dc.identifier.citation | Kimenju,J W (2012, December). Collaborative Efforts Towards Understanding The Biological Structures And Functions Of Selected Soil Groups In Rural Ghana, Malawi And Kenya. In Journal Of Nematology (Vol. 44, No. 4, Pp. 499-499). Po Box 311, Marceline, Mo 64658 Usa: Soc Nematologists. | en_US |
dc.description.abstract | Degrading health of sub-Saharan African soils is a major impediment to the Millennium
Development Goal and the strategy of poverty reduction for Africa through the Comprehensive
Africa Agricultural Development Program. Without addressing soil degradations, vital
ecosystem services are unlikely to return to nor remain at levels that can sustain viable human
populations. Improving ecosystem services and reducing poverty require integrated
understanding of the connections among terrestrial agro-ecosystem degradation, habitat and
biodiversity loss, lower agricultural yield, food insecurity, and forced population migration. This
Howard G. Buffett Foundation-funded and collaborative project among MSU, KNUST, UoN,
UoM, and the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) Agency is a foundation
towards developing scalable soil health management strategy in soil groups. Using nematode
assemblage and total microbial analyses as major soil ecosystem change indicators, the objective in this
phase of the project is to establish baseline information on biological structure and function of
Ferralsols, Lithosols and Nitosols in different regions and production practices of Ghana, Malawi
and Kenya. Over 500 soil samples have been collected from disturbed (agricultural) and
undisturbed (natural) ecosystems during March and April of 2012. As part of accounting for the
role of anthropogenic factors on land use practices, cropping history, land ownership,
socioeconomic, and related cultural information were also considered. Field observations suggest
large differences in land use within and across regions. Analyses of preliminary data will be
presented. | en_US |