Afforestation is a common and effective method for restoring degraded ecosystems worldwide. Robinia pseudoacacia is a main non-native tree species that has been widely planted in the Loess Plateau for revegetation. However, suitability and sustainability of R. pseudoacacia must be considered due...

Low water use efficiency in the dryland regions contributes to the low crop productivity. We assessed how selected soil management strategies affect soil moisture, and water use efficiency in the drylands of Tharaka-Nithi County in Kenya. The experiment was laid in a randomized complete block...

This study aimed to evaluate whether soil water is facilitated and secured for tung growth or is competed by cover crops in tung-based intercropping and crop succession system in sandy-loam soil in southern Brazil. Additional effect of poultry manure was also evaluated during the winter and...

Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM) is widely promoted to enhance soil fertility, yields and livelihoods among smallholders, and ultimately combat environmental degradation. Its core is the combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizers with improved crop varieties. Yet, farmers face...

The slow adoption of new agricultural technologies is an important factor in explaining persistent productivity deficits among smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Farmers delay in particular the uptake of technology packages. Since knowledge constraints are an important barrier to...

The slow adoption of new agricultural technologies is an important factor in explaining persistent productivity deficits among smallholders in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Farmers delay in particular the uptake of technology packages. Since knowledge constraints are an important barrier to...

This article contributes to recent efforts to demonstrate the significance of gender in shaping human-environment interactions through an in-depth study of a model collective in the water and soil conservation campaigns that the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched during the early 1950s....

Does ownership status of agricultural land determine farmers' soil use behaviour? Why (not)? We investigate this old question using multiple methods and data. We apply econometric analysis to plot-level data to determine whether planting decisions differ between rented and owned plots. In...

Between June 24 and September 13, 2009 the Agriculture Commission of the Romanian Parliament conducted an inquiry into the state of land reclamation works in Romania. The main objectives were: rehabilitation and maintenance works, the exploitation of the works, the way in which the financial...

This paper focuses on smallholder maize production in Malawi by investigating the link between productivity and soil fertility management. Many studies conducted in Malawi indicate declining levels of maize productivity thereby posing food security concerns, since maize is the staple crop for...

The paper based on the researches carried out during 2007-2009 in the conditions of the preluvosoil from Agricultural Research and Development Station Oradea. This area is characterized by moderate wet climate. The following indicators for characterization of the soil-water-plant system were...

Much of the current analysis on agricultural productivity is hampered by the lack of consistent, high quality data on soil health and how it is changing under past and current management. Historically, plot-level statistics derived from household surveys have relied on subjective farmer...

This paper investigates the reasons for the low application of external fertilizers on farms in Kenya and Uganda. The analysis uses a large panel of household data with rich soil fertility data at the plot level. The authors control for maize seed selection and household effects by using a...

Introduction -- Greater Central Asia : its peoples and their history and geography -- Biogeography and natural resources of greater Central Asia : an overview -- Managing the commons in the post-soviet transition : what are the challenges of institutional change in pastoral systems in Uzbekistan...

The paper includes evaluation of agriculture, including soil resources of Moldova. Agricultural land area is continuously being extended and changing trends in production and consumption putting increasing pressure on land resources, which has a limited character. Small areas of agricultural...

In Anbetracht des Klimawandels stehen wir vor großen Herausforderungen, Mittel und Wege zu finden, die Emissionen von Treibhausgasen wie Kohlendioxid (CO2), Methan (CH4) und Lachgas (N2O) zu reduzieren beziehungsweise diese Gase aus der Atmosphäre zu entfernen. Es wird verstärkt diskutiert,...

For decades, rapid urban expansion has led to concerns over the loss of cultivated land in rural China. This contrasts sharply with another salient feature of the Chinese land policy reform landscape that has gone on largely unnoticed - the addition of newly cultivated land in China through land...