Evaluación de los servicios ecosistémicos proporcionados por las terrazas agrícolas

For successful implementation of any soil and water conservation (SWC) or sustainable land management practice, it is essential to have a proper understanding of the natural and human environment in which these practices are applied. This understanding should be based on comprehensive information concerning the application of the technologies and not solely on the technological details. The World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) is documenting and evaluating SWC practices worldwide, following a standardised methodology that facilitates exchange and comparison of experiences. Notwithstanding this standardisation, WOCAT allows flexible use of its outputs, adapted to different users and different environments. WOCAT offers a valuable tool for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of SWC practices and their potential for application in other areas. Besides collecting a wealth of information, gaps in available information are also exposed, showing the need for more research in those fields. Several key issues for development- oriented research have been identified and are being addressed in collaboration with a research programme for mitigating syndromes of global change.

The aim of this study was to determine how often rural farmers in a watershed use no-tillage systems combined with crop rotation, contour farming and agricultural terraces. The study area was Paraná Watershed III (PB3) in the western region of Paraná State, and data from the 2006 Agricultural Census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics were used. A frequency distribution analysis of farms as a function of the no-tillage (NT) area was conducted in combination with a cluster analysis of soil and water conservation practices (adoption of crop rotation, contour farming and agricultural terrace practices). The results showed that the farms in PB3 adopt adequate soil and water conservation practices, with 73% adopting NT combined with at least 2 other conservation practices; however, agricultural terracing was found to be the most neglected practice in the region. In addition, based on the soil and water conservation practices in the watershed, 5 groups of farms were identified, the worst of which, those located in the municipalities that mainly neglect conservation practices, live in areas with highly erodible soils.

Ecosystem Services in Agricultural and Urban Landscapes, edited by SteveWratten, HarpinderSandhu, RossCullen, and RobertCostanza. Published by Wiley‐Blackwell, Queensland, Australia,2013, pp. 200, ISBN: 978‐1‐4051‐7008‐6, AU$ 124.95 (hardcover), AU$99.99 (E‐book).

Gains and Losses in Ecosystem Services: Trade-Off and Efficiency Perspectives

ABSTRACTThe adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) practices are essential for soil and water conservation. In CA, farmers must adopt no-tillage (NT) with crop rotation to maintain a permanent soil cover. In Brazil, mainly in the South region, for CA to be more efficient, practices such as contour farming and agricultural terraces should also be adopted. Thus, the objective of this study is to determine the extent to which NT has been adopted with crop rotation and others soil and water conservation practices. Data from the Agricultural Census in Paraná State, southern Brazil, were used. For the data analysis, the relationship between the level of adoption of NT and the use of crop rotation, contour farming and agricultural terraces was analyzed. A factor and cluster analysis were performed to distinguish regions in terms of soil and water conservation practices. The results show good overall soil and water conservation practices, although heterogeneity has been observed in the adoption practices between regions. Adoption of NT is high in almost all the studied regions. The conservation practice most widely used with NT is contour farming, whereas the least used is agricultural terraces. Conservation practices for runoff control are being neglected by farmers.

Crop yield decline, primarily caused by soil erosion, is a major challenge in rain‐fed agriculture. Massive soil and water conservation (SWC) practices are conducted each year in the country of Ethiopia, including the study sites, to tackle the problems, but there is not enough information about the impacts those practices on crop yields in the study area. The impacts of different soil conservation practices on finger millet yield ( Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.) were evaluated on conserved and non‐conserved croplands during the 2021/2022 cropping season. The experimental fields were blocked based on slope classes to account for topographic variation. A total of 27 plots having 3.2 × 3 m size were established. The highest plant height (73.24 cm), biomass yield (2.50 t ha − 1 ), and grain yield (1.57 t ha − 1 ) were recorded from soil bunds stabilized with grass. The interaction of conservation practices and slope gradient positively influenced plant height, biomass, and grain yield. Biological soil conservation practices + foot slope yielded the highest plant height (79.71 cm), biomass (3.08 t ha − 1 ), and grain yield (1.57 t ha − 1 ). The result showed that there was a significant difference of millet yield and yield components in conserved and non‐conserved fields ( p < 0.05). This study implies that implementing suitable soil conservation techniques based on slope characteristics is the best solution to improve finger millet yield in northwestern Ethiopia. It is recommended that farmers adopt slope‐specific SWC measures, such as soil and grass‐stabilized bunds, to reduce erosion and improve soil fertility and finger millet yield.

Where agriculture expands into tropical and subtropical forests, social–ecological impacts are typically strong. However, where and how frontier development impacts on ecosystem functioning and services is often unclear, including which services trade‐off against agricultural production. This constitutes a major barrier towards planning for more sustainable outcomes in deforestation frontiers. Here we assessed spatiotemporal change in multiple ecosystem services in the Argentine Chaco, a global deforestation hotspot. We modelled and mapped five ecosystem functions (i.e. carbon storage in biomass, carbon storage in soil, erosion control, excess rainfall retention by vegetation and soil fertility) which together provide three ecosystem services (i.e. agricultural suitability, climate regulation and flood regulation) for 1985, 2000 and 2013. We then employed this information to identify and map: (a) main trade‐offs between ecosystem services and agricultural production, and (b) bundles of changes in ecosystem services through the use of Self‐Organizing Maps. Our results highlight that land‐use changes since 1985 have led to widespread and drastic declines in ecosystem functions and services across the Argentine Chaco. Mean losses of ecosystem services ranged between 6% and 10% for flood regulation, climate regulation and agricultural suitability. The largest losses occurred in the Dry Chaco subregion between 2000 and 2013. We find two main types of trade‐offs between regulating ecosystem services and agricultural production. Increases in crop and pasture production occurred along with large and moderate losses, respectively, in flood regulation and climate regulation over 20% of the region. Our mapping of bundles identified five common patterns of change in ecosystem services, delineating areas of stable or degrading ecosystem service supply. This provides a powerful template for adaptive spatial planning. Synthesis and applications. Using the Argentinean Chaco as an example, we demonstrate how combining fine‐scale land‐use maps with biophysical models provides deep insights into the spatiotemporal patterns of changes in ecosystem services, and their trade‐offs with agricultural production. The periodic updating of maps of trade‐offs and bundles of change in ecosystem services provides key inputs for the adaptive management of highly dynamic and threatened landscapes, such as those in tropical and subtropical deforestation frontiers.

The World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT) is a program of the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWC), organized as a consortium of several international institutions. The overall goal of WOCAT is to contribute to sustainable utilization of soil and water. WOCAT collects and analyzes information on soil and water conservation (SWC) technologies and approaches world-wide, and presents the collected information in computer databases and decision support systems, and in the form of handbooks, reports and maps readily accessible to SWC specialists and policy-makers world-wide. WOCAT has prepared a framework for the evaluation of soil and water conservation and has started data collection. The paper presents preliminary results with promising SWC technologies and approaches used in Eastern and Southern Africa. The first finding is that hardly any promising SWC activities could be found on common grazing lands. Analysis of the cropland shows some of the bio-physical and socioeconomic conditions under which certain SWC technologies and approaches are used, including land use types, climatic zones and land tenure, and looks at issues such as participation and costs. Furthermore, classification criteria for SWC technologies and approaches are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to identify erosion-prone in the sub-watersheds of Haraz based on water and soil conservation projects using multi-criteria evaluation method and RS and GIS techniques. In this research, 16 sub-criteria data layers included rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility, land cover, land use, leaf area index, rainfall interception, soil infiltration, slope length, slope gradient, elevation, aspect, bifurcation ratio, basin circularity, length of overland flow, drainage density, drainage texture and form factor were prepared as raster layers. The Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) was provisioned to predict soil loss (ton ha−1 year−1) using six factors. Then, sub-criteria were rated based on the soil loss amount of RUSLE map by cutting of sub-criteria maps on RUSLE map, and also original criteria (topography, morphometric, soil, vegetation cover and climate) was weighted by AHP method. The final map was prepared from the multiplication of the weight by rate and in combination with layers in ArcGIS software by the overlay index method. The results showed soil erosion risk index varies from 2.37 to 3.89 in the basin area, and average and standard deviation are 3.06 and 0.28, respectively. Finally, prioritization of sub-watersheds was done based on average weighted of 13 sub-watershed to water and soil conservation practices and was classified into three priority high, medium and low classes. Five sub-watersheds SW1, SW5, SW8, SW11 and SW3 with total area of 30.52 % had low priority, six sub-watersheds SW4, SW6, SW12, SW13, SW9 and SW7 with total area of 62 % had medium priority, and two sub-watersheds WS2 and WS10 with total area of 7.48 % had high priority. The sub-watersheds under high erosion risk require immediate plans for soil and water conservation practices.

In Ethiopia, soil degradation is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity. As a result of this challenge, the country has been battling to adopt conservation practices. The main objective of this study was to assess farmers' adoption decisions of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices. For the survey, 304 farmers were selected from farming communities in Lege-Lafto Watershed, South Wollo,Ethiopia. Information were gathered using a household survey, and through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observation. A binary logistic regression model and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that about 64% of the farmers adopted soil and water conservation practices in the study area. The findings depicted that soil bund, stone bund, stone-faced soil bund, loose stone and brush-wood check dams, hillside terrace, and bund stabilized with vegetation are practiced in the watershed. The analysis result revealed adoption of soil and water conservation practices is significantly and positively influenced by the perception of farmers on erosion problems and SWC practices, family labour, educational level, and membership in local institutions. However, distance from residence to the nearest market and farmland, off-farm activities, and the ratio of cultivable land to family size influenced the adoption of SWC practices negatively. Therefore, improving farmers' educational status, and strengthening local institutions are vital for sustainable land management practices in the country.

In Ethiopia, soil degradation is one of the major causes of low and declining agricultural productivity. As a result of this challenge, the country has been battling to adopt conservation practices. The main objective of this study was to assess farmers’ adoption decisions of soil and water conservation (SWC) practices. For the survey, 304 farmers were selected from farming communities in Lege-Lafto Watershed, South Wollo,Ethiopia. Information were gathered using a household survey, and through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, and field observation. A binary logistic regression model and descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that about 64% of the farmers adopted soil and water conservation practices in the study area. The findings depicted that soil bund, stone bund, stone-faced soil bund, loose stone and brush-wood check dams, hillside terrace, and bund stabilized with vegetation are practiced in the watershed. The analysis result revealed adoption of soil and water conservation practices is significantly and positively influenced by the perception of farmers on erosion problems and SWC practices, family labour, educational level, and membership in local institutions. However, distance from residence to the nearest market and farmland, off-farm activities, and the ratio of cultivable land to family size influenced the adoption of SWC practices negatively. Therefore, improving farmers’ educational status, and strengthening local institutions are vital for sustainable land management practices in the country.

A critical analysis of soil (and water) conservation practices in the Ethiopian Highlands: Implications for future research and modeling

Selection and evaluation of projects to conserve ecosystem services

Research results published regarding the impact of soil and water conservation practices in the highland areas of Ethiopia have been inconsistent and scattered. In this paper, a detailed review and synthesis is reported that was conducted to identify the impacts of soil and water conservation practices on crop yield, surface run-off, soil loss, nutrient loss, and the economic viability, as well as to discuss the implications for an integrated approach and ecosystem services. The review and synthesis showed that most physical soil and water conservation practices such as soil bunds and stone bunds were very effective in reducing run-off, soil erosion and nutrient depletion. Despite these positive impacts on these services, the impact of physical soil and water conservation practices on crop yield was negative mainly due to the reduction of effective cultivable area by soil/stone bunds. In contrast, most agronomic soil and water conservation practices increase crop yield and reduce run-off and soil losses. This implies that integrating physical soil and water conservation practices with agronomic soil and water conservation practices are essential to increase both provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. Additionally, effective use of unutilized land (the area occupied by bunds) by planting multipurpose grasses and trees on the bunds may offset the yield lost due to a reduction in planting area. If high value grasses and trees can be grown on this land, farmers can harvest fodder for animals or fuel wood, both in scarce supply in Ethiopia. Growing of these grasses and trees can also help the stability of the bunds and reduce maintenance cost. Economic feasibility analysis also showed that, soil and water conservation practices became economically more viable if physical and agronomic soil and water conservation practices are integrated.

Soil erosion remains one of the most widespread forms of land degradation affecting agricultural productivity and ecosystem services in the Ethiopian highlands. Soil and water conservation (SWC) practices have been widely promoted to rehabilitate degraded lands; however, their effects vary across landscapes and management conditions. This study assessed the impacts of major SWC practices on selected soil physical and chemical properties in the Estie District of northwestern Ethiopia. Soil samples were collected from conserved plots under soil bunds (SB), soil bunds stabilized with Sesbania cannabina (SBS), and adjacent non-conserved plots. Samples were taken at two terrace positions, low-bund and mid-bund, across three agro-ecological zones (highland, midland, and lowland). Standard laboratory procedures were applied to analyze pH, soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), cation exchange capacity (CEC), available phosphorus (Av. P), available potassium (Av. K), texture, bulk density, and moisture content. Data were evaluated using two-way ANOVA (p < 0.05). Results revealed that SWC practices significantly improved soil fertility and structural stability. Compared to non-conserved plots, both SB and SBS treatments exhibited higher SOM, TN, CEC, Av. P, and Av. K. with SBS showing the greatest improvements. Bulk density was lowest under SBS plots, indicating reduced compaction and enhanced root-zone conditions. Nutrient enrichment was most pronounced at low-bund positions, reflecting downslope deposition effects. Additionally in SOM and moisture content, there is a decreasing of values in treatments (SBS, SB and control) in each bund positions. As a result, integrated SWC measures, particularly bunds stabilized with leguminous species, substantially enhance soil physicochemical properties and contribute to sustainable land management. These findings underscore the importance of combining physical and biological conservation measures to restore degraded soils in erosion-prone farming systems.