Christian J. M. G. Pieri

Fertility of Soils (eBook, PDF)

A Future for Farming in the West African Savannah
Übersetzer: Gething, P.

• Format: PDF

Produktbeschreibung

Can a continuous growth of agriculture be achieved in the sub-Sahara region without inducing irreversible damage to the ecosystem? Until now, doubts have been expressed as to the actual capacity of the soils to sustain a desirable increase of production which can match the requirements of a fast-growing population. Thirty years of investigation and a renewed comprehensive interpretation of research data on soil fertility show that a sustainable agriculture growth could be a practical possibility in a savannah region.

---

Dieser Download kann aus rechtlichen Gründen nur mit Rechnungsadresse in A, B, BG, CY, CZ, D, DK, EW, E, FIN, F, GR, HR, H, IRL, I, LT, L, LR, M, NL, PL, P, R, S, SLO, SK ausgeliefert werden.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
• Seitenzahl: 348
• Erscheinungstermin: 6. Dezember 2012
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9783642843204
• Artikelnr.: 53137222

Autorenporträt

The results of 30 years of investigation in the West-African savannah were re-interpreted from the point of view of modern agronomical and environmental sciences. This example can be seen as a model for comparable regions worldwide.

Inhaltsangabe

General Introduction.- 1 Scope of the Study.- I Fertility and Agricultural Development.- 2 Definition of Fertility.- 3 The Farming Environment.- 4 Population and Migration.- 5 Agricultural Policy.- II Present Fertility Status.- IIA Crop Yields in Recent Times.- 6 National Yield Trends.- 7 Yields in Project Areas.- 8 Summary: Moderate Yields Giving Concern for the Future.- IIB The Development of Soils Under Cropping in Practical Farming.- 9 Soil Development Under Traditional Farming.- 10 The Effect of Population Growth on the Soil.- 11 Agricultural Intensification and Its Consequences for the Management of Soil Fertility.- 12 Summary of Part II.- III Experimental Bases of Sustainability.- 13 Sustainable Yields.- IIIA The Ecological Approach.- 14 Farming and Physical Degradation of the Soil.- 15 Root Development of Crops and Biological Imbalance in Soils.- IIIB Soil Development and Crop Yield in Permanent Rain-Fed Farming - Long-Term Experiments.- 16 Introduction - The Interpretation of Long-Term Experiments.- 17 Year-to-Year Variation in Yield: The Effect of Rainfall and Its Distribution.- 18 Low Intensity Systems - Hand Cultivation.- 19 Hand Cultivation with Intensification.- 20 Systems Using Animal Traction.- 21 Summary of Part III: Indications from Long-Term Experiments.- IV Major Processes in the Development of Soil Fertility.- IVA Items in the Organic Matter Balance in the Soil.- 22 Introduction - Soil as a System.- 23 Items in the Organic Matter Balance of Cultivated Soils and Their Evolution.- 24 Tillage and the Organic Matter Balance of Cultivated Soils.- 25 Additions of Plant Nutrients and the Organic Matter Balance in the Soil.- 26 Establishing the Organic Matter Balance in Cultivated Soils.- IVB Items in the Nutrient Balance of the Soil and TheirEvolution.- 27 Forms of Mineral Material in the Soil and Their Distribution.- 28 Measurement of the Items in the Nutrient Balance of the Soil.- 29 Calculated Nutrient Balance for Several Systems.- 30 Establishing Nutrient Balance Sheets for Cultivated Soil.- 31 Summary of Part IV.- General Conclusions.- 32 Evolution of Soil Fertility in the Savannah Area to the South of the Sahara.- 33 Requirements for the Establishment of Sustainable Agriculture in the Savannah Zone.- References.