This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
1 min Read
Detailed scientific research is carried out at the site to acquire better information about the conditions that favour or hinder soil erosion, a factor of major importance in mountain areas. Soil conservation on farmland and maintaining or improving its fertility are key research themes for ICIMOD. One of the main approaches used to control soil erosion is sloping agricultural land technology (SALT), or contour hedgerow intercropping agroforestry technology (CHIAT) (see sheet on Soil Conservation). In this method, double hedgerows of nitrogen fixing trees or shrubs are planted along contour lines at a spacing of 5-6 m. The hedgerows act as a barrier to water runoff and as a rich source of organic matter. Sediment washed down the slope by rain builds up behind the hedgerows, slowly transforming the slope into a series of natural less sloping terraces.
A series of plots were established in 1995 to measure the impact of nitrogen-fixing hedgerows on soil erosion and investigate the conditions that favour or hinder erosion. The surface runoff from each experimental plot is diverted through a gutter system into collection tanks and the soil erosion is evaluated from sediment concentration in runoff and total runoff.
The hedgerows are very effective in reducing soil erosion to a very low level, with a marked impact from the second year of planting and a reduction in soil loss by 80-99% from the fifth year on. Distribution of erosion over time is extremely inhomogeneous. Soil loss is associated with intense rainfall events, but only at certain times of year. Soil loss from control plots varied from around 3-8 t/ha in most years to a massive 131.6 t/ha in one year with a cloudburst event in the premonsoon period. This reflects the type of, often very localised, events that are devastating for mountain agriculture.
A wide range of different fruit and nut trees and fruit vines have been planted at intervals since 1993, they ...
Research and vegetation management on the site is not confined to trees and bushes. A focused effort is being made ...
Alder (Utis) Pollarding What is pollarding? #Pollarding is a pruning system involving the removal of the upper ...
An inventory of carbon monitoring plots was conducted in May 2012 to establish a mechanism for long-term monitoring of forest ...
Soil erosion, soil degradation and declining soil fertility are widely regarded as major problems threatening the sustainable use ...
Beehive briquetting technology This technique is an adaptation of methods used to produce charcoal for ...
At the time that ICIMOD established the Godavari site, the land had been reduced to almost completely degraded ...
Treadle pump is a simple, cheap, and effective device for lifting water by alternate up and down movement of the ...