This project will explore how socio-economic and soil fertility factors interact to generate unsustainable agricultural practices in Uganda; how the trend of productivity loss might be reversed; and how the reversal of productivity declines can be used to protect one of Earth?s most valuable biodiversity resources ? the Albertine Rift including Kibale National Park. The research will use an interdisciplinary approach, integrating elements of ecology, soil science, and social sciences to link patterns of land use intensity with soil fertility and the socio-economic barriers that inhibit sustainable farming practices. The project will explore new paradigms in soil organic matter formation and degradation to form a better understanding of links between land use and soil fertility. In addition, the project will compile survey data for a broad-scale quantitative assessment of the effects of traditional land management practices as compared with perceptions about productivity and soil fertility in a spatially explicit manner. Soil fertility will be defined by measurements of soil organic matter, soil carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus, pH, water holding capacity and microbial biomass. These data will be integrated by mapping demographic factors, ethnicity, and risks, overlaid with land use and areas of perceived and actual declines in soil fertility. This type of integration will be useful in identifying socio-economic factors that may act as barriers in maintaining soil fertility.
This project will create new ties among North American and Ugandan scientists. Research will be conducted in close collaboration with local farmers in order to raise awareness of the importance of soils and soil sustainability. In addition, the project will partner with non-governmental organizations and local schools to engage thousands of school children in science education activities related to sustainable agriculture practices.
Agricultural intensification to meet increasing food demands in less developed areas of sub-Saharan Africa results in only short term increases in crop yields. Methods, such as cultivating more land, reducing fallow periods, and increasing crop density are not sustainable because land suitable for cultivation is finite, soil organic matter is depleted and fertility is lost, and biological processes are minimized, leading to severely reduced future production potentials. This project will explore cost effective and culturally acceptable methods for maintaining soil organic matter and improving soil fertility, with the goals of increased food security and the conservation of biodiversity.
This project is supported under the NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows (SEES Fellows) program, with the goal of helping to enable discoveries needed to inform actions that lead to environmental, energy and societal sustainability while creating the necessary workforce to address these challenges. With SEES Fellows support, this project will enable a promising early career researcher to establish themselves in an independent research career related to sustainability.
