Soil Degradation and Loss of

Nutrients in Soils in Africa

-Lesego N. Olefhile
05.01.2002

General
Continent has been occupied by humans
much longer than other continents
Human activity and its repercussions
Bedrock mainly granite and gneiss
Low fertility
Rocks oldest in the world
Low clay-easy to work & easy to lose
Intro & Overview
What is SD
Types
Causes
Impact/Effects of SD
Control & Prevention (Solutions)
Comments

What is Soil Degradation
Soil Degradation is a Reduction in the Soils
Ability to Produce
Qualitatively & quantitatively
Results in decreased food production
Declining yields
Increasing levels of poverty

What is SD (Cont)
Slight Degradation
10% Yield Potential Reduction
Moderate Degradation
10-50 % YPR
Severe Degradation
>50 % YPR

Types or Mechanisms of SD
Water Erosion
Wind Erosion
Chemical degradation
Physical degradation

Chem. and Phy. Degradation
Chemical Degradation
Leaching loss of soil nutrients
Salinization dry lands minerals
accumulation on the surface - caliches
Physical Degradation
Waterlogged

Mechanisms of SD (conti)

Wind & Water Erosion
Erosion is the major cause of soil
degradation
Water erosion more severe (vol. & land
area)
Major concern in Southern Africa
Causes of SE
Monoculture
Common practice in Africa
Deforestation -Fuel
-Building materials
37 million ha of forest disappearing each yr (FAO,
1986)
Marginal lands farming- pop. Increase
Hillsides
Malawi 12% slope land cultivated (FAO)

Causes of SE (cont)
Row cropping
Crop removal
Overgrazing
Accounts for about half of the soil
degradation in Africa-(FAO)
Tilling or plowing
All lead to Soil Degradation

SE in Africa
Most erosion occurs in
Liberia, Guinea,Ghana, Nigeria,
Zaire,Ethiopia, Senegal, Niger, The
Sudan,Somalia and Sierra Leone
-FAO
Ethiopia 1,900 T of soil lost annually from
the highlands -UN
Causes of Soil Degradation
Deforestation
Exceeds planting by 30:1 in most parts of
Africa
Overexploitation
Overgrazing
Agric activities (other)
Industrialization

SD vs desertification
Desertification= degradation of land in dry areas
of the world due to misuse or overuse
Advanced Soil Degradation
Destroys soils capacity to support livestock or grow
crops
24 million tones of top soil every yr over the world
Costs Africa about US$9 billion per year (UN)
Not the spread of existing deserts!!

Loss of nutrients
Loss of top soil
Loss of soil minerals
Many areas in Africa losing about 50 tones
of soil/ha/yr
Equivalent to loss of 20,2 & 41 billion tones of
N,P & K respectively per yr.

-UNEP
Impact of Soil Degradation
Decline in soil fertility
Decline in biomass produced
Decrease in food production
Starvation & Poverty
By 2025 Africa ll feed only 40% of its pop (FAO)
> of Africa becoming useless for cultivation
due to SD.
-UNEP
Solutions
Implementation of Govt. Policies
-Soil erosion prevention schemes
Precision Ag???
Advanced farming methods
- conservation tillage
GLASOD - Global Assessment of Soil
Degradation estimates extent & severity
of SD.-sponsored by UNEP & ISRIC



Setbacks (developing countries)
$$$
Skilled manpower(lack of)
Tradition & culture


Comments &/or Questions
Is there a direct link between erosion and
soil degradation???
Can degraded soils be restored to full
function?
Lightly and mod. Degraded soils NOT severely
Degraded soils!!