Terracing and accelerated soil loss on rwandian steeplands: A preliminary investigation of the implications of human activities affecting soil movement
✍ Scribed by L. A. Lewis
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1992
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 469 KB
- Volume
- 3
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1085-3278
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✦ Synopsis
Throughout Rwanda, terracing was reintroduced in 1973 as the major conservation practice to minimize soil loss on its steep agricultural lands.' Terracing has been partially successful in reducing soil losses resulting from nonchannelized runoff, the goal of this practice. However, because of the widespread fragile environmental conditions in the highlands, soil fertility has decreased and soil acidity increased in numerous fields as a direct result of the terracing. To maintain sufficient agricultural yields, within the constraints of a low resource agricultural system, farmers have responded to the acidity and soil fertility problems by systematically removing a portion of the terrace berm during field preparation. This practice, in response to the changing environmental situation due to terracing, results in significant amounts of soil displaced downslope year after year. This human-induced soil erosion process seriously counters many of the intended benefits of terrace construction and is contributing to the land degradation problem. The results of this study emphasize the need for both conservation strategies and the measurement of soil loss to be sensitive to human-induced as well as natural erosional processes. By not considering the human response to terrace construction, the benefits of this conservation practice have been seriously offset.