Deforestation and Subsequent Cultivation of Nutrient Poor Soils of Miombo Woodlands of Tanzania: Long Term Effect on Maize Yield and Soil Nutrients

Meley Mekonen Rannestad and Tigist Araya Gessesse
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Meley Mekonen Rannestad: Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA), Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), P. O. Box 5003, No-1432 Ås, Norway
Tigist Araya Gessesse: Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental protection, Mekelle University, Mekelle P. O. Box 231, Ethiopia

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: The miombo woodlands of Tanzania have continued to be subjected to deforestation due to mainly agricultural expansion. Knowledge of long-term productivity of the subsequent land use can help to evaluate the sustainability of the existing land management systems. We used both socioeconomic and soil survey data to assess maize yield and selected soil properties, respectively, with an increasing cultivation period since conversion from miombo woodland. Data on maize production was collected from 121 households in three villages, while soil sampling was undertaken on 15 plots in one of the study villages. Soil samples were taken from miombo woodland and from croplands with cultivation periods varying from two to 52 years. Samples were taken at 0–10 cm and 10–20 cm depths and analyzed for the major plant nutrients. According to the results of the socioeconomic data analysis, continued cultivation of former miombo woodlands does not have a significant effect on maize yield. The results of the soil analysis also showed that the major plant nutrients on farmlands in both soil layers did not show a significant change from the adjacent miombo woodland and did not decline with increasing cultivation period. This indicates that the current farming system can maintain the levels of the major plant nutrients and thus soil productivity.

Keywords: agroforestry; agricultural rent; plant nutrients; sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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