Maintenance and improvement of soil in the productivity of highlands Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Uganda AHI Technical Series no. 6 Report African Initiative Highlands - • • .• ARC HIV 112977 Maintenance and improvement of soil in the productivity of highlands Ethiopia, Kenya, and Madagascar Uganda An of and inventory spatial non-spatial survey and research data on natural resources and land productivity Arnoud R Braun, Eric MA Smaling, Eric I Muchugu Keith D and John D Corbett Shepherd editors AHI Technical Series no. 6 Report /, " African Initiative Highlands (3i O 1-i June 1997 African Highlands Initiative AHI Cordinating Office, ICRAF Box 30677, Nairobi, Kenya This publication is produced with the financial support of the International Development Research Centre. The African Highlands Initiative is coordinated by ICRAF. editors: Arnoud Braun and Eric Smaling are with the Winand Staring Centre for Integrated L.and, Soil and Water Research (SC—DLO); Eric Muchugu is with the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF); John Corbett, formerly with ICRAF, now is with Texas A&MU niversity. confributors: Ethiopia R. Rabeson Abebe Kirub J.L. Rakotomanana AsnakewWoldeab R. Razafindrabe Paulos Dubale Uganda Kenya M.K. Magunda C.K.K. Gachene J. Nuwamanyc P.1. Gicheru H. Ssali R.M. Kiome !CRAF Madagascar 1. MacOpiyo N. R. Mutura Andriamampianina Contents List of tables V List of vi figures List of maps vi Abbreviationa nd vii acronyms 1 Introduction 1 2 Spatial presentation, interpretationo f natural resources 1 2.1 Informationb ase 1 2.1.1 Where are the 'highlands'? 1 2.1.2 GIS database 2 2.1.3 Ethiopia 4 2.1.4 Kenya 8 2.1.5 Madagascar 10 2.1.6 Uganda 16 2.2 Translation of basic attributes into MISP indicators 18 2.2.1 Definitions of soil productivityi ndicators 18 2.2.2 Collection of country-specific pedon data 21 2.2.3 Applicationo f soilp roductivityi ndicatorsf ort he 4 MISP countries 23 3 Review of MISP-related research 28 3.1 Ethiopia 29 3.1.1 Introductiont o soil productivityr esearch 29 3.1.2 Soil physical propertiesa nd processes 30 3.1.3 Soil chemical properties and processes 31 3.1.4 Soil biological properties and processes 35 3.1.5 Runoff and erosion 37 3.1.6 Nutrient cycling andb udgets 38 3.1.7 MISP technologies 39 Mineral fertilizers 40 Mineral soil amendments 43 Improved, low-external input agroecosystems 43 Soil and water managementa nd conservation 44 Integrated nutrient management 46 3.1.8 Modellinga pproachesf or soil productivitya ssessment 47 3.1.9 Long-terme xperimentation 47 3.1.10 Farmings ystems research 47 Manuring 48 Crop rotation 48 Chemical fertilizers 48 3.1.11 Technology adoption 49 3.2 Kenya 51 3.2.1 Introductiont o soil productivityr esearch 51 3.2.2 Soil physicalp roperties and processes 52 3.2.3 Soil chemical propertiesa nd processes 55 3.2.4 Soil biological properties and processes 58 3.2.5 Runoff and erosion 59 3.2.6 Nutrient cycling and budgets 61 3.2.7 MISP technologies 63 Mineral fertilizers (MF) 63 Mineral soil amendments 65 Improved, low-external input agroecosystems 65 Soil and water managementa nd conservation 66 Integratedn utrient management 67 3.2.8 Modelling approachesf or soil productivitya ssessment 67 68 3.2.9 Long-term experimentation III 3.2.1 Farmings ystemsr esearch .68 3.2.11 Technology adoption 69 3.3 Madagascar 70 3.3.1 Introductiont o soil productivityr esearch 70 3.3.2 Soil physical propertiesa nd processes 71 3.3.3 Soil chemical properties and processes 71 Uplands 73 Bottomlands 73 3.3.4 Soil biological properties and processes 73 Uplands 73 Bottomlands 74 3.3.5 Runoffa nd erosion 74 3.3.6 Nutrient cycling and budgets 75 3.3.7 MISP technologies 76 Mineral fertilizers 76 Mineral soil amendments 77 Improved,l ow-external input agroecosystems 77 Soil and waterm anagementa nd conservation 78 Integrated nutrient management 79 3.3.8 Modellinga pproaches for soil productivityr esearch 79 3.3.9 Long-terme xperimentation 79 Uplands 79 Bottomlands 79 3.3.10 Farmings ystemsr esearch 80 3.3.11 Technology adoption 80 3.4 Uganda 80 3.4.1 Introductiont o soil productivityr esearch 80 3.4.2 Soil physical propertiesa nd processes 82 3.4.3 Soil chemical properties and processes 83 3.4.4 Soil biological properties and processes 85 3.4.5 Runoff and erosion 86 Soil loss (plot to catchment-level) 86 3.4.6 Nutrient cycling and budgets 87 3.4.7 MISP technologies 87 Mineral fertilizers 87 Mineral soil amendments 89 Improved,l ow-external input agroecosystems 90 Soil and waterm anagementa nd conservation 91 Integrated nutrient management 92 3.4.8 Modellinga pproaches for soilp roductivitya ssessment 92 3.4.9 Long-terme xperimentation 92 3.4.10 Farmings ystemsr esearcha nd technologya doption 94 4 Summary and highlights 96 4.1 Summaryo f georeferenced information 96 4.1.1 Informationb ase 96 4.1.2 Soil productivityi ndicators 97 4.2 Summaryo f non-georeferenced information 97 4.2.1 Themex country summary 97 4.2.2 Highlightsp er country 97 Ethiopia 97 Kenya 99 Madagascar 99 Uganda 100 4.3 Majork nowledgeg aps 101 References 102 Appendix 1: Fertilizert ypes 120 Appendix 2 121 Maps 129 iv List of tables Table 2.1 Land resourcesi n the highlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Uganda Table 2.2 Distribution of rainfall in the five consecutive wettest months for the highlands of and Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar Uganda Table 2.3 Altitude ranges in the highlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascara nd Uganda Table 2.4 Population density distribution in the highlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagscara nd Uganda Table 2.5 Population (1994) in the highlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagscara nd Uganda. Table 2.6 Thermalz ones of the highlands ofE thiopia Table 2.7 Land resourcesm aps for Ethiopia (different scales) Table 2.8 Distributiono f soils in the highlands of Ethiopia Table 2.9 Major agricultural activities in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascara nd Uganda Table 2.10 Land use in Ethiopia Table 2.11 Temperature zones for the highlands of Kenya Table 2.12 Soil maps of the highlands of Kenya Table 2.13 Distribution and characteristics of soils in the highlands of Kenya Table 2.14 Soil surveys for Madagascara t differents cale levels Table 2.15 Legend for highland mapping units of the Soil Map of Madagscar( Riquier, 1968) Table 2.16 Descriptiono f mapping units in Table 2.15b that are built of of associateds oils Table 2.17 Distributiona nd characteristics of the major soils (FAQ-Unesco, 1974) in the highlands of Madagascar Table 2.18 Distributiona nd characteristics of the soils (Riquier, 1968) in the highlands of Mada- gascar Table 2.19 Soil surveys in Uganda at reconnaissance and detailed level Table 2.20 Land use in Uganda Table 2.21 Equations to estimateN leaching from the topsoil (20 cm) in the highlands of Kenya Table 2.22 Rating table for an estimationo f N leaching potential in the highlands of Kenya Table 2.23 Class specifications for the aciditys oil productivityi ndicator in the highlands of East Africa Table 2.24 Ranking of soils for soil erodibility Table 2.25 Rating table for soil productivityi ndicatorsi n the highlands of Ethiopia Table 2.26 Area-specific rating for soil productivityi ndicators for the major soils in the highlands of Ethiopia Table 2.27 Distribution of soil productivityi ndicators for the highlands of Ethiopia Table 2.28 Distributiono f soil productivityi ndicatorsf or the highlands of Kenya Table 2.29 Soil characteristics for the major soils of the highlands of Kenya Table 2.30 Averages oil characteristics for the major soils of the highlands of Madagascar Table 3.1.1 Data on NationalA gricultural Research Systems (1992-1994) of Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Uganda Table 3.1.2 Physicalt opsoil properties of majorE thiopianH ighland soils Table 3.1.3 Chemical topsoilp roperties of major EthiopianH ighland soils Table 3.1.4 Physicala nd economic soil loss measures for Ethiopianc roplands Table 3.1.5 N, P and K inputs (IN's) and outputs (OUT's) for cropped land in the Ethiopian highlands of Arsi, Shewa and Gojam Table 3.1.6 Total nutrient balance for land/waterc lasses in the Ethiopianh ighlands Table 3.1.7 Soil-order specific fertilizerr ecommendations( N and P) for wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare),m aize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and tef (Eragrostis tef) in the Ethiopian highlands (kg N and P ha-1) Table 3.1.8 Region-specific fertilizerr ecommendations for tef (Eragrostis tef) in the Ethiopian highlands Table 3.1.9 Soil-specific fertilizerr ecommendations for maize (Zea mays) in the Ethiopian high- lands over the years 1988-1991 Table 3.1.10 Fertilizerr ecommendations for tef (Eragrostis tef), wheat (Triticum aestivum),b arley V (Hordeumv ulgare), maize (Zea mays) and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) in Ethiopiao ver the years 1988-1991 Table 3.1.11 Effect of alley cropping Sesbania sesban, Leucaena leucocephala and cowpea (Cajanus cajan) on grain yields of sorghum (Sorghumb icolor), maize (Zea mays),w heat( Triticum aestivum),t ef (Eragrostis tef), field bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) and faba bean (Viciafaba) at Sirinka, Melkasaa nd Kobo (Ethiopian highlands) in 1986/87 Table 3.2.1 Physical topsoil properties ofF URP trial sites in the Kenyan highlands Table 3.2.2 Chemicalt opsoil properties of FURP trial sites in the Kenyanh ighlands Table 3.2.3 Erosionr esearchi n the Kenyanh ighlands by soil type and crop/management Table 3.2.4 Total nutrient balance for land/waterc lasses in the Kenyan highlands Table 3.2.5 Nutrient inputs and outputs and internal flows at farm level Table 3.3.1 Chemicalt opsoil properties and texture for the major soils of the highlands of Mada- gascar Table 3.3.2 Organic matter classes for the bottomlandsi n the highlands of Madagascar Table 3.3.3 C balance (kg ha-1) for three agro-ecosystems at Manakazo,A nkazobe,M adagascar Table 3.3.4 Characteristics of three types of Inland Valley soils in the highlands ofM adagascar Table 3.3.5 Erosivity and erodibilityf or the highlands of Madagascaro fM adagascar Table 3.3.7 Major input (IN's) and output (OUT's) flows of Malagasya gro-ecosystems Table 3.3.8 Chemicalp roperties of un-terraceda nd terraced land at Avaratrambolo, Madagascar Table 3.3.9 Rotations chedule of an experimenta t Manankazo,M adagascar Table 3.3.10 Effects on chemical properties of the use of a rotation at Manankazo,M adgascar Table 3.3.11 Chemical topsoil (0-20 cm) properties ofI RRI sites at Mahitsy, Antsirabe and Sambaina (Madagascar) Table 3.4.1 Physical topsoil properties of soils at Agricultural Research Stations in Uganda Table 3.4.2 Chemical topsoil properties of soils at AgriculturalR esearch Stations in Uganda Table 3.4.3 Total nutrient balance for land/waterc lasses in the Ugandan highlands Table 3.4.4 Fertilizer trials in Uganda in Table 3.4.5 Interim fertilizerr ecommendationsf or majorc rops Uganda Table 3.4.6 Treatments of the long term soil fertility experiment at Serere, Uganda Table 3.4.7 The effect of crop-rests equencea nd manure level1 on rotation yields (kg ha-1) at Serere, Uganda Table 3.4.8 The change in nutrient content and pH (0-45 cm) following a rest phase and an arable at phase Namulonge,U ganda Table 4.2.1 Qualitativer anking of MISP research in the highlands of Ethiopia,K enya, Madagascar and Uganda; ranking as follows: 0 (no information), 1 (littlei nformation: one or two studies), 2 (moderatei nformation), 3 (much information)a nd 4 (abundant informa- tion). List of figures Figure 3.1.1 Distributiono f land/waterc lasses for Ethiopia Figure 3.2.1 Distributiono f land/waterc lasses for Kenya Figure 3.2.2 Effects of applicationso f farmyard manure (FYM) and inorganicf ertilizerso n grain yields of maizei n a long-terme xperimenta t Kabete, Kenya Figure 3.2.3 Effects of applicationso f farmyard manure (FYM) and inorganicf ertilizerso n soil organic matter content in a long-terme xperimenta t Kabete, Kenya Figure 3.3.1 Distribution of land/waterc lasses for Madagascar Figure 3.4.1 Distribution of land/waterc lasses for Uganda of List maps Map 1 Rainfall in the five consecutive wettest months (Ethiopian, Kenyan and Ugandanh ighlands) Map 2 Rainfall in the five consecutive wettest months (highlands of Madagascar) Map 3 Altitude (Ethiopian, Kenyan and Ugandan highlands) VI Map 4 Altitude (highlands of Madagascar) Map 5 Population density (Ethiopian, Kenyan and Ugandan highlands) Map 6 Population density (highlands of Madagascar) Map 7 Major soils (FAQ-Unesco, 1974) of the highlands of Ethiopia Map 8 Major soils (FAQ-Unesco, 1974) of the highlands of Kenya Map 9 Major soils (FAQ-Unesco, 1974) of the highlands of Madagascar Ethiopia Map 1 Organic carbon content (highlands of Ethiopia) Ethiopia Map 2 Available phosphorus: P-Olsen (highlandso f Ethiopia) Ethiopia Map 3 Potential phosphorus fixation (highlandso fE thiopia) Ethiopia Map 4 Acidity (highlandso f Ethiopia) Ethiopia Map 5 Rootables oil depth (highlands of Ethiopia) Ethiopia Map 6 Slope (highlands of Ethiopia) Ethiopia Map 7 Soil erodibility( highlands of Ethiopia) Kenya Map 1 Organicc arbon contenti n topsoil (highlands of Kenya) Kenya Map 2 Nitrogen stocks in topsoil (highlandso f Kenya) Kenya Map 3 Potentialp hosphorus Fixation (highlands of Kenya) Kenya Map 4 Topsoil acidity (highlandso fK enya) Kenya Map 5 Potential supply of nitrogen in topsoil (highlands of Kenya) Kenya Map 6 Potential supply of phosphorus in topsoil (highlandso f Kenya) Kenya Map 7 Rootables oil depth( highlands of Kenya) Kenya Map 8 Dominant slope (highlandso f Kenya) Kenya Map 9 S factor * L-factor of the USLE equation (highlandso f Kenya) Kenya Map 10 Soil erodibility( highlandso fK enya) Kenya Map 11 Nitrogen leaching potential (highlandso f Kenya) Abbreviations and acronyms AABNF AfricanA ssociation for BiologicalN itrogenF ixation ACA AwassaJ unior College of Agriculture( Awassa, Ethiopia) ADD Agricultural DevelopmentD epartment (AddisA baba,E thiopia) ADLI agricultural-development-led industrialization AFRENA AgroforestryR esearch Network for Africa AFRENA-ECA AgroforestryR esearch Network for Eastern and CentralA frica AGM annual general meeting AHI AfricanH ighlands Initiative ARC agricultural research centre ASN ammoniums ulphate nitrate (appendix 1) AUA Alemaya University of Agriculture (AddisA baba,E thiopia) BBF broadbed and furrow system BNF biological nitrogen fixation CABI CAB International( Wallingford, UK) CAN calcium ammoniumn itrate (appendix 1) CARE Cooperativef or AmericanR elief Everywhere CGIAR ConsultativeG roup on InternationalA griculturalR esearch (Washington, USA) CIAT InternationalC enter for Tropical Agriculture CIDA Canadian InternationalD evelopmentA gency CIMMYT InternationalC enter for the Improvemento f Maize and Wheat CIRAD Centre de CooperationI nternationale n Recherche Agronomiquep our le Développement( Paris, France) CNRE Centre National de Recherche sur l'Environnement( Antananarivo,M adagascar) CPSZ crop production systemz ones CRES Centre for Resources and Environmental Sustainability (Australia) VI, CTFT Centre Technique Forestier Tropicale (Antananarivo,M adagascar) DAP di-ammoniump hosphate (appendix 1) DCP di-calcium phosphate (appendix 1) DRFP Departementd e Recherches Forestières et Piscicoles (Antananarivo,M adagascar) DRR Departementd e Recherche en Riziculture (Antananarivo,M adagascar) DSP double superphosphate (appendix 1) DTPA diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid DW dry weight EAAFRO East AfricanA griculturea nd Forestry Research Organization( Nairobi, Kenya) EAMD EastA fricanM eteorological Department EC European Community EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid FAQ Food and AgricultureO rganization( Rome, Italy) FIFAMANOR Fiompiana,F ambolena (Elevage et Agriculture) MalagasyN orvégienne (Antsirabe, Madagascar) FOFIFA Centre National de la Recherche Appliqueea u DéveloppementR ural (Antananarivo,M adagascar) FSR farmings ystems research FURP FertiliserU se Recommendation Project (Nairobi, Kenya) GIS geographical informations ystems GDP gross domesticp roduct JAR Institute of AgriculturalR esearch (AddisA baba, Ethiopia) IARC internationala gricultural research centre IBSRAM International Board for Soil Research and Management (Bangkok, Thailand) ICRAF International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (Nairobi, Kenya) ICRISAT InternationalC ropsR esearch Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics IDRC International DevelopmentR esearch Centre (Ottawa, Canada) IFAD International Fund for AgriculturalD evelopment( Rome, Italy) IFDC InternationalF ertilizer DevelopmentC enter IFPRI InternationalF ood Policy Research Institute IGADD IntergovernmentalA uthority on Drought and Development( Djibouti) IIASA InternationalI nstitute for Applied Systems Analysis IITA International Institute for Tropical Agriculture ILCA InternationalL ivestock Centre for Africa, now part of ILRT ILEIAS imprOved, low external input agroecosystem ILRI InternationalL ivestock Research Institute IRAT Institutd e Recherche AgronomiqueT ropical IRRI InternationalR ice Research Institute ISCO International Soil ConservationO rganization ISNAR International Service for NationalA gricultural Research (The Hague, The Nether- lands) ISRIC International Soil Reference and InformationC entre (Wageningen, The Nether- lands) ITCZ Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone JVP Joint Vertisol Project (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) KARl Kenya AgriculturalR esearch Institute (Nairobi, Kenya) KEFRI Kenya Forestry Research Institute (Nairobi, Kenya) KENSOTER Kenya soil and terrain digital database KREMU Kenya Rangeland Ecological MonitoringU nit (Nairobi, Kenya) KSS Kenya Soil Survey (Nairobi, Kenya) LUPRD Land Use Planning and RegulatoryP roject (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) LWC land waterc lass MCP mono-calciump hosphate (appendix 1) MF mineral fertilizer VIII MINAGRI Ministère de l'Agriculture( Antananarivo,M adagascar) MIRCEN Microbiological Resources Centre (Nairobi, Kenya) MISP Maintenancea nd Improvemento f Soil Productivity MoA Ministry of Agriculture (AddisA baba,E thiopia) MoALD&M Ministry of Agriculture,L ivestock Developmenta nd Marketing( Nairobi, Kenya) NARL National AgriculturalR esearch Laboratories( Nairobi, Kenya) NARS national agriculturalr esearchs ystems NARO NationalA griculturalR esearch Organisation( Kampala,U ganda) NBS National Biomass Study (Kampala, Uganda) nd no data NFIU National Fertilizer and Inputs Unit (AddisA baba,E thiopia) NGO non-governmentalo rganization NORAD Norwegian Agencyf or InternationalD evelopment( Oslo, Norway) NRM natural resourcem anagement NSSP National Soil Service Project (AddisA baba, Ethiopia) NUTMON nutrient monitoring ODA OverseasD evelopmentA dministration( UnitedK ingdom) OM organic matter ORSTOM Institut francais de recherche scientifiquep our le développemente n cooperation (Paris, France) PR phosphate rock RENEASA RhyzobiumE cology Network for East and SouthernA frica RF ResearchF oundation RSCU RegionalS oil ConservationU nit (Nairobi, Kenya) SC-DLO Winand StaringC entre for Integrated Land, Soil and Water Research( Wagemngen, The Netherlands) SCRP Soil ConservationR esearch Project (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) SIDA Swedish InternationalD evelopmentA gency( Stockholm, Sweden) SOTER soil and terrain digital database SSP single superphosphate (appendix 1) SSSEA Soil Science Society of East Africa STIBOKA Netherlands Soil Survey Institute (Wageningen, The Netherlands),n ow part of SC- DLO TSBF Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (Nairobi, Kenya) TSP triple superphosphate (appendix 1) UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UNDP United Nations DevelopmentP rogramme UNEP United Nations EnvironmentalP rogramme Unesco United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization USA United Stateso f America USDA United StatesD epartmento fA griculture USLE universal soil loss equation VAM vesicular arbuscularm ycorrhiza WAU Wageningen AgriculturalU niversity (Wageningen, The Netherlands) WB World Bank (Washington, USA) WBISPP Woody Biomass Inventory and Strategic PlanningP roject (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) WEPP Water ErosionP redictionP roject (Uganda) ix