Climate Smart Agriculture and forest conservation to

foster SOC sequestration and reduce land degradation

Johan Six

Sustainable Agroecosystem GroupInstitute of Agricultural ScienceDepartment of Environmental Systems Science

Paustian et al 2016, Nature

Climate SmartAgriculture

From a technological standpoint

Focus on existing agriculturalLand

Bias towardsWestern World 1 Gt y-1 Smith 2016, GCB

What aboutIntegrated Soil FertilityManagement(ISFM)?

Contribution to world production (%)

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

Oman

NL BE

Average yield per country (t ha-1)

50

100

75

25

KuwaitNZ

USA

China

Western Europe

S KoreaEgypt

Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia & Central America

Vietnam

India

12.5%

Turkey

Australia

Argentina

3.1 t ha-1

Brazil

UkraineMexico

Source: FAOSTAT 2014

15%

1.9 t ha-1

178 Mha

86 Mha

Land available

Courtesy of Pablo Tittonell

Eastern DR Congo

Rwanda

HondurasTraditional

practice

Quesungual: co-developed by farmers and FAO

Honduras

Honduras

The three sisters

Fonte et al 2010, Geoderma

+F -F

SF = Secondary ForestQSMAS = QuesungualSB = Slash & Burn

F = Fertilizer

Reduced loss of SOC by erosion

- Land tenure & Policy• Most farmers own their own land• Strict regulations for leaseÞ General interest in long-term

productivity vs. short-term gain• Regional laws prohibiting

burning and requiring permit for cutting of large trees (>10 cm dia.)

Socio-economics as a main driver!

• Collaboration with agricultural technical school • Agricultural outreach and extension services • Extensive farmer participation in research

Education as a main driver!

Congo Basin Tropical Forest Conservation through climate smart agriculture

Courtesy of Janet Nackoney

REDD+

Courtesy of Janet Nackoney

Macro-zonage:protected forest vs usable forest vs agricultural zone

Courtesy of Janet Nackoney

+ years- years Today

Soil Fertility = f (C, N, P, CEC, etc.)

System productivity = f (soil fertility x CSA options)

Fallow of 10 yrsFallow of 5 yrs with low biodiversity/qualityFallow of 5 yrs with high biodiversity/quality

Field mm Modelling and scenario analysis

-5-10 3

Fallow characterization

Pristine forestSecondary forest

Agro

nom

ic e

ffici

ency

Currentpractice

Germplasm& fertilizer

+ Organicresource mgt

+ Localadaptation

Germplasm& fertilizer’

+ Organicresource mgt

Germplasm& fertilizer

‘Full ISFM’Move towards ISFM

Increase in knowledge

Responsive soilsPoor, less-responsive soils

A

B

C

Yiel

d/

Integrated Soil Fertility Management (ISFM)

Governance as a main driver!

Whole value chain approach (Food System)!

Enhancing Resilience in Food SystemsWebsite: http://www.resilientfoodsystems.ethz.ch/

Cocoa, tef, and palm oil value chains

Submission

Editors

Jorge Mataix-SoleraLily PeregJohn QuintonJohan SixKristof Van Oost

http://www.soil-journal.net

• Open access

• Interdisciplinary

Thank you!!!

Food Systemscomplex set of activities (production, processing, retailing, consumption etc.), stakeholders, interactions, drivers and outcomes related to food at multiple levels