ALN logo; link to Arid Lands Newsletter Home page ALN No. 58, Winter 2005
Soil management for drylands

Tschakert: Figure 1: Aggregated and stylized farmers' mental model of soil fertility management

Diagram of farmers' mental model of how fertility is added to soil, by maximizing nutrient uptake efficiency, recycling organic matter, providing direct inputs of nutrients, and reducing nutrient losses.
This composite drawing of the four strategies used by farmers for soil management shows that they had a good empirical understanding of soil fertility and degradation, but that this understanding was incomplete: they were entirely unaware of crucial soil processes occurring underneath the soil's surface.

 

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