The 2012 RUFORUM Biennial Conference is the third in the series. The main objective of the Biennial conferences is to provide a platform for agricultural research for development stakeholders in Africa and beyond to actively exchange findings and experiences, while at the same time learning lessons towards improving performance of the agricultural sector and ultimately people’s livelihoods. The biennial conference is RUFORUM’s most comprehensive meeting for the diversity of stakeholders in agriculture. It is especially dedicated to graduate students and their supervisors, grantees in RUFORUM member universities and alumni. It is a platform for peer review, quality control, mentorship, networking and shared learning. The third Biennial Conference was attended by 657 participants. This record contains an extended abstract accepted under the theme of Risk and Vulnerability in Agriculture Responding to Climate.
Rainfall Trends, Soil Organic Carbon and N15 Isotope Status in Selected Wetlands in Lesotho
Abstract:
This research was carried out in Lesotho to characterize the SOC
pool in three different agro-ecological zones of Lesotho. Specific
objectives of this research are: (i) to determine the effect of land
use on SOC pool; (ii) to establish the role of climatic parameters
on soil organic carbon pool; and (iii) to assess the role of primary
and secondary soil particles on the physical protection of soil
organic carbon. The hypothesis tested is that soil organic carbon
pool is significantly influenced by climate and land use, and its
permanence is strongly dependent on the physical protection
provided by stable aggregates and primary particles. Rainfall was
highly variable and therefore unreliable. These wetlands had low
soil organic pool, soil organic matter, silt, clay and total nitrogen,
suggesting that they are highly degraded.
Cette recherche a été menée au Lesotho pour caractériser la
réserve de carbone organique du sol (SOC) dans trois différentes
zones agro-écologiques du Lesotho. Les objectifs spécifiques de
cette recherche sont les suivants: (i) déterminer l’effet de
l’utilisation des terres sur la réserve du SOC, (ii) établir le rôle
des paramètres climatiques sur la réserve de carbone organique
du sol, et (iii) évaluer le rôle des particules primaires et secondaires
du sol sur la protection physique du carbone organique du sol.
L’hypothèse testée est que la réserve de carbone organique du
sol est fortement influencée par le climat et l’utilisation des terres,
et sa permanence est fortement dépendante de la protection
physique assurée par des agrégats stables et les particules primaires.
Les précipitations ont été très variables et donc incertaines. Ces
zones humides ont des réserves faibles en carbone organique du
sol, matière organique du sol, limon, argile et azote total, ce qui
suggère qu’elles sont très dégradées.
Language:
Extended abstract under Risk and Vulnerability in Agriculture Responding to Climate
Date of publication:
2012
Country:
Region Focus:
Southern Africa
Collection:
RUFORUM Conferences and Workshops
Agris Subject Categories:
Agrovoc terms:
Additional keywords:
Licence conditions:
Open Access
Form:
Printed resource
Publisher:
ISSN:
E_ISSN:
Edition:
Notes:
