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Soil System Management Under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions

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 4
Soil System Management Under Arid
and Semi-Arid Conditions

Richard J. Thomas, Hanadi El-Dessougi, and A. Tubeileh

Q1 International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Aleppo, Syria

CONTENTS
4.1 Climatic Constraints of Drylands and Coping Strategies............................................ 43
4.2 Some Unusual Aspects of Nutrient Cycles in Dryland Areas.................................... 43
4.3 Agronomic and Soil – Water Management Practices for Improved
Soil Fertility.......................................................................................................................... 44
4.3.1 Conservation Agriculture and Tillage................................................................. 45
4.3.2 Legume Rotations and Crop Mixtures................................................................ 45
4.4 Improved Soil Fertility in Dryland Horticultural and Agroforestry Systems .......... 46
4.4.1 Horticultural Systems ............................................................................................ 47
4.4.2 Nitrogen-Fixing Trees ............................................................................................ 47
4.4.3 Combining Inorganic and Organic Nutrient Sources....................................... 48
4.4.4 Pest and Disease Management............................................................................. 49
4.4.5 Management of Rangelands and Crop– Livestock Interactions ..................... 49
4.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 50
References ..................................................................................................................................... 52

Soil fertility in systems under arid and semi-arid conditions, hereafter referred to as dry
areas or drylands, is constrained by environmental extremes of hot and cold temperatures,
as well as by low water availability. With some exceptions, these soils have inherently
low fertility, low availability of nitrogen and phosphorus, low water-holding capacity,
high pH, low soil organic matter (ranging from 0.1 to 3%), shallowness, stoniness, and
other specific problems (Matar et al., 1992). These areas are quite widespread, occupying
around 30 – 40% of the world’s terrestrial surface. Given the vulnerability of these lands
to degradation, it is estimated that some 44 million km2 — 34% of the total world’s area,
supporting 2.6 billion people — is at risk from desertification (Eswaran et al., 2001). Hence,
these lands are of great global significance even if their agricultural production potential is
relatively low.
There is considerable information on the use of fertilizers and legumes to enhance soil
fertility in dry areas, including timing and amount of fertilizers, application methods, crop
responses, and effects of crop rotations (e.g., Matar et al., 1992; Ryan, 2004), and also on
dryland fallowing and water use (Farahani et al., 1998). However, despite evidence that
some nutrient inputs are required to sustain higher agricultural production on these lands,

41
42 Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

resource-poor land users are reluctant to invest much in inputs such as fertilizers because
of the large risks involved and the relatively low economic returns they get from their
prevailing cereal – fallow-based systems. Hence, they tend to adopt risk-aversion
strategies rather than attempt any maximization of production. Risk-aversion strategies
include diversified cropping systems with annuals and perennials, fruits, fuelwood,
oilseed, and pharmaceuticals; diversified animal production of cattle, buffalo and other
draft animals, goats and sheep, chickens and other fowl; integrated crop –livestock
systems; spatial mobility; and flexible livelihood strategies that include off-farm labor and
other employment opportunities.
The degradation of drylands continues almost unabated, despite the realization that dry
areas need careful management to prevent overexploitation, i.e., through better soil and
water management and technologies that are appropriate to their more extensive systems,
with due attention to socioeconomic factors. The UN Convention to Combat Desertifica-
tion (UNCCD) has estimated that perhaps as much as 70% of the world’s drylands, some
3.6 million ha, have already been degraded (UNCCD, 2004). However, some so-called
“bright spots” of sustainability have been identified, and important lessons are being
learned from past experience (see Mortimore, 2004, and Chapter 25).
One lesson is that even though external inputs can increase productivity and contribute
to sustainability, the use of high levels of inputs such as fertilizers, even so-called
“economic” levels, is usually prohibitively costly in dry areas (e.g., Pender and
Gebremedhin, 2004). This consideration, given also poor access to markets and inadequate
infrastructure, suggests that low external-input technologies are required for sustainable
livelihood improvement for most dryland populations, especially those predominantly
dependent on agriculture (Hazell, 2001). It is unlikely that drylands can ever be
competitive for grain production with the subsidized producers in North America,
Europe, and elsewhere, since dry areas generally have low overall potential given their
water and soil constraints.
Soil fertility efforts should aim to enhance both the stabilization and resilience of the
production systems, and to support increased income-generation through more diverse,
higher-value agricultural products, e.g., organic foods, specialized cereal products, such
as durum wheat and couscous, fruits, medicines, cosmetics, and herbs. This is best
achieved via low external-input systems with greater attention to what Sanchez (1994)
called the “second paradigm of soil fertility” (Chapter 49, section 2). This alternative
proposes that crop production enhancement relies more on biological processes,
adapting germplasm to adverse soil conditions, enhancing soil biological activity, and
optimizing nutrient cycling. The latter will minimize, though not exclude, the use of
external inputs and will seek to maximize the efficiency of their use (Sanchez, 1994;
Swift, 1999).
This chapter does not attempt a comprehensive review of soil fertility in dry areas, but
rather focuses on some pertinent issues and promising options for the future of resource-
poor farmers who are heavily dependent on the natural resource base, taking into account
recent advances in our knowledge about fertility management in such high-risk
environments. As dryland environments are highly variable, we do not attempt to
cover all of them but rather consider key issues from the fairly modal arid and semi-arid
areas of Central and West Asia and North Africa. These are physical-climatic regions with
temperate or steppe areas having typical Mediterranean climates of warm and cold
seasons with winter rainfall. These differ from more tropical semi-arid areas or highland
regions, which can have quite different rainfall and temperature patterns and different
dryland farming systems (Bowden, 1979), e.g., the agro-pastoral millet –sorghum system
that is found predominantly in West and Sub-Saharan Africa (Chapter 26) or the extensive
Soil System Management Under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions 43

commercial cereal– livestock systems in Australia. A more complete discussion on types of

drylands is provided in De Pauw (2004).

4.1 Climatic Constraints of Drylands and Coping Strategies

Harsh conditions such as low and erratic rainfall, high temperatures, and strong dry
winds are the prevailing climatic features in drylands represented by the large region of
Central and Western Asia and North Africa, which is our focus here. Water scarcity rather
than soil systems’ fertility is often the factor most limiting for crop production and nutrient
availability. Thus, conservation and effective utilization of water is a prerequisite for
greater availability and more efficient uptake of nutrients. Rainwater harvesting by
vegetation barriers, using stones and green mulches to reduce evaporation, digging
ditches and ponds are useful low-cost technologies for improving soil moisture content
and nutrient availability (Oweis et al., 2004). One such technology is the zaı̈ holes widely
used in West Africa, discussed in Chapter 26.
Alternatives include the use of marginal water sources, such as nutrient-rich sewage
and wastewater, which in many developing countries is an important source of irrigation
water. However, because the use of such water may entail health hazard and
environmental risks, it is best suited to nonconsumable products. Management, use and
reuse of saline and/or sodic drainage water can also contribute to efficient use of scarce
resources. Qadir and Oster (2004) propose developing cropping systems that can endure
the stresses caused by the expected levels of salinity and sodicity, and using agriculturally
significant plant species that can tolerate salinity and/or sodicity. Such species can also be
valuable for bioreclamation of salt-affected soils.
Long-term strategies to cope with climate fluctuations and extremes include the
development of more stress- and disease-tolerant germplasm via conventional breeding
and biotechnology. Given that current levels of production in drylands are below the
existing genetic potential of most crops, a balanced approach will place emphasis on
improving agronomic and soil and water management practices to complement the
expected advances in breeding and biotechnology, and the former can possibly substitute
for them when the latter are not achieved.

4.2 Some Unusual Aspects of Nutrient Cycles in Dryland Areas

The alternative paradigm of soil fertility places increased emphasis on nutrient cycling in
soil –plant– farm systems via biological processes coupled with increased nutrient-use
efficiency (Sanchez, 1994). We suggest some salient and unusual aspects of nutrient cycles
in drylands.
Nutrient cycling in drylands is affected by low and erratic rainfall, wide temperature
extremes, alkalinity and/or salinity, and occasionally by relatively high rates of dry
deposition of nutrient-enriched soil particles from wind erosion. In extremely dry areas
where vascular plants are absent, nutrient cycling through microbial organisms
predominates. For example, microbiotic crusts, composed of nitrogen-fixing cyanobac-
teria, are often found on desert surfaces. These organisms can survive long periods of
desiccation with very rapid responses to rehydration. These organisms conserve and cycle
water as well as nutrients, increasing water infiltration, slowing evapotranspiration, and
reducing wind erosion. Some of the nitrogen they contribute to the soil can be lost,
44 Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

however, through denitrification from underlying anaerobic microsites, which limits

nitrogen build-up (Sprent, 1987).
Under certain conditions, nitrate can accumulate in dry soils from repeated rainfall
events followed by mineralization of litter and nitrification. This usually occurs in the
absence of vascular plants. Spots of higher fertility can occur in the soil that can be
exploited temporarily by fodder plants, for example. Where plants grow in arid and semi-
arid areas, most of the nitrogen will be in the plants’ biomass with efficient internal plant
recycling.
Some potentially useful desert plants, such as Atriplex and Artemisia spp., have negative
effects on the nitrogen cycle. Their antimicrobial capacities inhibit nitrogen-fixing
cyanobacteria, and their nitrification-inhibiting capacities alter a major part of the
nitrogen cycle, especially at high soil pH and temperatures (Sprent, 1987). When these
plants impede the oxidation of nitrite to nitrate, this leads to nitrite accumulation and then
to denitrification, which results in gaseous nitrogen losses from the soil system (see Sprent,
1987, and references therein). These plants are often particularly efficient in nutrient
scavenging and internal nutrient recycling, so they have a competitive advantage.
However, their dominance has detrimental effects on nutrient cycling in soil systems that
are already constrained by nitrogen limitation. These effects need to be considered when
such plants are used in agroecosystems.
The possibilities for enhancing nitrogen in dryland soils by use of legumes are restricted
wherever water rather than nitrogen is the most limiting factor. In such situations, plants
invest more of their energy and photosynthate into developing more extensive, deeper
rooting systems to acquire water rather than into forming root nodules (Sprent, 1985). This
may be why there is little evidence that native dryland legumes actually fix significant
amounts of nitrogen.
Sprent (1987) discusses the interesting case of certain legume phreatophytes, such as
Prosopis spp., that have very deep roots to exploit deep water sources in dry areas. They
often have nitrogen-fixing activity even when the upper soil layers contain high levels of
soil nitrate that would normally inhibit plants’ nitrogen fixation. Such capabilities suggest
conserving shrubs and trees that retain nitrogen and water in their biomass, a difficult task
in marginal areas that are already overexploited and where natural resource managers
lack incentives to conserve biodiversity.
More could be said about the diverse and often unusual characteristics of plants that
have evolved in arid and semi-arid environments. These examples should suffice to show
why one needs to assess nutrient cycling under dryland conditions carefully, in order to
avoid unforeseen problems where natural systems have been perturbed by plant
introductions or by changes in cropping systems. The evolved relationships among
plants and soil organisms in interaction with other components of soil systems, all
operating within particular, difficult climatic and edaphic conditions, create both
constraints and opportunities for management.

4.3 Agronomic and Soil – Water Management Practices for Improved

Soil Fertility
A number of soil fertility management practices under arid and semi-arid conditions are
thought to hold great promise. These include soil conservation measures such as cover
crops, wind breaks, contour planting, terracing, and reduced tillage to minimize
land degradation and erosion, cereal– legume rotations, nitrogen-fixing trees, and better
crop– livestock integration.
Soil System Management Under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions 45

4.3.1 Conservation Agriculture and Tillage

Conservation agriculture (CA) aims to conserve and improve the natural resource base
while using the resources available for agricultural production more efficiently. Several
versions of CA are presented in Chapters 22 and 24. CA avoids or minimizes soil tillage,
maintains a permanent soil cover of crops and/or residues, and utilizes efficient crop
rotations (FAO, 2002). It has been successful in many parts of the world, but has been least
successful to date in the dry areas where production of organic matter is too low for
permanent soil cover and for significant crop residues because of water shortages. Stewart
and Koohafkan (2004) suggest, however, that even small amounts of crop residues can
reduce wind erosion considerably and increase soil water storage. Since significant
quantities of soil and nutrients are lost by wind and water erosion under arid conditions
where the soil remains bare for most part of the year (Zöbisch, 1998), even small savings
are worth pursuing.
Interactions between soil nutrients and water are different under conservation tillage
compared with conventional tillage systems. For example, nitrogen is more efficiently
used under no-till compared to conventional tillage thanks to the higher soil moisture
content conserved, especially with legume crops (Pierce and Rice, 1988). This is mainly
because no-till reduces water loss in dry years, due to the residue cover, and improves
water infiltration during wet years. Somewhat differently, López-Bellido et al. (1996) have
reported a positive effect of no-till on wheat yields in dry years, but a negative effect in wet
seasons. There is need to further exploit such interactions wherever they can be beneficial
in dryland areas.
Stewart and Koohafkan (2004) point out that no dramatic increases in production and
soil fertility can be expected in dry areas in the short term, and farmers are unlikely to
commit themselves to long-term solutions without adequate incentives. This argues for
establishment of policies that will promote better soil and water management under
conservation agriculture farming systems.

4.3.2 Legume Rotations and Crop Mixtures

In recent years there has been an encouraging trend away from mainly cereal-based
systems in drylands toward cereal– legume and cereal– legume –livestock systems that
not only bring economic benefits but also improve soil fertility through the processes
discussed above. Examples are found in the drylands of West Asia (Jones and Singh, 1995),
Australia (Angus and Good, 2004) and the dry savannas of West Africa (Sanginga et al.,
2003a).
Biological nitrogen fixation is the cheapest and most effective management tool for
maintaining sustainable yields in low-input agriculture (Dakora and Keya, 1997; see also
Chapter 12). Furthermore, this is often the only available source of nitrogen supply for
plants in smallholder systems in less developed countries (Hungria and Vargas, 2000; see
also Chapter 27). An alternative to the widely practiced cereal – fallow or cereal
monoculture systems is the introduction of nitrogen-fixing legume crops into a rotation
with cereals.
The beneficial effects of legumes in crop rotation on soil fertility and subsequently on
cereal productivity are well documented (Pierce and Rice, 1988; Robson et al., 2002). There
is evidence, for example, that wheat grown in rotations with other plants such as legumes
in dry areas gives more efficient water and nitrogen use than does the cropping system of
grain followed by bare fallow (Halvorson and Reule, 1994). In dry areas, long-term trials
undertaken by ICARDA researchers in northern Syria under rainfed conditions (annual
46 Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

rainfall 250– 320 mm) have shown an increase in residual soil nitrogen content, higher
wheat and barley yields, and higher water-use efficiency after the legume phase (Keatinge
et al., 1988; Jones and Singh, 1995). Similar results have been reported from dry areas of
Spain (López-Bellido et al., 1996) and Australia (Pearson et al., 1995).
Legume crops differ in their nitrogen-fixing capacity and yields. ICARDA’s long-term
trials have showed that fava bean (Vicia fava) and lathyrus (Vicia lathyrus) can fix more
nitrogen than chickpea and lentil (Malhotra et al., 2004). Peoples et al. (1998) report that
perennial pastures containing alfalfa (Medicago sativa) provide consistently greater annual
vegetative production and can fix up to 50% more nitrogen than subterranean clover
pastures, especially under drought conditions in Australia.
Considerable efforts have been made during the last two decades to increase the
efficiency of legume – rhizobium associations in dry areas under prevailing harsh
environmental conditions. For this purpose, Materon and Cocks (1988) identified certain
native rhizobium strains that are able to form effective nitrogen-fixing nodules in different
annual medic species (of the Medicago genus of legumes). Subsequently, Athar and
Johnson (1996) have identified two mutant strains of R. meliloti that are more effective
under drought stress than naturalized alfalfa rhizobium. Guckert et al. (2003) report
promising results with nitrogen fixation and dry matter production under cold winter
temperatures down to 78C. In West Africa, Sanginga et al. (2003a) have reported the
success of maize – soybean systems as a result of the introduction of promiscuously
nodulating soybean varieties in dry savanna areas.
An important additional benefit of the introduction of crop and forage legumes into
dryland systems is their apparent ability to utilize relatively inaccessible pools of soil
phosphorus. After nitrogen, phosphorus is usually the second most-limiting major
nutrient in dryland soils. Lupins were the first crop identified as having a mechanism for
enhancing phosphorus availability via the exudation of citric acid (Gardener et al., 1982).
Later chickpeas were found to be able to utilize phosphorus from apatites (calcium
phosphates) via the exudation of citric acid (Ae et al., 1991). Details on these processes can
be found in Randall et al. (2001).
Other beneficial soil fauna, such as fungi and plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria,
should be considered in addition to rhizobium in efforts to achieve economically sound
sustainable cropping systems for the dry areas. A recent study conducted in southern
Australia identified new isolates of Penicillium fungi associated with wheat roots having a
high potential to mobilize phosphorus originating from phosphate rocks (Wakelin et al.,
2004). These fungi are being investigated for their ability to increase crop production on
strong phosphorus-retaining soils in dry areas. We are learning that more and more plants
have identifiable mechanisms for increasing nutrient availability in soil systems, usually
in consort with particular soil organisms.

4.4 Improved Soil Fertility in Dryland Horticultural and Agroforestry

Systems
According to Olivares et al. (1988), the plants best able to take advantage of dryland soil
and climate conditions are trees, by making better use of limited water and nutrient
resources through their deep root systems. Furthermore, many trees, shrubs, and drought-
tolerant plants, such as cactus, play an important role in sand stabilization and land
protection, in addition to their economic uses for food, fuel, wood, fodder, and other
purposes (Nefzaoui, 2002).
Soil System Management Under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions 47

4.4.1 Horticultural Systems

Although most cropping systems in arid Mediterranean areas are still based on cereals,
fruit trees represent a major component of increasing importance. In Central and West
Asia and North Africa, permanent crops, mainly fruit trees, represent 1.5% of the total
agricultural area (FAOSTAT, 2004), but a much larger share of agricultural value. Market
demand for traditional tree crops is declining, as well as their profitability, so farmers in
dry Mediterranean areas are becoming more open to new management practices or even
to new crops. In areas receiving more than 400 mm of annual rainfall and where space is
available between young or widely spaced trees, farmers are now growing crops that
demand little water (lentil, chickpea, or even barley), using moisture not reached by tree
roots and at the same time improving soil fertility (Tubeileh, 2004).
With production costs increasing and a trend toward organic farming systems, finding
innovative sources of water and nutrients is important to maintain soil fertility and crop
yields. Recent research has focused on the use of abundantly available olive-mill waste-
water to improve soil fertility in olive-growing areas. The incorporation of such water in
sandy soils of Tunisia has increased aggregate stability and reduced evaporation losses
from the soil (Mellouli et al., 1998). This is probably because olive-mill wastewater
improves soil microbial activity (Kostou et al., 2004), soil organic matter, and levels of
inorganic elements in the soil (Paredes et al., 1999). This nutrient-rich water has been
shown to result in an improved shoot growth of olive seedlings, although application of
large amounts can be phytotoxic (Briccoli-Bati and Lombardo, 1990).
Mycorrhizal fungi provide a very important pathway for improving the water-use
efficiency of tree crops. It has been documented that the inoculation of olive trees with
Glomus mosseae greatly enhances their lateral root development, which in turn stimulates
acquisition of water and nutrients (Vitagliano and Citernesi, 1999).

4.4.2 Nitrogen-Fixing Trees

In spite of their multiple uses, relatively little attention has been given to woody
leguminous species in the dry areas (Thomson et al., 1994). Leguminous trees can survive
with arid soils’ low levels of nitrogen due to their nitrogen-fixing capacity. According to
Dakora and Keya (1997), legume trees can fix 43 –581 kg N ha21 year21, compared to about
15 –210 kg N ha21 year21 from grain legumes. This is why they can be characterized as
“fertilizer trees” (Chapter 19). Nitrogen-fixing trees such as Acacia and Prosopis are some
of the best sources of this fertilization in arid regions, which is inexpensive and already
in situ (Zahran, 1999). In addition, most of these species are sources of highly
nutritious fodder, fuel, food, charcoal, gums, fiber, and timber (Kang et al., 1990; Fagg
and Stewart, 1994).
Acacias are also well adapted to low rainfall and extreme temperatures due to their
extremely deep root systems. They include about 1250 species of deciduous or evergreen
trees and shrubs widely distributed in the tropics and warmer temperate areas, especially
in Australia (Fagg and Stewart, 1994). These species are planted to provide windbreaks,
afforest mining and salt-affected areas, stabilize sand dunes, and reduce erosion (Thomson
et al., 1994). In addition to their nitrogen-fixing capacity, such species in agroforestry
systems are beneficial for maintaining soil fertility due to their efficient nutrient cycling of
tree biomass and their uptake of nutrients from deep soil layers (Kang et al., 1990). Peoples
and Herridge (1990) report that Acacia holosericia trees grown in Senegal are capable of
fixing 36– 108 kg N ha21. Seeds of some Acacia species are a traditional food of Australian
aboriginal people (Harwood, 1994), who still use Acacia to revegetate or rehabilitate
degraded land (Lister et al., 1996).
48 Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

Leaf pruning of these trees is an important component of sustainability in agroforestry

and soil fertility (Zahran, 1999), adding to the biomass available from leaf fall. Prosopis spp.
are deciduous, thorny shrubs or small trees native to tropical and subtropical regions of
the western hemisphere, Africa, the Middle East, and India (Fagg and Stewart, 1994). Their
deep rooting systems given them significant tolerance to water stress. This depth
allows the roots to achieve good nodulation even under drought conditions, enabling
them to survive and contribute to biomass maintenance in the soil (Nilsen et al., 1986;
Peláez et al., 1994).
Nutrient levels (N, P, and K), moisture content, and organic carbon of soil are all higher
under the canopy of Prosopis cineraria compared to the open area (Puri et al., 1994a). The
beneficial effects of tree legumes can also be estimated indirectly through their effect on a
neighboring or following crop. In the Sahelian region with annual rainfall of 400 –600 mm,
the yields of millet, peanuts, and sorghum increased from 500 to 900 kg ha21 when grown
under the canopy of A. albida (Felker, 1978).
Leguminous trees, which can be grown in hedgerows or intercropped with annual
crops, improve soil water conditions as well as enhance soil nitrogen supplies. These trees
obtain most of their water from deep soil layers whereas annual field crops take water
from the upper layers (Peláez et al., 1994). However, competition between leguminous
trees and annual crops has been reported from some dry areas of India (Puri et al., 1994b),
as well as East Africa. Optimum spacing and related considerations thus need to be
factored into management decisions.

4.4.3 Combining Inorganic and Organic Nutrient Sources

Although it is recognized that the use of fertilizers will continue to be important for
agricultural production, there is a need to increase our knowledge of chemical and
biological processes that render nutrients more available to plants from soil organic matter
and other nutrient sources, such as manures, native vegetation, and crop residues. This
will help optimize nutrient cycling and recovery, minimize fertilizer requirements, and
maximize the efficiency of nutrient use. Such research is consistent with what farmers
actually do with their available nutrient resources. For example, recent surveys in Syria
indicate that farmers use crop rotations, manures, and fertilizers, in that order of
preference, to maintain their soil fertility (El-Dessougi, unpublished).
While recent research advances have improved guidelines for the effective use of crop
and plant residues in tropical regions (Swift, 1999; Palm et al., 2001), similar data for
drylands are scarce. Nutrient cycling through the use of low-cost organic inputs such as
animal manure and crop residues is known to improve the structural and chemical
properties of soil and to replenish macro- and micronutrients. These changes increase soil
water-holding capacity and allow for better root penetration and aeration, protecting
nutrients against loss by leaching or erosion and enriching soil flora and fauna (Woomer
and Swift, 1994). Still, management practices to achieve these effects are not well-worked
out for dry areas, where water and temperature factors work differently from humid
tropical or temperate conditions.
Increasing nutrient use and uptake efficiencies is important to maximize the use of
applied organic and inorganic inputs and to reduce production costs. Careful manage-
ment of the methods and timing of fertilizer application will synchronize nutrient release
with peak nutrient uptake by crops, offsetting deficiencies in nutrient availability and
depletion of soil nutrient stocks (Woomer and Swift, 1994). Proper management of other
low-cost sources of organic inputs, such as the collection and composting of household
organic waste, as well as the use of agro-industrial waste such as oil mill wastes or
Soil System Management Under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions 49

sawdust, can further contribute to efficient nutrient cycling, depending on how much
immobilization of nutrients accompanies the process.
Swift (1999) has argued that perhaps the most practical means to control and manage
biologically the dynamics of soil fertility is via indirect technologies such as manipulation
of the quality, timing, and amounts of additions of crop residues, plant litter, and manures.
For resource-poor farmers on drylands, this option is likely to be more feasible than direct
interventions such as introducing and/or manipulating particular beneficial soil fauna.
Our knowledge of the role of soil fauna in soil system fertility in the drylands is meagre
compared with the wetter tropical areas. Also there is a lack of cost-effective delivery
mechanisms for inocula and soil organisms. This option is discussed in Chapters 32– 34,
with some promising results; however, the successes reported there are in climates more
humid than the dryland areas considered here.
Although there has been optimism that positive interactive effects are attainable from
combining inorganic and organic nutrient resources, either by increasing efficiency or by
adding value, the evidence on this is sparse. Most recent evidence points to beneficial
effects due to mulching, conserving moisture and/or increasing infiltration, rather than
from synergistic interactions (Sanginga et al., 2003b). Both are, of course, helpful in dry
areas. Other soil management strategies for sustained fertility that can be used in dry
areas include planting crops with differing root architecture to achieve more efficient
nutrient capture, use of crop residues, improved fallows, and agroforestry (e.g., Jones and
Snapp, 1997).

4.4.4 Pest and Disease Management

An integral part of soil fertility management is the control of weeds and diseases. Failure
in this can result in crop failure which endangers food security. Manipulating soil
microorganisms, soil fauna and plant pathogens as bioherbicides has been proposed for
effective control of parasitic weeds and other crop pests and diseases (Liu et al., 1995;
Elzein and Kroschel, 2003). This area of research is currently receiving more attention.
Crop rotations can play an important role in pest control as illustrated by maize –
soybean rotations in Nigeria where the devastating infestation of maize fields with the
parasitic weed Striga hermonthica has been reduced (Sanginga et al., 2003a). Intercropping
is also emerging as an effective management strategy for striga control (Chapter 40). This
is another area of research that requires crossdisciplinary collaboration as discussed in
Chapter 41.

4.4.5 Management of Rangelands and Crop–Livestock Interactions

Rangelands covering vast areas of the arid and semi-arid regions are characterized by low
levels of productivity, and most are undergoing some degree of degradation as a result
of uncontrolled grazing of communal lands and the removal of shrubs and trees for
fuelwood. There has been too little effort to establish counteracting strategies that ensure
regeneration and conservation of rangeland plants and that avoid the invasion by species
of low nutritive value and palatability. Insecure tenure arrangements contribute to
declining soil fertility when farmers are not motivated to conserve soils and invest in
sustaining fertility where they have no right to the future benefits from their efforts.
Extensive grazing is a system that facilitates the exploitation of nutrients dispersed over
wide areas that could not otherwise be profitably used. While there may be some merit in
promoting nitrogen-fixing species in rangelands, it is unlikely that they will receive
enough other inputs to significantly increase nutrient cycling and accumulation in useful
plant or animal products. Water harvesting in rangelands that can lead to the increased
50 Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

production of forage shrubs and herbs, followed by more general improvement in soil
fertility, may be the most feasible option for these large areas. The management of
rangelands will remain problematic unless supported by adequate technologies,
appropriate policy options, information and education, accessibility to markets, and
more awareness of environmentally friendly practices.
Crop –livestock interactions constitute an essential component of integrated soil fertility
management under marginal dryland conditions, where both extensive and intensive
livestock rearing is being practiced to various extents. This is addressed at greater length
in Chapter 17. Livestock act as transporters of nutrients from grazed rangelands, crop
residues, and native vegetation, and they can supply manure and urine to cropped
land, thereby contributing to the cycling of nutrients in the soil and enriching soil
organic matter. Substantial amounts of vegetative material containing up to 35 –50%
organic matter and 80 – 90% nitrogen and phosphorus are recycled by ruminants (Powell
et al., 1999).
However, the interactions between livestock and crops can be competitive. For example,
the grazing of crop residues that help replenish soil nutrients or protect bare soils against
erosion can result in range deterioration and land degradation if the manure is not
returned to the field or there is uncontrolled grazing. Integrated management of range-
land, feeding systems, manure management, composting, and application is needed to
minimize losses and maximize recycling of nutrients, optimally sustaining soil fertility
over time (Tarawali et al., 2001).

4.5 Discussion
Experience shows that soil fertility management technologies developed by researchers
and scientists in isolation from resource-poor farmers and that are capital-based have low
adoptability, in large part because farmers have to cope with specific microecological or
socioeconomic conditions that are not addressed by these technologies. Given the
specificity of spatial and temporal microclimatic and socioeconomic conditions, scientific
recommendations that are sound and relevant for a particular area can be of no value in
other sites. Thus, to ensure adoption and practical applicability, soil fertility management
technologies should be developed in participation with farmers, e.g., participatory
technology development.
Farmers’ thinking about soil fertility must be holistic, considering factors such as the
impact of microclimatic variations on crop productivity (Cools et al., 2003) and
economic and ethnic influences (Desbiez et al., 2004). Farmers have important context-
specific knowledge that can be combined with scientists’ detailed knowledge of soil
chemical, physical, and biological processes to develop appropriate innovations in
fertility management. Innovations developed jointly with farmers stand a better chance
of adoption through farmer-led adaptive processes attuned to given agroecologies
and to their own specific conditions. Participatory methods can be of value to
researchers, not just farmers, enabling them to incorporate into their analysis the
indigenous knowledge that farmers have of local soils that has been accumulated
and transferred through generations to cope with the adverse conditions of drylands
(Ishida et al., 2001).
Recent and on-going studies at ICARDA (e.g., Cools et al., 2003) plus other evidence
from arid and semi-arid areas (e.g., Ishida et al., 2001; Reij and Steeds, 2003) have
shown that farmers have considerable knowledge about their land and soil fertility
patterns. Farmers use criteria such as soil color, texture, and depth to classify their
Soil System Management Under Arid and Semi-Arid Conditions 51

soils as an indication of fertility status and workability (see also Joshi et al., 2004).
Farmers generally follow very sound practices to overcome the scarcity of their
resources. For example, they know very well the value of animal manure for their
soils, but are faced with problems of low quantity and quality of manure, labor
availability, other competing claims on productive resources, and infestation by weeds
and diseases.
To deal with such constraints, farmers adopt various practices such as confining animals
to collect manure; alternating field applications; composting manure and applying it only
to high-value crops such as vegetables, or localized application around the base of olive
trees; allowing pastoralists and their animals to stay on their land over the dry season to
graze crop residues and manure the land; and allocating manure collection and manage-
ment exclusively to women for more intensive and consistent use.
Under extreme agroclimatic and socioeconomic conditions, farmers are likely to be
effective managers of their soils. Reij and Steeds (2003) report that except when facing
the most severe natural disasters, people in dry areas are quite capable of sustaining
their livelihoods and coping with almost all adverse conditions. These authors
documented outstanding cases of farmer innovators who have developed various
strategies and techniques to reduce risk, enhance productivity, and improve income
sources.
Examples of success stories and innovations that have resulted in significant, positive
returns both in terms of soil fertility and farmers’ livelihoods include: night paddock
manuring systems; construction of stone ponds to collect water and soil; harvesting
rain water; inventing simple, inexpensive tools for planting and harvesting; increased
diversification of plant biomass; and regeneration of natural vegetation by medicinal and
woody tree species in pits filled with manure (Reij and Waters-Bayer, 2001). Locating
innovator-farmers and publicizing their successes in coping with adverse situations can be
an effective means to help farmers in other similar areas through farmer-to-farmer
exchanges.
As external inputs are scarce and costly in dryland areas, management systems that
require few external inputs, relying on nutrient cycling and the more efficient use of water
and nutrients, are more likely to gain acceptance. These should be more resilient and
generate higher-value products than the mainly cereal-based, crop– livestock systems
dominant in dryland areas. Promising management options for improving soil fertility in
the drylands include conservation agriculture and tillage; crop rotations; low-cost soil and
water conservation technologies developed with farmers; higher-value food, medicinal,
cosmetic and herb crops; and new tree and livestock options. These options need to be
researched and developed by building on the knowledge and experiences of those farmers
who have already successfully developed appropriate innovations to cope with the harsh
dryland conditions.
Many of these options need an enabling policy environment that removes perverse
subsidies and encourages farmers to adopt technologies that conserve their natural
resources while providing them with increased income from niche markets for their
products. Getting such incentives and policies in place and engaging in participatory
technology development are two parallel paths to reverse the current decline in soil
fertility and degradation of dryland soil systems. Concurrently, we need to achieve a better
understanding of the interactions among plants, animals, and soils that drive nutrient
fluxes and cycling under water-scarcity conditions and also soil fertility interactions with
pest and diseases. Such knowledge will identify or create opportunities for better, low-cost
biological management of soil fertility in these so-called “marginal” areas that are actually
extensive and must support large and growing populations.
52 Biological Approaches to Sustainable Soil Systems

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