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ADAPTING TO CHANGE: CHANGES IN COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS AND MANAGEMENT OF SOIL QUALITY

ADAPTING TO CHANGE: CHANGES IN COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS AND MANAGEMENT OF SOIL QUALITY AND SOIL ORGANIC MATTER. Peter Motavalli, Javier Aguilera, Roberto Miranda, Jorge Cusicanqui, Miguel Angel Gonzales, Carola Chambilla, Mirco Peñaranda, and Edwin Yucra

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ADAPTING TO CHANGE: CHANGES IN COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS AND MANAGEMENT OF SOIL QUALITY

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  1. ADAPTING TO CHANGE: CHANGES IN COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS AND MANAGEMENT OF SOIL QUALITY AND SOIL ORGANIC MATTER Peter Motavalli, Javier Aguilera, Roberto Miranda, Jorge Cusicanqui, Miguel Angel Gonzales, Carola Chambilla, Mirco Peñaranda, and Edwin Yucra Students: Mamani Blas, Elvio Aruquipa, and Eliceo Tangara

  2. SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES • Initial baseline survey of communities to determine previous and current soil and crop management practices. • Soil participatory workshops to identify community perceptions of soil classification and soils-related problems. • Characterization of the differences in soil properties based on local soil classification systems and due to the effects of soil management practices.

  3. SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES (CONT.) • Assessment of the range in sources and composition of organic soil amendments used in the communities. • Field trials in which several soil fertility practices are being compared through quantitative measurements and participatory assessments and experiments by community members. • Training of student, professional, and community members.

  4. CHANGES IN SOIL AND CROPMANAGEMENT PRACTICES • Increase in production of some cash crops (e.g. onion) and other income-generating activities (e.g. dairy production, day labor) • Decrease in the length of the fallow period in the crop rotation. • Reduction in planting of early season crops (e.g., fava beans and quinoa) due to early season rainfall uncertainty. • Greater tractor use for tillage in lower elevation communities. • Loss of native species (e.g., th’ola) that have multiple uses to restore soil fertility during fallow period and are a fuel source.

  5. COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS OF SOIL RESOURCES AND SOIL-RELATED PROBLEMS • Soil-related problems are only one of several factors limiting crop production. • Soil management problems identified were: • Low soil quality and soil fertility(low soil nutrient content, high clay content and stoniness) • Excessive water and wind-induced soil erosion • Insufficient soil moisture due to lower rainfall • Inadequate soil management practices(Inappropriate tractor tillage practices, lack of a suitable crop rotation strategy, insufficient soil fertility inputs, and overgrazing by sheep)

  6. 5 9 2 0 0 0 5 9 3 0 0 0 5 9 4 0 0 0 5 9 5 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 6 6 8 0 0 0 8 0 S u e l o S u e l o A r c i l l o s o S u e l o A r e n o s o S u e l o F r a n c o S u e l o G r e d o s o S u e l o P e d r e g o s o 0 8 0 0 0 8 5 5 8 0 0 0 8 0 0 8 0 0 0 8 4 4 8 0 0 0 8 0 5 9 2 0 0 0 5 9 3 0 0 0 5 9 4 0 0 0 5 9 5 0 0 0 COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS OF SOIL RESOURCES AND SOILS-RELATED PROBLEMS Vulnerability Map for San José de Llanga Soil Map for San José de Llanga Hail damage in Umala

  7. ALTERNATIVES FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE • Focus of research effort is to develop practices to increase soil organic matter as a means to improve agricultural sustainability and productivity and buffer against the impacts of climate change. Possible strategies for the Altiplano include: • Improved use of organic soil amendments and chemical fertilizers • Better management of crop residues • Use of green manures • Development of managed fallow systems with multipurpose plants (i.e., for forage, soil fertility and erosion control) • Reduced tillage practices

  8. FIELD TRIAL RESULTS • Field trials established in 2006 with initial crop of potato in 4 communities in Umala and 3 communities in Ancoraimes with community selection of field site. • Treatments included a control, sheep and cow manures, compost or peat moss, a biological amendment (Biofert), urea and DAP, and combinations of manure and fertilizer. • Agronomic measurements included emergence percentage, plant height, leaf area index, foliar cover, leaf petiole N, sap nitrate, potato yields and grades, and tuber index. • Soil measurements included changes in soil nutrient content, soil water content, soil porosity, and bulk density due to the treatments. • Community evaluations of agronomic effectiveness and economic practicality of the fertility sources were carried out during and at the end of the growing season.

  9. FIELD TRIAL RESULTS (CONT.) Soil water content to a 30 cm depth in Cohani

  10. FIELD TRIAL RESULTS (CONT.) T1=Control T2=DAP+Urea T3=Cow M T4=Sheep M T5=CM+SM T6=Compost T7=CM+(DAP+Urea) T8=SM+(DAP+Urea) T9=CM+SM+(DAP+Urea) T10=CM+Biofert T11=SM+B T12=CM+SM+B

  11. INITIAL CONCLUSIONS AND WHAT’S NEXT? • Significant progress has been made in characterizing soil issues, developing alternative agricultural management practices, and training students, professionals and community members. • Future activities will include conducting a second year of the field trials, completing soil, manure and tissue analyses, continuing training activities, and preparing publications.

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