A method to assess soil erosion from smallholder farmers' fields: a case study from Malawi.
Soil erosion by water is a major threat to sustainable food production systems in Africa. This study presents a qualitative soil erosion assessment method that links the number of broken ridges (NBRS) observed on a smallholder farmer's field after a rain event to factors of soil erosion (e.g., rainfall intensity, slope steepness, crop canopy height, and conservation practice) and to soil loss data measured from a runoff plot and receiving small streams. The assessment method consists of a rapid survey of smallholder farmers combined with field monitoring. Results show an indirect relationship between NBRS and factors of soil erosion. Results also show a direct relationship between NBRS and suspended sediment concentrations measured from an experimental runoff plot and receiving streams that drain the sub-watersheds where farmers' fields are located. Given the limited human and financial resources available to soil erosion research in developing countries, monitoring NBRS is a simple, cost-effective, and reliable erosion assessment method for regions where smallholder farmers practice contour ridging.
National Exposure Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 960 College Station Road, Athens, GA 30605, USA. mohamoud.yusuf@epa.gov
Yusuf M
YM
Mohamoud
D000383:Agriculture; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D055593:Geological Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D008295:Malawi; D011891:Rain; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*
D012987:Soil