Nutrient Flows in Perennial Crop-Based Farming Systems in the Humid Forests of Cameroon

Abstract

A study was conducted in some perennial crop-based farms in the humid forests of South West Cameroon, to better understand their soil fertility patterns and management and identify factors that contribute most to nutrient depletion trends in such multi-storey farmholdings. The main perennial crops were the para rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), cocoa (Theobroma cacao) and oil palm (Eleais guineensis) whose ages ranged from immature to very old (senescence). Data were collected over a two-year period (2007 and 2008) and modelled using the farm NUTrient MONitoring (NUTMON) tool. Results showed that the farming systems played key roles in the overall exploitation strategies. Plantain and cassava (annual crops) and cocoa (perennial) were the most associated crops, accounting for more than half of intercropped frequencies. Whereas nutrient flows within and between farm units were confirmed, the net loss in soil N, P and K nutrient balances differed with the main perennial crop - being highest for the oil palm and lowest for the rubber tree. The average nutrient balance of each farm was markedly negative for N but positive for P and K. Partial nutrient balance (ignoring biophysical flows like N-fixation, leaching and erosion) was positive for the three nutrients indicating therefore that the biophysical flows accounted more for N depletion. Nitrogen loss was mainly due to, leaching (~70%), volatilization (~20%), and exported crops and their residues.

Share and Cite:

Ehabe, E. , Bidzanga, N. , Mba, C. , Njukeng, J. , Barros, I. and Enjalric, F. (2010) Nutrient Flows in Perennial Crop-Based Farming Systems in the Humid Forests of Cameroon. American Journal of Plant Sciences, 1, 38-46. doi: 10.4236/ajps.2010.11006.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] J. Kanmegne, “Slash and Burn Agriculture in the Humid Forest Zone of Southern Cameroon: Soil Quality Dyn- amics, Improved Fallow Management and Farmers’ Perceptions,” PhD Thesis, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 2004.
[2] H. V. D. Bosch, A. de Jager and J. Vlaming, “Monitoring Nutrient Flows and Economic Performance in African Farming Systems (NUTMON) II. Tool Development,” Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, Vol. 71, No. 1, December 1998, pp. 49-62.
[3] A. de Jager, S. M. Nandwa and P. F. Okoth, “Monitoring Nutrient Flows and Economic Performance in African Farming Systems (NUTMON) I. Concepts and Methodologies,” Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, Vol. 71, No. 1, December 1998, pp. 39-50.
[4] E. M. A. Smaling and L. O. Fresco, “A Decision Support Model for Monitoring Nutrient Balances under Agricultural Land Use (NUTMON),” Geoderma, Vol. 60, No. 1-4, December 1993, pp. 235-256.
[5] U. Surendran, V. Murugappan, A. Bhaskaran and R. Jaga- deeswaran, “Nutrient Budgeting Using NUTMON-Tool- Box in an Irrigated Farm of Semi-Arid Tropical Region in India: A Micro-and Meso-Level Modelling Study,” World Journal of Agricultural Sciences, Vol. 1, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 89-97.
[6] E. E. Ehabe, M. T. Besong and S. W. Almy, “Late and Infrequent Weeding by Peasant Farmers in the Humid Forest of Cameroon,” Tropical Science, Vol. 41, No. 3, September 2001, pp. 137-141.
[7] F. L. Sinclair, “A General Classification of Agro-Forestry Practice,” Agroforestry Systems, Vol. 46, No. 2, September 1999, pp. 161-180.
[8] S. J. Epale, “Plantations and Development in Western Ca- meroon. 1885-1975. A Study in Agrarian Capitalism,” Vantage Press Inc., New York, 1985.
[9] C. Plaza “Situation de l'hévéaculture Villageoise dans une Filière en évolution: Cas de la Région d'Ekona, Province du Sud-Ouest Cameroun,” M.Sc. Thesis, Université Mon- tpellier I, France, 2003.
[10] M. T. Besong, S. W. Almy and B. Bakia, “Land Productivity of Small Farm Holders in South West Province of Cameroon,” International Journal of Tropical Agriculture, Vol. 11, No. 1, March 1993, pp. 81-87.
[11] J. Jones and J. Benton, “A Kjeldahl Method of Nitrogen Determination,” Micro-Macro Publishing Inc., Athens, Geor-gia, USA, 1991.
[12] R. H. Bray and L. T. Kurt, “Determination of Total Org- anic Available Forms of Phosphorus in Soils,” Soil Science, Vol. 59, No. 1, January 1945, pp. 39-45.
[13] C. A. Black, “Methods of Soil Analysis,” American Society of Agronomy, No. 9, Part 2, Madison, Wiscosin. 1965.
[14] M. L. Jackson, “Soil Chemical Analysis,” Prentice Hall, New York, 1962.
[15] A. L. Tisdall, “Comparison of Methods of Determining Apparent Density of Soils,” Australian Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 2, No. 4, December 1951, pp. 349- 354.
[16] B. R. Brasher, D. P. Franzmeier, V. Valassis and S. E. Da- vidson, “Use of Saran Resin to Coat Natural Soil Clods for Bulk Density and Moisture Retention Measurements,” Soil Science, Vol. 101, No. 2, February 1966, pp. 108- 222.
[17] J. Vlaming, A. de Jager, R. van den Bosch, G. Meijerink, C. van Beek , S. van Wijk and H. van Keulen, NUTMON Toolbox-Data Background, Data Entry, and Data Processing Modules, v3.5-1. "Atambua". Jointly published by Envista Consultancy, Agricultural Economics Research Institute (The Netherlands), Alterra Consultancy and Plant Research International (The Netherlands), 2006. http://www monqi.org/
[18] G. S. Rodrigues, I. de Barros, E. E. Ehabe, P. Sama-Lang and F. Enjalric, “Integrated Indicators for Performance Assessment of Traditional Agroforestry Systems in South West Cameroon,” Agroforestry Systems, Vol. 77, No. 1, September 2009, pp. 9-22.
[19] P. Drechsel, M. Giordano and L. Gyiele, “Valuing Nutrients in Soil and Water: Concepts and Techniques with Examples from IWMI Studies in the Developing World,” Research Report 82, Colombo, International Water Management Institute, Sri Lanka, 2004.
[20] U. Surendran and V. Murugappan, “Pragmatic Approach- es to Manage Soil Fertility in Sustainable Agriculture,” Journal of Agronomy, Vol. 9, No. 2, January 2010, pp. 57-69.
[21] N. R. Rabindra and R. V. Misra, “Soil Nitrogen Balance Assessment and its Application for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment,” Science in China Series C - Life Sciences, Vol. 48, No. 6, January 2005, pp. 843-855.
[22] U. Surendran and V. Murugappan, “Nutrient Budgeting in Tropical Agro Ecosystem-Modeling District Scale Soil Nutrient Balance in Western Zone of Tamil Nadu Using Nutmon-Toolbox,” International Journal of Soil Science, Vol. 2, No. 3, September 2007, pp. 159-170.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.