Impact of biomass burning activities on physicochemical properties of nitisol in Southwestern Ethiopia
Paper Details
Impact of biomass burning activities on physicochemical properties of nitisol in Southwestern Ethiopia
Abstract
Burning of biomass for charcoal production and land preparation is common in Ethiopia. However, the analysis of the impacts of these practices on soil physical and chemical properties is seldom examined. Therefore to investigate the impact of biomass burning on selected soil properties, composite and core soil samples were collected at a depth of 0–20cm from cultivated land, a charcoal production site, and farmlands where crop residues are burned for land preparation. The study showed while burning of biomass significantly (P<0.01) decreased bulk density and clay percentage while the sand fraction was increased significantly (P<0.01). However, the differences in silt percentage and water holding capacity were non-significant (P>0.05). Burning also increased pH, electrical conductivity, available phosphorous, CEC (cation exchange capacity), and exchangeable bases significantly (P<0.01) as compared to those in cultivated land. Furthermore, charcoal production significantly (P<0.01) increased organic carbon and total nitrogen, but burning of crop residues for land preparation reduced them significantly (P<0.01). The formation of ash and charred biomass due to burning might improve most soil properties. But this causes environmental pollution and therefore it is useful to study the long term impact of biomass burning on soil properties. Moreover, it is important to consider a biochar strategy in order to mitigate global warming and enhance soil productivity.
Ajayi A, Philip O, Abiodun J, Moacir SD. 2009. Numerical Analysis of the Impact of Charcoal Production on Soil Hydrological Behavior, Runoff Response and Erosion Susceptibility. Revista Brasileira de Ciência do Solo, vol. 33, núm. 1, enero-febrero, p. 137-145.
Almendros G, Gonza FJ, Martın F. 1990. Fire-induced transformation of soil organic matter from an oak forest: An experimental approach to the effects of fire on humic substances. Soil Science 149, 158–68.
Arocena JM, Opio C. 2003. Prescribed Fire-Induced Changes in Properties of Sub-Boreal Forest Soils. Geoderma 113, 1–16.
BPEDORS. 2000. Physical and Socio-Economical Profile of 180 District of Oromia Region, Ethiopia.
Chapman H. 1965. Cation Exchange Capacity. In: C.A. Black, et al. (Eds.), Methods of Soil Analysis. Agronomy 9, Am. Soc. Agro. Inc., Madison, Wisconsin, p. 891–901.
Dormaari JF, Pittmani UJ, Spratt ED. 1979. Burning crop residues: Effect on selected soil characteristics and long term wheat yields. Canadian Journal of Soil Sciences 59, 79-86.
Emmanuel DA, Anne VA, Steve RA, Saran SB. 2010. Bio-char from sawdust, maize stover and charcoal: Impact on water holding capacities of three soils from Ghana. 19th World Congress of Soil Science, Soil Solutions for a Changing World 1 – 6 August 2010, Brisbane, Australia.
Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCO). 2000. Comparison among 22 different countries by installed power per person’ Working Paper on Power Expansion Options, October 2000, Addis Ababa.
Ethiopian Forestry Action Program. 1994. Ethiopian Forestry Action Plan, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ezzati M, Kammen DM. 2001. Quantifying the effects of exposure to indoor air pollution from biomass combustion on acute respiratory infections in developing countries. Environ Health Perspect 109, 481– 488.
FAO. 1983. Simple Technologies for Charcoal Making. Forestry Paper no. 41. FAO, Rome.
Glaser B, Lehmann J, Zech W. 2002. Ameliorating physical and chemical properties of highly weathered soils in the tropics with charcoal— A Review. Biol. Fertil. Soils 35, 219–230.
Hernandez T, Garcia C, Reinhardt I. 1997. Short-term effect of wildfire on the chemical, biochemical and microbiological properties of mediterranean pine forest soils. Biol Fertil Soils 25, 109–116.
Hubbard RT, Clinton BD, Vose JM, Knoepp JD, Elliott KJ. 2004. Nutrient and carbon pools and fluxes following stand restoration burning in oak/pine forest types in the Conasauga river watershed. Forest Ecology and Management 190, 311-321.
Kevin R. 2010. Effects of fire regime on physical soil properties. Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.
Ketterings QM, Bigham JM, Laperche V. 2000. Changes in soil mineralogy and texture caused by slash-and-burn fires in sumatra, Indonesia. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 64, 1108–1117.
Ketterings QM, Noordwijk M, Bigham JM. 2002. Soil phosphorus availability after slash-and-burn fires of different intensities in rubber agroforests in Sumatra, Indonesia. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 92, 37–48.
Khanna PK, Raison RJ, Falkiner RA. 1994. Chemical properties of ash derived from Eucalyptus litter and its effects on forest soils. Forest Ecology management 66, 107–125.
Leenhouts B. 1998. Assessment of biomass burning in the conterminous United States. Conservation Ecology [online] 2(1):1. Available from the Internet. URL: http:// www. consecol.org/vol2/iss1/art1/
Lefroy RD, Chaitep W, Blair, GJ. 1994. Release of sulphur from rice residue under flooded and non-flooded soil conditions. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 45, 657-667.
Liang B, Lehmann J, Solomon D, Kinyangi J, Grossman J, O’Nell B, Skjemstad JO, Thies J, Luizao FJ, Petersen J, Neves EG. 2006. Black carbon increases cation exchange capacity in soils. Soil Sciences Society of America Journal 70, 1719-1730.
Makundi WR. 1998. Mitigation options in forestry, land-use change and biomass burning in Africa. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Energy Technologies Division.
Naidu CV, Srivasuki KP. 1994. Effect of forest fire on soil characteristics in different areas of Seshachalam Hills. Ann. For. 2, 166–173.
Niemeyer T, Niemeyer M, Mohamed A, Fottner S, Ha¨rdtle W. 2005. Impact of prescribed burning on the nutrient balance of Heath Lands with particular reference to nitrogen and phosphorus. Appl. Veg .Sci. 8, 183– 192.
Ogundele AT, Eludoyin OS, and Oladapo OS. 2011. Assessment of impacts of charcoal production on soil properties in the derived Savanna, Oyo state, Nigeria. Journal of Soil Science and Environmental Management 2(5), 142-146.
Oguntunde PG., Abiodun BJ., Ajayi AE Van GN. 2008. Effects of charcoal production on soil physical properties in Ghana. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science 171, 591-596.
Oguntunde PG, Matthias F, Ayodele EA, Nick G. 2004. Effects of charcoal production on maize yield, chemical properties and texture of Soil. Biology and Fertility of Soils 39, 295–299.
Parker BQ, Benjamin AO, Frederick A, David OY. 2010. Impact of biomass burning on soil organic carbon and the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in the coastal savanna ecosystem of Ghana. American Institute of Physics.
Piccolo A, Mbagwu JS. 1990. Effects of different organic waste amendments on soil microaggregates stability and molecular sizes of humic substances. Plant Soil 123, 27-37.
Piccolo A, Pietramellara G, Mbagwu JS. 1997. Use of humic substances as soil conditioners to increase aggregate stability. Geoderma 75, 267-277.
Ponnamperuma FN. 1984. Straw as a source of nutrients for wet-land rice. In: Banta S. and Mendoza CV (Eds.). Organic matter and rice. IRRI, Los Banos, Philippines, p. 117-136.
Raison RJ. 1979. Modification of the soil environment by vegetation fires, with particular reference to nitrogen transformation: A Review. Plant Soil 51, 73-108.
Scheuner ET, Makeschin F, Wells ED, Carter PQ. 2004. Short-term impacts of harvesting and burning disturbances on physical and chemical characteristics of forest soils in western Newfoundland, Canada. European Journal of Forest Research 123(4), 321-330.
Scholes RJ. 1995. Greenhouse gas emissions from vegetation fires in Southern Africa. Part III. Greenhouse gas emission inventories and mitigation options: Methodological issues. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 38(2-3), 169-179.
Sertsu SM, Sanchez PA. 1978. Effects of heating on some changes in soil properties in relation to an Ethiopian land management practice. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 42, 940–944.
Sohi S, Loez CE, Krull E, Bol R. 2009. Biochar’s roles in soil and climate change: A review of research needs. CSIRO Land and Water Science Report 05/09, 64 pp.
Solomon D, Lehmann J, Thies J, Schafer T, Liang B, Kinyangi J, Neves E, Petersen J, Luizo F, and Skjemstad J. 2007. Molecular signature and sources of biochemical recalcitrance of organic C in Amazonian dark earths. Geochimica et cosmochimica Acta 71, 2285-2298.
Stefan H. 2009. Renewable energy in Ethiopia: 13 Months of Sunshine for a sustainable Development. Germany.
Teketay D. 2005. Deforestation, wood famine, and environmental degradation in Ethiopia’s highland ecosystems: Urgent need for action. Northeast African studies 89(1), 53-76.
Ulery AL, Graham RC. 1993. Forest fire effects on soil color and texture. Soil Science Society of American Journal 57, 135–140.
Ulery, AL, Graham, RC, Amrhein C. 1993. Wood ash composition and soil pH following intense burning. Soil Sci. 156, 358–364.
Vagen TG, Lal R, Singh BR. 2005. Soil carbon sequestration in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review. Land Degradation Development 16, 53–71
Valzano FP, Grene RS, Murphy BW. 1997. Direct effects of stubble burning on soil hydraulic and physical properties in a direct drill tillage system. Soil and Tillage Res. 42, 209–19
VanReewijk LP. 1992. Procedures for soil analysis (3rd Ed.). International Soil Reference Center (ISRIC), Wageningen, The Netherlands.
WoldeGhiorgis W. 2002. Renewable energy for rural development in Ethiopia: The Case for new energy policies and institutional reform. Renewable gramme. Energy for Rural Development in Ethiopia / Energy Policy.
World Bank. 2001. World Development Report, Oxford University Press, New York.
World Reference Base (WRB). 2006. World reference base for soil resources: A framework for international classification, correlation and communication. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome, Italy
Yisehak S. 2009. Sourcing & treatment of biomass for energy application in the cement industry. CDM capacity development in Eastern and Southern Africa. United Nations Development Program.
Abebe Nigussie, Endalkachew Kissi (2011), Impact of biomass burning activities on physicochemical properties of nitisol in Southwestern Ethiopia; JBES, V1, N6, December, P39-49
https://innspub.net/impact-of-biomass-burning-activities-on-physicochemical-properties-of-nitisol-in-southwestern-ethiopia/
Copyright © 2011
By Authors and International
Network for Natural Sciences
(INNSPUB) https://innspub.net
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0