Sustainable soil management practices – a key to combat soil desertification in the hills of Nepal

SHIVA KUMAR SHRESTHA, SUSTAINABLE SOIL MANAGEMENT PROGRAMME, NEPAL
Purpose – Temporary and permanent decline in the productive capacity of the land due to natural and human-induced activities such as soil erosion, changing cropping practices and less use of organic matter has been the greatest challenge faced by mankind in recent years, particularly in the hills and mountains of Nepal. Hence, this research examines the effectiveness of Sustainable Soil Management Practices to mitigate desertification process in the hills of Nepal.
Design/methodology/approach – Promotion of Sustainable Soil Management (SSM) practices through a decentralised agriculture extension approach by involving all the stakeholders in a participatory way.
Findings – SSM practices mainly: Organic Matter (OM) management, fodder and forage promotion, increased biomass production systems, Integrated Plant Nutrition Systems (IPNS), and bioengineering for soil and water conservation are identified as the most appropriate and relevant technologies in mitigating the desertification process without deteriorating land quality, particularly conserving the top-soils effectively and efficiently in the hills and mountains of the country.
Keywords Soil erosion, Top-soils, Desertification, Sustainable Soil Management Practices
Paper type Review

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