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SustainSahelNews

Assessing the impact of trees and shrubs on soil biology

First results from BIOFUNCTOOL clearly highlight a strong potential for trees and shrubs to enhance carbon dynamics in soils.

Implementation in Burkina Faso with training of students from INERA, UNB and local technicians by IRD. Photo: Cathy Clermont Dauphin, IRD

Illustration of 3 tests from the biofunctool kit, and the activities they serve as proxies. Image: Alain Brauman, IRD


An innovative in-field assessment of ecological functioning (BIOFUNCTOOL®) of soils is conducted at various project sites in order to provide low cost and field-based indicators of tree/shrub contribution to soil health under different cropping practices. A set of indicators available in the project context is selected and used to describe and compare major groups of soil functions, namely:

  1. Carbon dynamics,
  2. Nutrient cycles, and
  3. Soil structure stability.

A more detailed description can be found at the link below.

In order to implement that; scientists from the IRD team of SustainSahel have trained several students and colleagues in Senegal and Burkina Faso. During the 2021 cropping season, activities essentially concentrated on testing three indicators:

  1. Permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC) assayed by colorimetric reaction as a proxy of soil active C content,
  2. Bait laminas as tests for meso/microfaunal activity, seen by the kinetics of baits consumption, and
  3. In situ respiration (SituResp) as a proxy for organic matter mineralisation dynamics, with a colorimetric assay.

The first results clearly highlighted a strong potential for trees and shrubs to enhance carbon dynamics in soils, in every tested situation (for instance, in a trial in Senegal conducted by IRD and ISRA, presence of Faidherbia albida tree enhanced POXC by 100%, bait lamina consumption by 20%, and in situ respiration by 80% on average).

Written by: Laurent Cournac (WP5 co-lead), Cathy Clermont Dauphin, Komi Assigbetsé, Lamine Dieng, Aissatou Diouf, Moussa Ndiénor from IRD, ISRA

Further information

Weblinks

Sciencedirect.com: Biofunctool®: a new framework to assess the impact of land management on soil quality. Part A: concept and validation of the set of indicators (EN)

Downloads

Biofunctool® : un outil de terrain pour évaluer la santé des sols, basé sur la mesure de fonctions issues de l'activité des organismes du sol (FR)

 

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