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Contributions to improve fallow system in Yucatan State Mexico

Informally Refereed

Abstract

More than 25 percent of earth warming can be attributes to deforestation practices such as crop rotations performed in southeast part of Mexico. In the Yucatan peninsula 20 percent of staple foods such as maize and beans are produced under slash and burn system. It has been practiced for many centuries by native Mayans however population pressure and food scarcity made short fallow periods. Thus soil fertility decline and farmers used to changed to new fertile areas slashing and burning about 250 thousand per year. Natural degradation is a problem in this region therefore a project to contribute to fallow system was developed to try to assure grain production in the same deforested land for more years than the farmers do.

A field study was conducted in the field station “Uxmal” belonging to the National Institute on Forestry, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Research on a Luvisol rodic soil in the state of Yucatan. From 1996 to 2003 two legumes, spontaneous weeds, and continuous cropping using fertilizer treatments were established. It was concluded that is possible to return to same area in short periods using at least two years, also produce maize continuously in this soils for more than three years. Variations on yields are due to rainfall than soil fertility conditions.

Parent Publication

Keywords

monitoring, assessment, sustainability, Western Hemisphere, sustainable management, ecosystem resources, fallow system, Yucatan State Mexico

Citation

Valle, Gabriel Uribe; Jiménez-Osornio, Juan; Echeverría, Roberto Dzib. 2006. Contributions to improve fallow system in Yucatan State Mexico. In: Aguirre-Bravo, C.; Pellicane, Patrick J.; Burns, Denver P.; and Draggan, Sidney, Eds. 2006. Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium: Unifying Knowledge for Sustainability in the Western Hemisphere Proceedings RMRS-P-42CD. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 350-353
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/26430