ICRISAT Archival Report 2006 - The seedlings of success in the ...

different levels of operation. In most pilot areas integrated workplans have been developed and incorporated into the
constituency development plans of the different regions. A very successful donor conference was held in Okakarara
where priorities of the pilot communities were discussed and financial support for their workplans have been
solicited. One of the major challenges in Phase II will be to ensure that the newly established FIRMs in each of the
nine pilot areas becomes fully operational.
Four conservancies (economically based system of sustainable management and utilization of game in communal
areas) have been officially established and gazetted in the pilot areas during 2005.
South Africa has selected two provinces, i.e. Northwest and Northern Cape as they border Botswana and Namibia
(two DMP countries); and teamed up with these two countries to enhance its field work. Such work included data
analysis, flora and fauna surveys, and population mapping and socio-economic inventory. This led to better
exchange of knowledge between stakeholders on assessment of soil degradation and integrated biodiversity
management (soil and vegetation) with a resulting reduction in grazing pressure on the land; better understanding of
ecosystem stability; and greater stakeholder participation in the three countries. Farmers’ indigenous knowledge
related to sustainable use of Rooibos tea has been documented, and farmer experimentation to restore biodiversity in
Rooibos plantations enhanced. More endangered plant species have been identified and farmers made aware of
species diversity. The teams also organized a workshop to record farmer practices in adaptation to climate change.
Transects were set up to monitor grazing impact on biodiversity and restoration (Mier). A simplified quantitative
vegetation change measurement system for application by extension agents and farmers, is under development by
IES in Zimbabwe.
Climate-forcing gas emissions and development of carbon and nitrogen budgets for land-use systems have been
documented in Senegal and Mali in collaboration with CEH. The influence of land use on the emissions of
greenhouse gases from soils, in particular nitrous oxide and methane, the evaluation of biodiversity and biophysical
sustainability indicators for desert margin ecosystems, the development of C sequestration model for evaluation of
species’ potential for carbon trading will be the emphasis of the collaboration between ARIs and IARCs through the
Scientific and Technical Advisory Team (STAT) soon to be established. Activities will cover the following:
Climate-forcing gas emissions from land use options in Mali
Emission inventories are key to global modeling studies and environmental policy development. Reasonable
estimates of sources, strengths and distribution as well as trends in time, is a prerequisite for selecting cost-effective
environmental policy packages and carrying out realistic studies on projections of future emissions. Quantification
of above-ground carbon dioxide sinks and sources has so far received the major international effort; but soils are
now being recognized as a major under-researched component in the system.
There are large uncertainties in the current annual emission figures for nitrous oxide (N 2 O) and methane (CH 4 ) from
soils. It has been estimated, for example, that the uncertainty in the current global emission of N 2 O from agricultural
sources may be larger than 100% (Olivier and Berdowski 2001). Agriculture is by far the largest source of N 2 O,
contributing 85% to the global anthropogenic total in 1995; with synthetic fertilizers and animal waste contributing
approximately equal amounts to direct N 2 O emissions. There are very few data on emissions of these gases from
sub-Saharan Africa or dryland agroecosystems.
Soil emission fluxes are tightly linked to land use management through the impact of natural and synthetic fertilizer
application, tillage, irrigation, compaction, planting and harvesting. The aim of our study is to measure nitrous oxide
and methane emissions from a range of land management options in dryland African agroecosystems. Carbon and
nitrogen budgets will be evaluated in a cereal/legume field trial in Mali in which N 2 0 and CH 4 emissions are being
measured. Additional measurements by CEH will include estimation of microbial biomass and microbial activity.
This work will improve our understanding of soil nutrient dynamics: turnover of litter and organic matter, and the
relationship between soil microbial activity and the emission of climate-forcing gases.
Biodiversity and biophysical sustainability indicators for desert margin ecosystems
This activity has commenced with a desk study of the current state of knowledge of soil quality assessment and
evaluation of sustainability of land-use systems in the desert margins. The study has generated a review paper on the
potential of carbon management to improve biological condition in land use systems in dryland sub-Saharan Africa
(Hall, N.M., 2004, in preparation). This review highlights the need for further research into useful indicators of soil
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