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Desire for Greener Land

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The results showed that the best option in this area is<br />

check dam land, then level bench terrace and re<strong>for</strong>estation.<br />

Constructing check dams requires design and great<br />

financial input. It was there<strong>for</strong>e not possible to implement<br />

it in DESIRE. There<strong>for</strong>e level bench terrace and re<strong>for</strong>estation<br />

have been selected <strong>for</strong> implementation.<br />

III Trialling and monitoring terraces<br />

Experiments were carried out to monitor soil moisture and<br />

soil loss in different land use types in sloping areas and also<br />

in terraced land. High intensity rainfall was generated with<br />

a rainfall simulator, and data were collected <strong>for</strong> rain events<br />

lasting 30 and 60 minutes. Soil samples were collected to<br />

determine soil moisture level. Runoff samples were collected<br />

to determine sediment content and soil loss.<br />

Results<br />

Results showed that soil loss was different <strong>for</strong> different<br />

land use types: no soil loss was observed on terraces, while<br />

orchards had very high soil loss. Results also showed that the<br />

longer rainfall event caused more erosion than the shorter<br />

one, but not twice as much as might have been expected<br />

based on the difference in duration.<br />

The results were also evaluated from a production, sociocultural<br />

and economic point of view, using the part of the<br />

WOCAT system that evaluates conservation technologies<br />

(www.wocat.net). The bars in the figure on the next page<br />

express the estimated or measured effect compared to the<br />

reference situation (untreated plots). This change can be<br />

positive (blue) or negative (red). Overall, the results were<br />

positive.<br />

Variable 2009 2010<br />

Meteo<br />

Moisture<br />

Yield<br />

Erosion<br />

Input<br />

Output<br />

264<br />

Soil erosion modulus (tons.km-2)<br />

10000<br />

9000<br />

8000<br />

7000<br />

6000<br />

5000<br />

4000<br />

3000<br />

2000<br />

1000<br />

0<br />

Main conclusions<br />

Erosion - 30 minutes<br />

Erosion - 60 minutes<br />

Terrace Re<strong>for</strong>estation land Grassland Orchard bare land<br />

<strong>Land</strong> use type<br />

Wang Fei<br />

– Terracing improves soil moisture condition, controls soil<br />

erosion and increases agricultural production.<br />

– The farmers are convinced that soil and water conservation<br />

practices help to protect the land from degradation, but<br />

they do not think that it is possible to get more income<br />

from the land. They hope that the results of DESIRE influence<br />

local government to invest more to build terraces.<br />

DESIRE – WOCAT <strong>Desire</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Greener</strong> <strong>Land</strong>

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