue. Challenges related to managing N use in SSA can be associated with both insufficient use and excessive loss, and thus the continent must address the ‘too little’ and ‘too much’ paradox. Too little N is used in food production (80% of countries have N deficiencies), which has led to chronic food insecurity and malnutrition. Conversely, too much N load in water bodies due mainly to soil erosion, leaching, limited N recovery from wastewater, and atmospheric deposition contributes to eutrophication (152 Gg N year–1 in Lake Victoria, East Africa). Limited research has been conducted to improve N use for food production and adoption remains low, mainly because farming is generally practiced by resource-poor smallholder farmers. In addition, little has been done to effectively address the ‘too much’ issues, as a consequence of limited research capacity. This research gap must be addressed, and supportive policies operationalised, to maximise N benefits, while also minimising pollution. Innovation platforms involving key stakeholders are required to address N use efficiency along the food supply chain in SSA, as well as other world regions with similar challenges.

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Citation

Masso, C., Baijukya, F., Ebanyat, P., Bouaziz, S., Wendt, J., Bekunda, M. & Vanlauwe, B. (2017). Dilemma of nitrogen management for future food security in sub-Saharan Africa–a review. Soil Research, 55(6), 425-434.

Accessibility

Open Access

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/10568/89021

Assessment and use of agricultural biodiversity for landscape and ecosystem restoration

Amanda — Tue, 10 Oct 2017 09:30:00 +0000

Intra-specific diversity of crops is one of the principle mechanisms used by small holder farmers in low input agricultural landscapes to maintain and restore resilience and production in agricultural landscapes. Deliberate use of intra specific crop diversity in farmers field can be a productive alternative to agrochemicals. Assessment to the amount and distribution of functional intra-specific diversity for annual and perennial crops in agricultural landscapes is needed to be able to improve access to diversity and information on this diversity to restore and maintain resilience and productivity in agricultural landscapes. Benefits to farmer or farming communities from their use of local diversity, are necessary to identify the different ways of using genetic diversity within production systems to restore and maintain agricultural landscapes. The work focuses on (I) the use perennial horticultural crops to rehabilitate saline and water scarce environments, (ii) the role crop and pasture genetic diversity on farm to buffer and rehabilitate lands under unpredictable environmental change, (iii) the role of on farm crop genetic diversity to restore ecosystem services to regulate pest and diseases.

Contact Person

De Santis, Paola <p.desantis@cgiar.org>

Donors

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Government of Italy

CGIAR

Partners

Bioversity (Alliance) - Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT - Headquarter (Bioversity International), CAAS - Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, CATAS - Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, CENESTA - Center for Sustainable Development and Environment, EBI - Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute, FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Government of Iran, IAV - Institut Agronomique et Vétérinaire Hassan II, IER - Institut d’Economie Rurale (Mali), IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, INRAN - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique du Niger, Kunming Institute of Botany, LI-BIRD - Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development, Ministry of Agriculture (Sri Lanka), Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources (Uzbekistan), MOE - Ministry of Environment (Sri Lanka), MUC - Minzu University of China, NARC - Nepal Agricultural Research Council, NARO - National Agricultural Research Organisation (Uganda), NCARE - National Center for Agricultural Research and Extension, PAR - Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research, Royal Government of Bhutan, TSAU - Tashkent State Agrarian University, UN Environment - United Nations Environment Programme, WSU - Washington State University

Completed

Start/End dateJanuary 01, 2017 — December 31, 2021

Research ThemeRestoring Degraded Landscapes

Cluster

1.1 Landscape Restoration

Regions

Global

Countries

Bhutan, Burundi, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Iran, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Uganda, Uzbekistan

Topics:

Ecosystem services