Peter Motavalli, Javier Aguilera, Roberto Miranda, Jorge Cusicanqui, Miguel Angel Gonzales, Carola C

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ADAPTING TO CHANGE CHANGES IN COMMUNITY
PERCEPTIONS AND MANAGEMENT OF SOIL QUALITY AND
SOIL ORGANIC MATTER
Peter Motavalli, Javier Aguilera, Roberto
Miranda, Jorge Cusicanqui, Miguel Angel Gonzales,
Carola Chambilla, Mirco Peñaranda, and Edwin
Yucra   Students Mamani Blas, Elvio Aruquipa,
and Eliceo Tangara
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SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

• Initial baseline survey of communities to
  determine previous and current soil and crop
  management practices.
• Soil participatory workshops to identify
  community perceptions of soil classification and
  soils-related problems.
• Characterization of the differences in soil
  properties based on local soil classification
  systems and due to the effects of soil management
  practices.

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SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES (CONT.)

• Assessment of the range in sources and
  composition of organic soil amendments used in
  the communities.
• Field trials in which several soil fertility
  practices are being compared through quantitative
  measurements and participatory assessments and
  experiments by community members.
• Training of student, professional, and community
  members.

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CHANGES IN SOIL AND CROPMANAGEMENT PRACTICES

• Increase in production of some cash crops (e.g.
  onion) and other income-generating activities
  (e.g. dairy production, day labor)
• Decrease in the length of the fallow period in
  the crop rotation.
• Reduction in planting of early season crops
  (e.g., fava beans and quinoa) due to early season
  rainfall uncertainty.
• Greater tractor use for tillage in lower
  elevation communities.
• Loss of native species (e.g., thola) that have
  multiple uses to restore soil fertility during
  fallow period and are a fuel source.

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COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS OF SOIL RESOURCES AND
SOIL-RELATED PROBLEMS

• Soil-related problems are only one of several
  factors limiting crop production.
• Soil management problems identified were

• Low soil quality and soil fertility(low soil
  nutrient content, high clay content and
  stoniness)
• Excessive water and wind-induced soil erosion
• Insufficient soil moisture due to lower rainfall
• Inadequate soil management practices(Inappropriat
  e tractor tillage practices, lack of a suitable
  crop rotation strategy, insufficient soil
  fertility inputs, and overgrazing by sheep)

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COMMUNITY PERCEPTIONS OF SOIL RESOURCES AND
SOILS-RELATED PROBLEMS
Vulnerability Map for San José de Llanga
Soil Map for San José de Llanga
Hail damage in Umala
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ALTERNATIVES FOR ADAPTING TO CHANGE

• Focus of research effort is to develop practices
  to increase soil organic matter as a means to
  improve agricultural sustainability and
  productivity and buffer against the impacts of
  climate change. Possible strategies for the
  Altiplano include

• Improved use of organic soil amendments and
  chemical fertilizers
• Better management of crop residues
• Use of green manures
• Development of managed fallow systems with
  multipurpose plants (i.e., for forage, soil
  fertility and erosion control)
• Reduced tillage practices

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FIELD TRIAL RESULTS

• Field trials established in 2006 with initial
  crop of potato in 4 communities in Umala and 3
  communities in Ancoraimes with community
  selection of field site.
• Treatments included a control, sheep and cow
  manures, compost or peat moss, a biological
  amendment (Biofert), urea and DAP, and
  combinations of manure and fertilizer.
• Agronomic measurements included emergence
  percentage, plant height, leaf area index, foliar
  cover, leaf petiole N, sap nitrate, potato yields
  and grades, and tuber index.
• Soil measurements included changes in soil
  nutrient content, soil water content, soil
  porosity, and bulk density due to the treatments.
• Community evaluations of agronomic effectiveness
  and economic practicality of the fertility
  sources were carried out during and at the end of
  the growing season.

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FIELD TRIAL RESULTS (CONT.)
Soil water content to a 30 cm depth in Cohani
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FIELD TRIAL RESULTS (CONT.)
T1Control T2DAPUrea T3Cow M T4Sheep
M T5CMSM T6Compost T7CM(DAPUrea) T8SM(DAP
Urea) T9CMSM(DAPUrea) T10CMBiofert T11SMB
T12CMSMB
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INITIAL CONCLUSIONS AND WHATS NEXT?

• Significant progress has been made in
  characterizing soil issues, developing
  alternative agricultural management practices,
  and training students, professionals and
  community members.
• Future activities will include conducting a
  second year of the field trials, completing soil,
  manure and tissue analyses, continuing training
  activities, and preparing publications.