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    Soil structural degradation and nutrient limitations across land use categories and climatic zones in Southern Africa

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    Authors
    Tamene, Lulseged D.
    Sileshi, Gudeta W.
    Ndengu, Gift
    Mponela, Powell
    Kihara, Job
    Sila, Andrew M.
    Tondoh, Jérôme E.
    Date
    2019
    Language
    en
    Type
    Journal Article
    Review status
    Peer Review
    ISI journal
    Accessibility
    Open Access
    Usage rights
    Other
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    Citation
    Tamene, Lulseged; Sileshi, Gudeta W.; Ndengu, Gift; Mponela, Powell; Kihara, Job; Sila, Andrew & Tondoh, Jérôme (2019). Soil structural degradation and nutrient limitations across land use categories and climatic zones in Southern Africa. Land Degradation and Development, 30(11): 1288-1299
    Permanent link to cite or share this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10568/102161
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.3302
    Abstract/Description
    Although soil degradation is a major threat to food security and carbon sequestration, our knowledge of the spatial extent of the problem and its drivers is very limited in Southern Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the risk of soil structural degradation and determine the variation in soil stoichiometry and nutrient limitations with land use categories (LUCs) and climatic zones. Using data on soil clay, silt, organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (N), available phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S) concentrations collected from 4,468 plots on 29 sites across Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe, this study presents novel insights into the variations in soil structural degradation and nutrient limitations. The analysis revealed strikingly consistent stoichiometric coupling of total N, P, and S concentrations with SOC across LUCs. The only exception was on crop land where available P was decoupled from SOC. Across sample plots, the probability (φ) of severe soil structural degradation was 0.52. The probability of SOC concentrations falling below the critical value of 1.5% was 0.49. The probabilities of soil total N, available P, and S concentrations falling below their critical values were 0.95, 0.70, and 0.83, respectively. N limitation occurred with greater probability in woodland (φ = .99) and forestland (φ = .97) than in cropland (φ = .92) and grassland (φ = .90) soils. It is concluded that soil structural degradation, low SOC concentrations, and N and S limitations are widespread across Southern Africa. Therefore, significant changes in policies and practices in land management are needed to reverse the rate of soil structural degradation and increase soil carbon storage.
    CGIAR Author ORCID iDs
    Lulseged Tamenehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3806-8890
    Gift Ndenguhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3445-6298
    Job Kiharahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4394-9553
    Other CGIAR Affiliations
    Water, Land and Ecosystems
    Subjects
    SOIL INFORMATION;
    Regions
    Africa; Southern Africa
    Organizations Affiliated to the Authors
    International Center for Tropical Agriculture
    Investors/sponsors
    Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
    Collections
    • CIAT Agroecosystems and Sustainable Landscapes (ASL) [68]
    • CIAT Articles in Journals [2634]
    • Restoring Degraded Landscapes [264]

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