Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Managing Organic Matter in Tropical Soils: Scope and Limitations pp 89–97Cite as

Problems with and local solutions for organic matter management in Vietnam

  • Chapter

Part of the book series: Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences ((DPSS,volume 93))

Abstract

Soil organic matter plays a major role in sustainable agricultural development in Vietnam. A general soil evaluation shows that the content of organic matter in most soil units in Vietnam ranges between 0.5 to 3.0% soil organic matter (in the A and B horizon only) with lower levels especially on sloping land. Most upland soils (70% that contain ≤ 2% soil organic matter) are in danger due to imminent soil erosion. Soil organic matter is lost very quickly due to erosion, lack of organic manure and poor farming techniques in these areas. Using green hedgerows along contour lines and intercropping with legume species to cover the soil are technological options to control soil erosion and improve soil organic matter content on sloping land. Green hedgerows significantly reduce soil and organic matter loss by 50–70%, compared to sloping land without hedgerows. Intercropping with legume species reduces soil loss by 40–50%, and can provide the soil with 2.5–12 tons of green manure/ha/year. However, more studies are needed to identify the best technologies for managing soil organic matter in upland areas.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Agus F, Garrity DP, Cassel DK & Mercado A (1999) Grain crop response to contour hedgerow systems on sloping Oxisols. Agroforestry Syst 42: 107–120

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anonymous (1995) Cultivation, propagation and utilisation of Azolla. Institute of Soils and Fertilizers, Chekiang Agriculture Academy, Chekiang

    Google Scholar 

  • Aune JB & Lal R (1997) Agricultural productivity in the tropics and critical limits of properties of Oxisols, Ultisols, and Alfisols. Tropical Agric. 74 (2): 96–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrow CJ (1991) Land degradation: Development and breakdown of terrestrial environments. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown S and Lugo AE (1990) Effects of forest clearing and succession on the carbon and nitrogen content of soils in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands. Plant Soil 124: 53–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bui Dinh Dinh (1995) Effect of organic fertilizer on rice production in Vietnam. In: Report of Research project KNO1–10: Plant nutrition management, Agriculture Publishing House, Hanoi

    Google Scholar 

  • Bunch R and Lopez G (1997) Development of soil conservation techniques. Report on the MARD/GTZ SFDP Song Da, Son La province, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Burton S, Shah PB & Schrier H (1989) Soil degradation from converting forest land into agriculture in the Chitawan district of Nepal. Mountain Res Devel 9(4): 393–404

    Google Scholar 

  • Chander K, Goyal S, Nandal DP & Kapoor KK (1998) Soil organic matter, microbial biomass and enzyme activities in a tropical agroforestry system. Biol Fertil Soils 27(2): 168–172

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinh Ngoc Lan (1999) Study about effect of green hedgerows on cassava yield and soil conservation. Master’s Thesis, Thai Nguyen University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Do Dinh Sam (1995) Shifting cultivation in Vietnam. Current Land Use in Vietnam, Proceedings of the second land use seminar, Bac Thai, Vietnam International Institute for Environment and Development, London, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Dollar D, Glewwe P and Litwack J (1998) Household welfare and Vietnam’s Transition. World Bank, Washington DC, United States

    Google Scholar 

  • Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ES-CAP), 1999, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • FAO (1998) Statistical Database, Rome, Italy

    Google Scholar 

  • Follet RF, Gupta SC and Hunt PG (1987) Conservation practices: relation to the management of plant nutrients for crop production. In: Soil fertility and organic matter as critical components of production systems. Special Publication 19. Madison (WI): Soil Science Society of America and American Society of Agronomy: 19–51

    Google Scholar 

  • German Federal Statistical Office (1993) Länderbericht Vietnam. Wiesbaden, Germany

    Google Scholar 

  • Goyal S, Chander K, Mundra MC and Kapoor KK (1999) Influence of inorganic fertilizers and organic amendments on soil organic matter and soil microbial properties under tropical conditions. Biol Fert Soils 29 (2): 196–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Göhl B and Nguyen Thanh Ha (1990) Vietnam. SAREC Documentation, Research Surveys 1990: 2

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall CAS and Uhlig J (1991) Refining estimates of carbon released from tropical land-use change. Canadian Journal of Forest Research; 21 (1): 118–131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones MJ (1971) The maintenance of soil organic matter under continuous cultivation at Samaru, Nigeria. J Agric Sci 77: 473–482

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • König D (1992) The potential of agroforestry methods for erosion control in Rwanda. Soil Tech 5: 167–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumarasinghe KS and Eskew DL (1993) Isotopic studies of Azolla and nitrogen fertilisation of rice. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 145

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lal R (1999) Soil quality and soil erosion. Soil and Water Conservation Society, CRC Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Lales JS and Marte RS (1986) Long-term utilisation of Azolla as organic fertiliser for lowland rice. Phil Agric 69: 459–464

    Google Scholar 

  • Le Van Tiem (1998) Role of soil organic matter. Workshop on concept of environmentally friendly integrated plant nutrition management system in northern Vietnam. 26–27 May 1998, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Luibrand A (1999) Impact of the transformation process on the living standard of smallholders and the environment in mountainous regions of northern Vietnam. Stuttgart, Germany (Forthcoming)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lusembo P, Ebong C and Sabiiti EN (1998) Integration of cassava tuber and forage legume seed production for sustained soil fertility. Tropical Agriculture, 75 (1–2): 18–20

    Google Scholar 

  • Nazeer M and Prasad NN (1984) Effect of Azolla application on rice yield and soil properties. Phykos 23: 269–272

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen The Dang (1995) SALT ( Sloping agricultural land technologies ). Training book for farmers

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen The Dang (1998a) Plant nutrition management on sloping land. Workshop on concept of environmentally friendly integrated plant nutrition management system in northern Vietnam. 26–27 May 1998, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen The Dang (1998b) Effect of green hedgerow on cassava yield. Workshop on cassava. March 1998, Hochiminh City, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen The Dang (1998c) Sloping agricultural land technology in northern mountainous areas of Vietnam. In: Sustainable farming on sloping land in Vietnam. Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen The Dang (1999) Soils-Textbook. Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen Nhu Ha (1999) Fertilizer for paddy rice in Fluvisols of Vietnam. Ph.D Thesis. Agricultural University Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen Tu Siem and Thai Phien (1999) Upland soils in Vietnam: Degradation and rehabilitation. Agriculture Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Paul EA, Paustian K, Elliot ET and Cole CV (1997) Soil organic matter in temperate agroecosystems: long-term experiments in North America. CRC Press, Boca Raton, United States

    Google Scholar 

  • Pimentel D and Kounang N (1998) Ecology of Soil Erosion in Ecosystems. Ecosystems. 1 (5): 416–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riezebos HT and Loerts AC (1998) Influence of land use change and tillage practice on soil organic matter in southern Brazil and eastern Paraguay. Soil Tillage Res 49 (3): 271–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schachtschabel P and Scheffer F (eds) (1992) Lehrbuch der Bodenkunde. Ferdinand Enke Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharma NN, Sarma D, Paul SR, Dey JK, Bora P and Singha DD (1997) Effect of contour-strip cropping of pineapple (Ananas comosus) on rice (Oryza sativa)-sesame (Sesamum indicum) and maize (Zea mays)-sesame cropping sequences and their effect on soil properties. Indian J Agric Sci 67 (1): 20–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Singh AL and Singh PK (1987) Influence of Azolla management on the growth, yield of rice and soil fertility. II. N and P contents of plants and soil. Plant Soil 102: 49: 54

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistical Yearbook ( 1998, 1999 ) Statistical Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Taja H and Zaag vd P (1991) Organic residue management in the hot tropics: influence on the growth and yield of Solanum potato and maize. Tropical Agriculture, 68 (2): 111–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Thai Phien and Nguyen Tu Siem (1998) Organic matter under different land use types. In: Sustainable farming system on sloping land in Vietnam. Agricultural Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Ton That Chieu (1996) Vietnam Soil. Agricultural Publishing House. Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Tran Thuc Son and Dang Van Hien (1995) Effect of fertilizer on yield of rice on Fluvisols. In Report of research project KNO1–10. Agriculture Publishing House, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Hove C (1989) Azolla and its multiple uses with emphasis on Africa. FAO, Rome, 53 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Vo Tri Chung, Crystal E, Nguyen Huy Dzung, Vu Van Dzung, Nguyen Huy Phon, Poffenberger M (editor) Sikor T, Sowerwine J and Walpole P (1998) Stewards of Vietnam’s Upland Forests — A collaborative study by the Asia Forest Network and the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. Research Network Report No. 10, Asia Forest Network. California and Quezone City

    Google Scholar 

  • Wambeke AV (1992) Soils of the tropics: properties and appraisal. McGraw Hill, New York, United States

    Google Scholar 

  • Wen D (1993) Soil erosion and conservation in China. In: Pimentel D (ed.) Soil erosion and conservation, pp 63–86. New York, Cambridge University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitbread A, Blair G, Naldang K, Lefroy R, Wonprasaid S, Konboon Y and Suriya-arunroy D (1999) The management of rice straw, fertilizers and leaf litters in rice cropping systems in Northeast Thailand. 2. Rice yields and nutrient balances. Plant Soil 209 (1): 29–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woomer PL Swift MJ (eds) (1994) The biological management of tropical soil fertility. John Wiley and Sons, United Kingdom

    Google Scholar 

  • World Bank (1999) Development data. World Development Indicat-ors, Washington DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Young A (1990) Agroforestry for soil conservation. Wallingford, United Kingdom: CAB

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Soil Science Department, Thai Nguyen University, Thai Nguyen, Vietnam

    Nguyen The Dang

  2. Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Walter-Flex-Straße 3, 53113, Bonn, Germany

    Christoph Klinnert

Authors
  1. Nguyen The Dang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christoph Klinnert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nguyen The Dang .

Editor information

C. Martius H. Tiessen P. L. G. Vlek

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Dang, N.T., Klinnert, C. (2001). Problems with and local solutions for organic matter management in Vietnam. In: Martius, C., Tiessen, H., Vlek, P.L.G. (eds) Managing Organic Matter in Tropical Soils: Scope and Limitations. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 93. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2172-1_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2172-1_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5947-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2172-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation