Soil erosion effects on productivity of a humic nitisol
Date
2000Author
Gachene, C K K
Jarvis, N
Linner, H
Mbuvi, J P
Type
PresentationLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This study was carried out with the aim of assessing the effect of accelerated erosion on soil productivity of a humic nitisol at Kabete, Kenya. Twenty runoff plots which had been subjected to varying levels of ero¬sion for four seasons (from 1991 to 1992) were planted with maize during the 1993 long-rains. Ten of the plots were cropped with maize under fertilized conditions while the rest were cropped with maize under non-fertilized conditions. There was very little change in soil physi¬cal properties following erosion. However, there was a decrease in percentage volu¬metric water content after four seasons at pressure heads between - 100cm to - 1500 em. Differences in %C, %N and available P between the least and most eroded plots were significant at the 0.01 probability level. Maize grain and above-ground dry matter yields and crop height were always greater in the least eroded plots compared to the more eroded plots in both fertilized and non-fertilized crops. These crop para¬meters were highly and negatively correlat¬ed with cumulative soil loss. Relative to the least eroded plot, there was a decline in maize grain yields of 214 kg ha-l cm-l of topsoil lost. Plant height was reduced 34cm per cm of soil lost for the first 2.5cm of topsoil.
Citation
Gachene, et al(2000).Proccedings of the 15th annual general meeting sportman's arms hotel, Nanyuki, Kenya, 15, Nanyuki, Kenya, Aug 19th-23rd , p. 233Publisher
Department of soil science, University of Nairobi
Description
Conference paper