Conservation Agriculture for Rehabilitation of Agro-ecosystems

Abstract

Conservation agriculture (CA) is promoted as a solution for the problem of poor agro-ecosystem productivity, land degradation, and climate change impact in most sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and many tropical island nations. It is characterized by continuous minimum mechanical soil disturbance, permanent organic soil cover, and diversified crop rotations in the case of annual crops or plant associations in the case of perennial crops. This chapter describes the benefits of CA, a suggested improvement over conventional tillage, where no-till, mulch, and rotations significantly improved soil properties, moisture retention, and other biotic factors. More significantly CA permits higher rates of carbon sequestration, organic matter accumulation, reduction in soil erosion, and its associated improvement in soil biological properties. Further reduction in greenhouse gas emission as a result of CA is also reviewed. Implementation of CA practices particularly in areas facing land degradation and depleting resources presents a win-win scenario due to improved crop yield and trends of increasing soil fertility and scope for climate change adaptation. This chapter presents evidences in favour of CA for many of the tropical countries to recuperate degraded soils and improve ecosystem services.