R.A. Date etal. (eds.), Plant Soil Interactions at Low pH, 729-741,1995.

© 1995 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Strategies for the management of soil acidity

R.J.K. Myers and E. De Pauw

IBSRAM, P.O. Box 9-109, Bangkhen, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

Key words: acid soil, liming, organic inputs

Abstract

Whereas previously farmers have had the option of abandoning their land temporarily or permanently, increasing
population pressure now dictates that farmers must manage soil acidity in order to maintain productivity and their
livelihood. Here we examine the management options available to farmers, from the wealthy to the subsistence
farmer and identify those that are effective for the different types of farmers in different environments. We also
consider the strategies that apply when governments and other land users intervene in land use matters. The paper
draws partly on the authors' experience and on the wealth of previously published information from around the
world. It endeavours to steer a course between fundamental soil/crop science and socio-economic considerations,
although it cannot be divorced from either. Techniques considered range from those that, to a degree, avoid the
problem (alternative land use, alternative crop plants), to those which treat the problem (correcting the soil via
inputs of organic materials, lime, mineral fertilisers, etc.). Techniques that aim at modifying the plant or the soil
should rely on correct diagnosis of the major limitations since yields on different acid soils are low for different
reasons. Converting such techniques into successful strategies must consider external factors. That is, alternative
plants must depend on availability of markets; soil inputs must depend either on a local source of the inputs and/or
sufficient cash flow in order that they be feasible. Other feasibility issues include whether subsoil acidity can be
managed, whether the level of management required is compatible with the farming system practiced, or whether
the acidity management is short-term or sustainable over a longer period. We conclude that it is technically feasible
to make acid soils productive. However, successful implementation depends on integration of technical factors
with social and economic factors, that is, on the development of suitable strategies.

Introduction fallows in their 'slash and burn' rotations. In temperate

In the past, in a less populous world, the management
solution to soil acidity was frequently not to use the
land for agriculture, either permanently or temporari-
ly. Thus until recently, vast tracts of land, particularly
in the tropics, were left untouched. Other vast areas
were used episodically, long fallows being occasional-
ly interrupted for short periods of crop production. The
rapid increase in the human population throughout the
world, particularly in the tropics, has forced man to
use the less productive lands for farming, and much of
this less productive land has soil that is acidic.
In the tropics the problem has become severe in
southeast Asia, Africa and central and South America.
Farmers using acid soils have been forced to shorten
regions, population pressures exist, but more important
is the development of soil acidity due to the side-effects
of management (Bolan et aI., 1991).
Management options for soil acidity, concern main-
ly farmers. Other land managers are not particularly
concerned with soil acidity, nor with managing it, with
the exception of governments as in their role as man-
agers of state forests. In this paper we discuss strategies
that might be used by farmers-subsistence farmers
and relatively wealthy farmers, in temperate regions
and in the tropics. We try to link the science of soil
acidity, as discussed elsewhere in this symposium and
the social aspects discussed by Moran (1995).
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Table 1. Fertility capability classification (extracts from Sanchez et aI., 1982b)

Constraint Diagnostic Agronomic Implications

Acid - 10--60% AI-saturation of effective CEC within 50 cm of soil Soils with low to medium
surface or acidity require liming for AI-
- pH in I: I H20 between 5.0 and 6.0 sensitive crops.

Aluminium - >60% AI-saturation of effective CEC within 50 cm of soil surface Plants sensitive to AI-
toxicity or toxicity affected unless lime
- >67% acidity saturation of CEC by 2:= cations at pH 7 within 50 em is applied. Extraction of
of soil surface or soil water below depth of lime
- >86% acidity saturation of CEC by 2:= cations at pH 8.2 within 50 incorporation restricted.
cm of soil surface or
- pH <5.0 in I: I H20 within 50 cm, except in organic soils where pH
must be less than 4.7.

LowCEC Within the plough layer or surface 20 em, whichever is shallower: Soils have low ability to
- CEC <4 cmole kg- I soil by 2:=bases + KCl-extractable Al (effective retain nutrients against
CEC) or leaching, mainly Ca, K and Mg.
- CEC <7 cmok kg- I soil by 2:= cations at pH 7 or Heavy applications of these
- CEC <10 cmole kg- I soil by 2:= cations + Al + H at pH 8.2. nutrients and N-fertilizers
should be split. Potential
danger of overliming.

High P- - ratio (% free Fe203/%clay) >0.15 and >35% clay or Soils do not easily release P
fixation by - hues of 7.5YR or redder and granular structure if the soil is to plants and may thus create
iron clayey: applies only to plough layer or surface 20 em, whichever is a nutrient deficiency.
shallower. Require high levels of P-
fertilizer or special P-
management practices.

Low K-reserves - <10% weatherable minerals in silt and sand fraction within 50 cm Soils have low ability to
of soil surface or supply K and may create
- exchangeable K <0.20 cmole kg-lor potential K-Mg-Ca imbalances.
- K <2% of 2:= bases if bases <10 cmole kg-I.

What soils are we dealing with?
We use the term 'acid soil' to include Alfisols, Enti-
sols, Histosols, Inceptisols, Oxisols, Spodosols, Ulti-
sols and Vertisols (Adams, 1984; von Uexkiill and
Mutert, 1995). Acid soils have different properties
and, depending on these properties, may require differ-
ent management. Management solutions for acid soils
must be all-encompassing so that all possible problems
are dealt with, or they must be devised to address the
particular problem(s) of individual soils. Since not all
acid soils present management problems, proper diag-
nosis is important to avoid the provision of unnecessary
inputs.
The common soil classification systems, USDA
Soil Taxonomy and FAO Soil Map of the World Leg-
end, recognise some important differences in man-
agement properties between Ultisols (Acrisols) and
Oxisols (Ferralsols). However, there are many points
of overlap in management properties that can only be
separated through the lower levels of classification or
even at the individual profile level. The "Fertility Capa-
bility Classification" (Sanchez et aI., 1982b) offers a
mechanism to group the main constraints that are com-
monly associated with acid soils in the tropics (Table
1).
Another important group of acid soils were those
that were not originally acid but became so following
the use of mineral fertilisers or other inputs. Such soils