Abstract
Enset [Ensete ventricosum (welw.) cheesman] is a multi-purpose perennial crop that is an
important keystone species for home garden agroforestry systems in Ethiopia and has great
potential to increase resilience to climate change, sequester carbon and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it could be an important crop to be grown more widely in the future. Carbon sequestration is in part due to application of large amounts of organic matter to enset. However, availability of organic matter for use in enset-based farming systems is likely to be related to wealth status of farmers. Because evidence on the influence of wealth on soil carbon is limited, this study assessed influence of household wealth on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and carbon dioxide emissions from enset-based farming systems in southern Ethiopia. Farmlands managed by resource rich farmers had significantly higher organic carbon in 0-20 cm soil depth (4.6% and 5.8%) than those managed by resource-poor farmers (3.7% and 4.3%). Total nitrogen followed similar trends. Results suggest that wealth status influences soil properties by determining organic inputs, highlighting the importance of livestock. Resource-poor farmers who do not own livestock should therefore take measures to obtain inputs from other sources, such as compost or vermi-compost.
important keystone species for home garden agroforestry systems in Ethiopia and has great
potential to increase resilience to climate change, sequester carbon and reduce net greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it could be an important crop to be grown more widely in the future. Carbon sequestration is in part due to application of large amounts of organic matter to enset. However, availability of organic matter for use in enset-based farming systems is likely to be related to wealth status of farmers. Because evidence on the influence of wealth on soil carbon is limited, this study assessed influence of household wealth on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and carbon dioxide emissions from enset-based farming systems in southern Ethiopia. Farmlands managed by resource rich farmers had significantly higher organic carbon in 0-20 cm soil depth (4.6% and 5.8%) than those managed by resource-poor farmers (3.7% and 4.3%). Total nitrogen followed similar trends. Results suggest that wealth status influences soil properties by determining organic inputs, highlighting the importance of livestock. Resource-poor farmers who do not own livestock should therefore take measures to obtain inputs from other sources, such as compost or vermi-compost.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 101180 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Journal of Agriculture and Food Research |
| Volume | 16 |
| Early online date | 27 Apr 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 27 Apr 2024 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsThis project was supported through the University of Aberdeen’s 2022/23 UKRI GCRF and
Newton Institutional Consolidated Account Award (GNCA) (award reference No:
ES/T003073/1). RALENTIR (Reducing land degradation and carbon loss from Ethiopia's soils to strengthen livelihoods and resilience) project also supported the field works in its project area
(Haise) funded by GCRF (Global Challenges Research Fund) and University of Aberdeen (grant
number ES/T003073/1). The authors thank South Agricultural Research Institute (SARI) for
providing logistic for this work.
Data Availability Statement
Data will be made available on request.Keywords
- Organic inputs
- Soil carbon
- Soil properties
- Carbon emissions
- Soil management
Access to Document
- Habte_etal_JAFR_The_Impact_Of_VoR
© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/4.0/).