Management of Tropical Sandy Soils for Sustainable Agriculture �A holistic approach for sustainable development of problem soils in the tropics�
27th November � 2nd December 2005 Khon Kaen, Thailand

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ISBN 978-974-7946-96-3

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Table of contents

Preface

Executive Summary

Welcome addresses

Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives

Director General of Land Development Department

Patrice Cayré, Director of the Department of Living Resources, l’Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)

FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Conference key note addresses

Strategic management for poverty alleviation of people inhabiting problem soil areas

Poor soils make poor people and poor people make the soil worse

Oral sessions

Session 1. Global extent of tropical sandy soils and their pedogenesis

Sandy soils of Asia: a new frontier for agricultural development?

Analysis of spatial distribution patterns of soil properties and their determining factors on a sloped sandy cropland in Northeast Thailand

Sandy soils of Cambodia

Soil characteristics and crop suitability of 1

Sandy soils in Southern and Eastern Africa: Extent, properties and management

Coastal sandy soils and constraints for crops in Binh Thuan Province, Southern Central Vietnam

Session 2. Socio-economic imperatives

Challenges for farmer-researcher partnerships for sandy soils in Northeast Thailand

Farming systems in the sandy area of the Thua Thien Hue Province, central Vietnam. Survey of socio-economic situation and constraints identified by farmers

Session 3. Chemical properties and their effect on productivity

Managing sandy soils in Northeast Thailand

Changes in soil chemical properties under two contrasting plantation systems on the Zululand coastal plain, South Africa

Clay mineral dissolution following intensive cultivation in a tropical sandy soil

Hydrotalcite: leaching-retarded fertilizers for sandy soils

Assessment of salinity hazard by Time Domain Reflectometry in flooded sandy paddy soils

Effects of land use changes on soil chemical properties of sandy soils from tropical Hainan, China

Improvement of the saline sandy soil in Northeast Thailand using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)

Impact of agricultural practices on the biogeochemical functioning of sandy salt-affected paddy soils in Northeastern Thailand

Remediation of soil acidification by form of nitrogen fertilizer on grass swards of Australia and Thailand

Influence of afforestation with eucalypts in Congolese savannas on long-term nutrient availability in the soils

Session 4. Physical properties of tropical sandy soils

Physical properties of tropical sandy soils: A large range of behaviours

Compaction processes in a tilled sandy soil

Physical reorganization of sand due to the motion of a solid intruder

Wind and water erosion of non cultivated sandy soils in the Sahel: a case study in Northern Burkina Faso, Africa

Surface crusts of semi-arid sandy soils: types, functions and management

An estimation of water retention properties in sandy soils of Southern Brazil

Hydraulics of rill initiation on a low-slope sandy soil

The co-composting of waste bentonites from the processing of vegetable oil and its affect on selected soil properties of a light textured sand

Short-term effects of agricultural practices on the soil structure and hydrodynamic in a deep tilled hardened sandy-silty volcanic–ash soil (cangahua) in Ecuador

Session 5. The role of organic matter and biological activity

Organic matter and biofunctioning in tropical sandy soils and implications for its management

On-farm assessment of long term effects of organic matter management on soil characteristics of paddy fields threatened by salinity in Northeast Thailand

Nitrogen mineralization capacity of coastal sandy soils of the Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Vietnam

Effects of salinity-tolerance cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. on soil characteristics and plant growth

Dry matter production and digestibility of Centrosema pubescens and Pueraria phaseoloides with rock phosphate fertilization and mycorrhizae inoculation in Latosolic soil

Short-term dynamics of soil organic matter and microbial biomass after simulated rainfall on tropical sandy soils

Eucalypt litter quality and sandy soils: addressing two cumulative effects on topsoil organic-matter and soil faunal activity in African plantations

Effect of fallowing on carbon sequestration in a humid tropical sandy soil (Mangodara, Burkina Faso)

Soil organic matter loss and fertility degradation under different agricultural land uses in sandy soils of Northeast Thailand and the use of organic materials of different qualities as a possible restoration measure

Session 6. The management of these agro-ecosystems

The management of the agro-ecosystems associated with sandy soils

Long-term topsoil changes under pearl millet production in the Sahel

Subsurface leaky pipe irrigation with vertical option as a suitable irrigation method for light soils

The optimal size of farm ponds in N.E. Thailand with respect to farming style and multiple uses of water and under various biophysical and socio-economic conditions

Role of bio-resources in improving the fertility of coastal sandy soils for sustainable groundnut production

Performance of rice in lowland soils amended with humified sludge and organic manures

Paddy use and status of water resources in a first order watershed in a sandy soil area of Northeast Thailand

Overview of sandy soils management in Vietnam

Carbon mineralization in coastal sandy tracts under semi dry rice production

A decision support framework for the sustainable management of sandy soils

Managing organic inputs for enhancing biological and physico-chemical soil health in the West African savannas

Re-evaluation of fertility status of sandy soil in Northeast Thailand with reference to soil-plant nutrient budgets

Addition of clay based soil ameliorants to light textured soils to reduce nutrient loss and increase crop productivity

Effect of organic and inorganic fertilizers on yield and quality of ruzi grass (Brachiaria ruziziensis) grown on saline sandy soils of the Northeast, Thailand

Positive impact of traditional rice cropping on geochemical qualities of saline sandy soil in Northeast Thailand

Significance of soil management practices on degradation and/or conservation of upland sandy soils in semi-arid West Africa

Management solution for improving soil organic matter for crop productivity and environmental quality in the tropical island of Guam

Session 7. Successes and failures: Stakeholders and development agencies perspectives in enhancing the livelihoods of communities on light textured sandy soil

The “Dr soils” program of the Land Development Department, Thailand

Crop and soil management under integrated farming systems in Northeast Thailand: an individual farmers experience

Sustainable intensification of crop-livestock systems on sandy soils of Latin America: trade-offs between production and conservation

Technologies for sustainable management of sandy Sahelian soils

Farmer perceptions, choice and adoption of soil management technologies in maize-based farming systems of Malawi

Suitable approach for sustainable soil fertility management in Sahelian zone of Niger, West Africa

Farmers’ approaches on rehabilitations of degraded soils in the Northeast of Thailand

Poster Session

Session 1. Global extent of tropical sandy soils and their pedogenesis

Spatial heterogeneity in sandy soils of the Sahel region in West Africa: implications for desertification processes

The potential productivity of sandy soil for sugarcane in some regions of Thailand associated with micromorphological observation

Session 2. Socio-economic imperatives

Protection ratio, an economic indicator for assessing locations for strategic dike reinforcement for erosion management in rainfed paddy-upland sandy soil mini-watersheds

Session 3. Chemical properties and their effect on productivity

Assessment of salinity hazard by electromagnetism induction method in flooded sandy paddy soils

Cation exchange capacity of sandy salt-affected paddy soils by ammonium acetate, cobalt-hexamine and compulsive method

Mineralogical and chemical properties of low activity kaolin-rich, light-textured soils in Thailand

Phosphate desorption by sandy soils of Northeast Thailand

Clays concentrate nutrient reserves in a toposequence of sandy soils in Northeast Thailand

The potential of Quartzipsamments for sugarcane growing in Southeast Coast, Thailand

Influence of fertilizer inputs on soil solution chemistry in eucalypt plantations established on Brazilian sandy soils

Greenhouse gases production and emission from saline sandy paddy fields in Khon Kaen, Thailand

Session 4. Physical properties of tropical sandy soils

Water infiltration in saline sandy soils

Wind processes improve water infiltration in Sahelian sandy rangeland

Hardpan formation of some coarse-textured upland soils in Thailand

The effect of salinity on sandy soils physical characteristics and rice root system development: a case study from Northeast Thailand

Session 5. The role of organic matter and biological activity

Mineralization of organic amendments in a sandy soil of Central Vietnam

Patterns of soil organic carbon and nitrogen in grazed and un-grazed exclosures of semi-arid rangelands in South Africa

Selection of bacteria from soil samples for liquid biofertilizer production

Management of subsoil hard pans in tropical sodic sandy soil

Nitrogen dynamics under different farmer practices in sandy salt-affected paddy fields in Northeast of Thailand

Session 6. The management of these agro-ecosystems

Sandy soil improvement using organic matter and mineral fertilizers on the yield and quality of papaya

Effect of various amendments on yield and quality of papaya grown on sandy soils

Vietnam-Belgium project for improving food crop productivity on the sandy soils of the coastal zone in Central Vietnam

Salinity control by farmers practices in sandy soil

Land degradation assessment in drylands: Are there management solutions?

Phosphorus index for tropical sandy rice field and pineapple fields

The potential of Quartzipsamments for sugarcane growing in Southeast Coast, Thailand

Properties of coarse-textured Alfisols under cassava in Thailand

Effect of land use management on groundwater and soil salinization in Northeast Thailand

Characteristic and management of tin mine tailings in Thailand

The improved presences of Halophilic bacteria in sandy saline soils with the application of chemical fertilizer, bioextract and molasses

Saline soil improvement with biofertilizer for the growing kale (Brassica Albonglabra)

Organic agricultural systems for cassava crops in soil group 40

Session 7. Successes and failures: Stakeholders and development agencies perspectives in enhancing the livelihoods of communities on light textured sandy soil

Reclamation of deteriorated land in Khao Hin Sorn Royal Development Study Center

Conference programme