IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/iwt/jounls/h049375.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Deep tillage improves degraded soils in the (sub) humid Ethiopian highlands

Author

Listed:
  • Hussein, M. A.
  • Muche, H.
  • Schmitter, Petra
  • Nakawuka, P.
  • Tilahun, S. A.
  • Langan, Simon
  • Barron, Jennie
  • Steenhuis, T. S.

Abstract

Intensification of rainfed agriculture in the Ethiopian highlands has resulted in soil degradation and hardpan formation, which has reduced rooting depth, decreased deep percolation, and increased direct runoff and sediment transport. The main objective of this study was to assess the potential impact of subsoiling on surface runoff, sediment loss, soil water content, infiltration rate, and maize yield. Three tillage treatments were replicated at five locations: (i) no tillage (zero tillage), (ii) conventional tillage (ox-driven Maresha plow, up to a depth of 15 cm), and (iii) manual deep ripping of the soil’s restrictive layers down to a depth of 60 cm (deep till). Results show that the posttreatment bulk density and penetration resistance of deep tillage was significantly less than in the traditional tillage and zero-tillage systems. In addition, the posttreatment infiltration rate for deep tillage was significantly greater, which resulted in significantly smaller runoff and sedimentation rates compared to conventional tillage and zero tillage. Maize yields were improved by 6% under deep tillage compared to conventional tillage and by 29% compared to no tillage. Overall, our findings show that deep tillage can be effective in overcoming some of the detrimental effects of hardpans in degraded soils.

Suggested Citation

  • Hussein, M. A. & Muche, H. & Schmitter, Petra & Nakawuka, P. & Tilahun, S. A. & Langan, Simon & Barron, Jennie & Steenhuis, T. S., 2019. "Deep tillage improves degraded soils in the (sub) humid Ethiopian highlands," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 8(11):1-15..
    • Handle: RePEc:iwt:jounls:h049375
    DOI: 10.3390/land8110159
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/8/11/159/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.3390/land8110159?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tefera, B. & Ayele, Gezahegn & Atnafe, Y. & Jabbar, Mohammad A. & Dubale, P., 2002. "Nature and causes of land degradation in Oromiya region, Ethiopia – a review," Research Reports 182886, International Livestock Research Institute.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Gotor, Elisabetta & Nedumaran, Swamikannu & Cenacchi, Nicola & Tran, Nhuong & Dunston, Shahnila & Dermawan, Ahmad & Valera, Harold Glenn & Wiberg, David & Tesfaye, Kindie & Mausch, Kai, 2021. "Land and Water Systems: Looking to the future and a more resilient and sustainable society and environment," SocArXiv ajs6q, Center for Open Science.
    2. Snežana Jakšić & Jordana Ninkov & Stanko Milić & Jovica Vasin & Milorad Živanov & Darko Jakšić & Vedrana Komlen, 2021. "Influence of Slope Gradient and Aspect on Soil Organic Carbon Content in the Region of Niš, Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-17, July.
    3. Saskia Keesstra & Saskia Visser & Margot De Cleen, 2021. "Achieving Land Degradation Neutrality: A Robust Soil System Forms the Basis for Nature-Based Solutions," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-4, November.
    4. Sishu, F. K. & Bekele, A. M. & Schmitter, Petra & Tilahun, S. A. & Steenhuis, T. S., 2021. "Phosphorus export from two contrasting rural watersheds in the (sub) humid Ethiopian highlands," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 1-9:762703..

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. World Bank, 2007. "The Cost of Land Degradation in Ethiopia : A Review of Past Studies," World Bank Publications - Reports 7939, The World Bank Group.
    2. World Bank, 2007. "Determinants of the Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices and Their Impacts in the Ethiopian Highlands," World Bank Publications - Reports 7938, The World Bank Group.
    3. Schmidt, Emily & Tadesse, Fanaye, 2012. "Household and plot level impact of Sustainable Land and Watershed Management (SLWM) practices in the Blue Nile:," ESSP working papers 42, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    4. Jabbar, Mohammad & Ayele, Gezahyegn, 2011. "Land degradation in the Oromiya highlands in Ethiopia," Research Reports 208727, International Livestock Research Institute.
    5. Misbah Abidela Hussein & Habtamu Muche & Petra Schmitter & Prossie Nakawuka & Seifu A. Tilahun & Simon Langan & Jennie Barron & Tammo S. Steenhuis, 2019. "Deep Tillage Improves Degraded Soils in the (Sub) Humid Ethiopian Highlands," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-15, October.
    6. Nkonya, Ephraim M. & Pender, John L. & Kaizzi, Crammer, 2004. "Determinants Of Soil Nutrient Balances And Implications For Addressing Land Degradation And Poverty In Uganda," 2004 Annual meeting, August 1-4, Denver, CO 20279, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    7. Harald Grabher, 2021. "HANPP trajectories for Ethiopia reveal recent agricultural efficiency gains but high grazing intensity," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 5277-5296, April.
    8. Admassie, Assefa & Abebaw, Degnet, 2021. "Ethiopia – Land, energy, climate change, and agricultural development: A study in the Sudano-Sahel Initiative for Regional Development, Jobs, and Food Security," Working Papers 308804, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iwt:jounls:h049375. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chandima Gunadasa (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iwmiclk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.