The CBD Secretariat has made a call for case studies as a follow-up to decissions on agricultural biodiversity and FAO is assisting in compiling and assessing experiences and lessons learnt. In this process the following six case studies on soil biodiversity/ecosystem management have been selected and reviewed on the basis of their potential to catalyse further work on enhancing the beneficial functions of soil biodiversity for sustainable and productive agriculture and application of the ecosystem approach as adopted by the CBD. It is intended that in the future new case studies will be uploaded in this website.

The case studies presented herein include:

Case 1. Successful farmer-to-farmer promotion of sustainable crop and soil management practices in the central highlands of Mexico

Case 2. Managing termites and organic resources to improve soil productivity in the Sahel

Case 3. Restoring soil fertility and enhancing productivity in Indian tea plantations with earthworms and organic fertilizers

Case 4. Symbiotic nitrogen fixation in the common bean

Case 5. No-tillage agriculture in southern Brazil benefits soil macrofauna and their role in soil function

Case 6. Management practices to improve soil health and reduce the effects of detrimental soil biota associated with yield decline of sugarcane in Queensland, Australia

These six case studies are included in a document which is part of the FAO proceedings of the Satellite event on the occasion of the Ninth Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) held at FAO headquarters in October 12-13 2002, and it can be downloaded from the Documents section (left menu bar).

Here are listed a select review of case studies on the management of soil biological diversity for agricultural purposes.

A. Soil Biological Management with Macro-organisms

B. Soil Biological Management with beneficial Micro-organisms

C. Farmer-to-farmer promotion of sustainable soil management practices

D. Biodiversity accidents and how we learn from them

A. Soil Biological Management with Macro-organisms

Case study A1. Soil Fauna and organic fertilizers in tea gardens of Tamil Nadu, India.

Authors: Giri, 1995; Lavelle et al., 1998; Senapati et al., 1999.

The problem: Soil fertility degradation.

Download [341KB]

Case study A2. Restoring soil structure and plant production in crusted Sahelian soils through organic matter applications and termite activity.

Authors: Mando, A., Brussaard, L., Stroosnijder, L. and Brown, G.G. 1997.

The problem: Crusted soils.

Download: version with photographs[734KB] version without photographs[152 KB]

Case study A3. Plant parasitic nematodes associated with common bean.

Authors: Karanja, N., Kimenju, J., Macharia, I., Muiru, D.

The problem: Plant parasitic nematodes.

Download [3.1 Mb]

Case study A4. Native earthworm communities, soil processes and sustainability of Colombian savannas.

Authors: Jiménez, J., Decaëns, T., Lavelle, P., Thomas, R.J.

The problem: Loss of beneficial functions and ecosystem services.

Download [831 Kb]

B. Soil Biological Management with Beneficial Micro-organisms

Case study B1. Overview and case studies on biological nitrogen fixation: perspectives and limitations.

Author: Adriana Montanez.

The problem: Availability of methods to enhance biological nitrogen fixation (BNF).

Download [77KB]

C. Farmer-to-farmer promotion of sustainable soil management practices

Case study C1. Successful farmer-to-farmer promotion of sustainable crop and management practices in Mexico.

Authors: Vicente Guerrero Group, Ramos, 1998.

The problem: soil erosion, depredated natural and agroecosystems.

Download [29KB]

D. Soil biodiversity accidents and loss of beneficial functions

Case study D1. Destruction and restoration of soil structure and pasture production in kaolinitic soils of the Amazon Basin, Brazil.

Authors: Barros, 1999; Chauvel et al. 1999.

The problem: soil structural changes and macro-organism activity.

Download (in preparation)

Highlights

The following links are highlights of selected case studies based on interventions with micro-organisms, macro-organisms, and organic matter, showing how agricultural management can lead to both positive and negative effects on the agroecosystem.

A means of assessing the replicability of these case studies ("Call for case studies") is also presented, together with the opportunities and challenges for further development in this area.

Soil Biological Management with Macro-organisms
Soil Biological Management with Beneficial Micro-organisms
Farmer-to-farmer promotion of sustainable soil management practices
Biodiversity accidents and how to learn from them
Direct use of soil biodiversity

List of case studies on soil biodiversity submitted to the CBD secretariat