Combating Desertification with Plants PDF
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COMBATING DESERTIFICATION WITH PLANTS COMBATING DESERTIFICATION WITH PLANTS Edited by Dov Pasternak and Arnold Schlissel International Program for Arid Land Crops Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Beer Sheva, Israel SPRINGER SCIENCE+BUSINESS MEDIA, LLC Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Combating desertification with plants/edited by Dov Pasternak and Arnold Schlissel. p. cm. Papers from a conference held in Beer Sheva, Israel from November 2-5, 1999. Includes bib1iographical references (p. ). ISBN 978-1-4613-5499-4 ISBN 978-1-4615-1327-8 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-1327-8 1. Plants for soi! conservation-Congresses. 2. Soil conservation-Congresses. 3. Plants for soil conservation-Africa-Congresses. 4. Soi! conservation-Africa-Congresses. 1. Pasternak, D. (Dov), 1940- II. Schlissel, Arno1d, 1948- S627.P55 C66 2001 631.4'52'096-dc21 2001041334 Proceedings of the conference Combating Desertification with Plants, held November 2-5, 1999, in Beer Sheva, Israel © 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York in 2001 Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover Ist edition 2001 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A c.l.P. record for this book is available from the Library of Congress AII rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system. or transmitted in any form or by any means. electronic, mechanical. photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set pines in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, so the people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 41:19-20 FOREWORD The conference "Combating Desertification with Plants" was held in Beer Sheva, Israel, from November 2-5, 1999, and was attended by 70 participants from 30 countries and/or international organisations. Desertification - the degradation of soils in drylands - is a phenomenon occurring in scores of countries around the globe. The number of people (in semiarid regions) affected by the steady decline in the productivity of their lands is in the hundred millions. The measures required to halt and reverse the process of desertification fall into many categories - policy, institutional, sociological-anthropological, and technical. Although technical "solutions" are not currently in vogue, the conference organizers felt that perhaps the pendulum had swung too far in the direction of "participatory approaches." Hence IPALAC - The International Program for Arid Land Crops - whose function is to serve as a catalyst for optimizing the contribution of plant germplasm to sustainable development in desertification-prone regions - felt the time was opportune for providing a platform for projects where the "plant-driven" approach to development finds expression. Some 45 papers were delivered at the conference, falling into the categories of this volume: Overview, Potential Germplasm for Arid Lands, Introduction, Domestication and Dissemination of Arid Land Plants, Land Rehabilitation, and Mechanisms of Plant Transfer. The conference was funded by UNESCO (Division of Ecological Sciences), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, and MASHAV, Israel's Center for International Development Cooperation. A number of collaborative projects that are already being implemented between participants is the best indication that the conference was more than a transient success. Vll viii Foreword Finally, preparing the manuscript of this volume was a challenging task. While the electronic era frequently enhances capacities substantially, its downside can be unmerciful, so a very special thanks goes to Marie-Laure Cohen, who displayed a range of talents of which dealing with downloaded formats is but one. No less important were the wonderful relations she enjoyed with the authors and the staff at Kluwer AcademiclPlenum Publishers. Arnold Schlissel Secretary Conference Organizing Committee PREFACE Plants are both the creators and the guardians of the soil. Plant cover prevents the formation of soil crusts under the impact of raindrops, thus ensuring smooth infiltration of rainwater. Plant roots bind the soil to minimize erosion, while plant litter provides the "glue" that keeps soil aggregates together. Removal of plant cover results in soil erosion, destruction of soil structure, and, in warm places, loss of organic matter and nitrogenous compounds as well. Thus, in most cases, "desertification" - the loss of soil fertility in semiarid and dry subhumid regions - is a direct result of the disruption of the natural plant cover, be it through the action of climate or man. It therefore stands to reason that plants are the most effective and efficient "weapon" for combating desertification. Plants can not only prevent further loss of soil fertility, they can also restore degraded lands to productivity . Nowadays, destruction of plant cover and depletion of the plants' gene reserve is in most cases a result of the actions carried out by impoverished and ever-expanding rural populations. This section of society is continually mining the environment in order to survive. The rural society lives from the land, from plants. Provide this society with plants and cropping systems that significantly raise their income and improve their nutritional status, and they will stop mining the environment. Desertification will then cease. This book deals with the role of plants in combating desertification. It provides the reader with the experience of scientists from 30 countries and international institutions around the globe, working in cold and warm dry regions to bring plant-based solutions to one of the gravest problems of our times. Africa is the place which is most severely plagued by desertification, and therefore emphasis was given in the conference to work being carried on in that continent. ix x Preface The book starts with an introduction composed of two articles. The first analyzes the world's main agricultural production systems in terms of the farmers' nutritional levels and correlates the farmer's daily calorie consumption with his receptivity to technological changes. The second gives an overview of the socioeconomic problems causing present day desertification and offers proposals for plant-based solutions to them. The book is further subdivided into four sections. In the first, "Potential Germplasm for Arid Lands," the contributions describe various uses of arid land germplasm, from desert mushrooms (terfezias), through nectar and pollen-producing trees, to medicinal plants and indigenous species. The second section, called "Introduction, Domestication and Dissemination of Arid Land Plants," is the largest, presenting current work carried out in the area of domestication of arid land germplasm. The first contribution presents the results of 40 years of research during which thousands of plant species were systematically screened for adaptability to the soil and climate of the Middle East deserts. The list of drought- and salt-tolerant plants useful for afforestation and landscaping in arid lands provides a wealth of information with potential for widespread application. The section closes by describing the work on domestication of Jatropha in Mali, an outstanding example of a well planned project which led to the development of a new multipurpose income-generating arid land crop with a significant positive impact on the environment. The third section, "Land Rehabilitation," consists of nine articles dealing with rehabilitation of salinized and eroded soils, the arrest of sand dune movement, and the rehabilitation of biodiversity. The story of seabuckthorn and its role in the rehabilitation of eroded loess soils in semiarid China perhaps best exemplifies the title of this book. When the ecological balance is radically disturbed and soil erosion proceeds unabated, a very aggressive colonizing plant may be the best weapon to fight desertification. The case study describing the successful use of seabuckthorn brings a ray of hope to the community of "desertification fighters." The last contribution of this section introduces a highly original approach to restoration of biodiversity. It could be called "Combating Desertification with Animals." The author argues that in ancient times the world's savannas were crowded with grazing animals which, through heavy trampling, grazing, dunging, and urinating, helped maintain a rich and diversified plant cover. These processes can nowadays be mimicked through the use of domestic animals such as large, herding ungulates. The fourth section, "Mechanisms of Plant Transfer," presents the efforts of international and national organizations which use plants for desertification control. An outstanding example is the work of the Uganda Women Tree Planting Movement, a volunteer grass-roots organization which after only a few years began to have a significant impact on Preface xi desertification control in Uganda. The article on obstacles to adopting Mucuna highlights the centrality of economics in each of the programs dealing with introduction of desertification-fighting crops. We hope that the diversity of projects and experiences presented in this volume will lead to a growth in the legions of those who have opted to "combat desertification with plants" and will serve them well in their battles. May it prove a sustainable alternative to the failures ofthe past. Dov Pasternak Director IPALAC CONTENTS Introduction I. Some Observations Relating to the Global Agricultural Situation............................................................... 3 YitzhakAbt 2. Combating Poverty with Plants........ ............ .................... ...... .......... 17 Dov Pasternak Part I: Potential Germplasm for Arid Lands 3. The Role of Horticulture Plants in Combating Desertification ..................................................... 33 T.A. Mtaita, B.K. Manqwiro and A.N. Mphuru 4. Terfezias, a Family of Mycorrhizal Edible Mushrooms for Arid Zones.................................................... 45 Varda Kagan-Zur 5. The Role and Potential of Traditional Tuber Crops in Malawi ......................................................... 55 Moses F.A. Maliro 6. Honeybees and Nectariferous Plants in the Desert are an Important Factor to Sustain Modem Agriculture.................. 65 D. Eisikowitch xiii
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