Abstract
Moderate to steep landscapes and severe soil, water and nutrient losses characterize over 40% of arable land in the central highlands of Kenya. To study the effectiveness of biological methods in management and enhancement of productivity of these arable steep-lands, we established contour double row hedges of sole Calliandra, Leucaena and napier and combination hedges of either Calliandra or Leucaena with napier. Hedges were established on slopes exceeding 5%, pruned regularly and the resulting biomass cut into fine pieces, which were then incorporated into the plots they served. We then evaluated these plots for inorganic-N changes with depth, soil conservation and soil loss/crop growth relationships. We observed accumulation of inorganic-N in the sub-soil in the control and napier plots but a reduction of sub-soil inorganic-N and its re-accumulation in the top-soil in the leguminous hedge plots after 20 months of trial. The first season on average, registered higher soil losses (P = 0.004) than the second season for treatments with hedges and vice versa for the control. During the first season there were significantly lower (P < 0.001) soil losses in plots with hedges relative to the control on slopes exceeding 10% but with the exception of napier, no significant differences among different types of hedges. We observed higher soil loss reduction in the combination hedge relative to individual tree hedges across the two seasons (P = 0.012). The relationship between cumulative soil loss and any of the four crop growth parameters i.e., grain weight, plant height, stover weight and total above ground biomass was negative, linear and highly significant (P < 0.0001), indicating decreased crop growth with soil loss. We conclude that there are heavy productivity losses as a result of soil erosion in arable steep-lands of the central highlands of Kenya and that well spaced, managed and combined contour hedges of leguminous trees and napier can reduce soil and nutrient losses from steep arable landscapes while simultaneously enhancing soil fertility
Keywords
- Contour hedges
- inorganic-N
- soil fertility
- soil erosion
- slope
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Anderson J.M. and Ingram J.S. 1993. Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility: Handbook of Methods. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Andraski B.J. and Lowery B. 1992. Erosion effects on soil water storage, plant water uptake and corn growth. Soil Science Society of America Journal 56: 1911–1919.
Angima, S.D. 1996. Potential use of contour Calliandra calothyrsus hedges with napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) for soil erosion control in a high potential area of Embu, Kenya. MSc thesis, Kenyatta University, Kenya.
Angima S.D. 2000. Soil erosion prediction using RUSLE in central Kenya. Ph.D. Dissertation, Purdue University, USA.
Angima S.D., Stott D.E., O’Neill M.K., Ong C.K. and Weesies G.A. 2001. Use of Calliandra-napier contour hedges to control soil erosion in central Kenya. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 91: 15–23.
Cast T. 1985. Agriculture and ground water quality. Council for Agricultural Sciences and Technology Report. 62, pp.103.
Dissemeyer G.E. Foster G.R. 1985. Modifying the universal soil loss equation for forestland. In: Soil Erosion and Conservation (Swaify S.A.,.Moldenhauer W.C and Lo A. (eds). Soil Science Society of America, Ankeny, IA, Madison, pp. 480–95.
Dorich R.A. and Nelson D.W. 1984. Evaluation of manual cadmium reduction methods for determination of nitrate in potassium chloride extracts of soil. Soil Science Society of America Journal: 48: 72–75.
Duijvenbooden W.V. and Matthijsen C.M. 1987. Basis document nitraat. Natural institute of public health and environmental hygiene. Bilthven: The Netherlands.
FAO 1990. Soil Map of the World. Revised Legend. World Resources Report 60. FAO, Rome.
FAO 1993. Field Measurement of Soil Erosion and Runoff, Soils Bulletin No. 68. FAO, Rome.
Fisher R.A. 1935. The Design of Experiments, 1st ed. Oliver and Boyd. Edinburg and London.
Gachene C.K., Mbuvi J.P., Jarvis N.J. and Linner H. 1998. Maize yield reduction due to erosion in a high potential area of central Kenya highlands. African Crop Science Journal 6: 29–37.
GenStat 2002. Version 6.1, Lawes agricultural trust, Rothamstead Experimental Station, UK.
Goudreddy B.S. 1995. Fodder trees p.46–48. In: Naadagouder B.S., Horst W.J., Kuhne R. and Kang B.T. (ed) 1995. Nutrient use in Leucaena leucocephala and Cajanus cajan in maize/cassava alley cropping on Terre de Barre, Benin. Alley farming research and development. Proceedings of the International Conference on Alley Farming 14–18 September 1992. Ibadan, Nigeria, pp. 122–136.
Hilsheimer R. and Harwig J. 1976. Colorimetric determination of nitrate from meat and other foods: an alternative colour reagent for carcinogenic 1–naphthylamine and an improved extraction method. Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technol. J. 9: 225–227.
ICRAF 1995. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF). Laboratory Methods for Soil and Plant Analysis. Nairobi, Kenya.
Justic D., Rabailis N.N., Turner R.E. and Dortch Q. 1995. Changes in nutrient structure of river dominated coastal waters: Stoichiometric nutrient balance and its consequences. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 40: 339–356.
Karlen D.L., Flannery R.L.and Sadler E.J. 1988. Aerial accumulation and partitioning of nutrients by corn. Agronomy Journal 80: 232–242.
Kilewe A.M. 1987. Prediction of erosion rates and effects of top-soil thickness on soil productivity. PhD. Dissertation, University of Nairobi, Kenya.
Lal R. 1989. Agroforestry systems and soil surface management of a tropical Alfisol. Water runoff, soil erosion and nutrient loss. Agroforestry Systems 8: 97–111.
Mantel S.D. and Van Engelen V.M. 1999. Assessment of the impact of water erosion on productivity of maize in Kenya: an Integrated modeling approach. Land Degradation and Development 10: 577–592.
McCormack D.E. and Young K.K. 1981. Technical and societal implications of soil loss tolerance. In: Morgan R.P.C. (Ed.). Soil Conservation Problems and Prospects. Wiley, Chichester, UK, pp. 365–376.
Morgan R.P.C. 1986. Soil erosion and conservation. Essex: Longman Group.
Morgan R.P.C. and Rickson R.J. 1995. Water erosion control. In: Morgan RPC and Rickson RJ (eds). Slope stabilization and erosion control: A Bioengineering Approach. E & FN Spon Publishers: London.
Mugendi D.N., Nair P.K., Mugwe J.N., O’neill M.K. and Woomer P.L. 1999. Alley cropping of Maize with Calliandra and Leucaena in sub humid highlands of Kenya. Part 2: Biomass decomposition, N mineralization, and N uptake by maize. Agroforestry Systems 46: 51–64.
Mugendi D.N., Kanyi M.K., Kung’u J.B., Wamicha W. and Mugwe J.N. 2003. Mineral-N movement and management in an agroforestry system in central highlands of Kenya. Soil Science Society of East Africa Conference, 4th to 8th December 2000, Mombasa, Kenya, pp. 287–297.
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) 1983. Calliandra. A Versatile Small Tree for Humid and Tropics. National Academy Press: Washington, DC. p. 42.
Pacardo E.P. and Montecillo L. 1983. Effects of corn/ipil-ipil cropping systems on productivity and stability of upland agro-ecosystems. Annual Report, UPLB PCARRD Res. Project, Philippines.
Pesant A.R. and Vigneux J. 1992. Restoring productivity to artificially eroded soils by use of beef cattle manure. In: Hurni H and Tato K. (Eds). Erosion conservation and small scale farming. Walsworth Publishing Co. Inc.: Kansas, pp. 431–438.
Raintree J.B. and Torres F. 1986. The agroforestry in farming systems perspectives: The ICRAF approach. IARC’S workshop on FSR, 17–21 Feb. 1986, ICRISAT, Hyderabad, India.
Rosecrane R.C., Brewbaker J.L. and Fownes J.H. 1992. Alley cropping of maize with nine leguminous trees. Agroforestry Systems 17: 159–169.
Schroth G. 1994. Above and belowground interactions in alley cropping in Gliricidia sepiumas compared to conventional and mulched sole cropping in the West African rainforest zone. PhD Dissertation. University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
Soil Survey Staff 1990. Keys to soil taxonomy. SMSS Tech. Monograph No.19, 4^th edition.
Van Noordwijk M. 1989. Rooting depth in cropping systems in the humid tropics In Relation to nutrient use efficiency. P. 129–144. In van der Heide J. (ed.) nutrient management for food crop production in tropical farming systems. Inst. For soil fertility. Haren: The Netherlands.
Van Noordwijk M., Lawson G., Samaore A. and Groot J.J.R. 1996. Root distribution of trees and crops: Competition and/or complementarity. In: Ong CK and Huxley P (eds) Tree Crop Interactions: A Physiological Approach, pp 319–364. CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Yemoah C.F., Agboola A.A. and Wilson G.F. 1986. Nutrient contribution and maize performance in alley cropping systems. Agroforestry Systems 4: 247–254.
Young A. 1997. Agroforestry for Soil Management (2nd Edition). CAB International, Wallingford, UK.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2007 Springer
About this paper
Cite this paper
Mutegi, J.K., Mugendi, D.N., Verchot, L.V., Kungu, J.B. (2007). Impacts of vegetative contour hedges on soil inorganic-N cycling and erosional losses in Arable Steep-lands of the Central Highlands of Kenya. In: Bationo, A., Waswa, B., Kihara, J., Kimetu, J. (eds) Advances in Integrated Soil Fertility Management in sub-Saharan Africa: Challenges and Opportunities. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5760-1_63
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5760-1_63
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5759-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5760-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)