ARS | Publication request: ASSESSMENT OF CONTOUR AGROFORESTRY HEDGES FOR SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION USING RUSLE IN CENTRAL KENYA

Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Meetings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: July 20, 1999
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: The impact of contour hedges on soil and water conservation under direct farmer management practices was conducted at the Kianjuki catchment area. Runoff and erosion were compared from contour hedges and control plots on two slopes (20 and 40%). Data for three rainfall seasons indicated that contour hedges conserved more soil. The advantages of using hedges as conservation strips were observed for both soil loss and fodder production A seasonal average of 120 t/ha and 118 t/ha of soil were lost from the contour hedge plots compared to 157 t/ha and 151 t/ha for the control plots on the 20% slopes respectively. An average of 3.4 t/ha of fodder was harvested from the contour hedges plots. These results reflect a support practice subfactor of 0.99 for the 20% slope and 0.98 for the 40% slope for use in soil erosion prediction using RUSLE.