Are trees key to infertile soil in Africa?
TREES may be the answer to declining soil fertility in eastern and southern Africa. Researchers from Imperial College at Wye will plant fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing trees across farms in Kenya, Zambia and Zimbabwe as part of a three year project involving researchers from the Institute of Research Development, France, the Katholiek University of Leuven, the University of Zimbabwe, the Kenyan Forestry Research Institute and the International Centre for Research on Agroforestry. Wyes research team will be led by Dr Georg Cadisch, senior lecturer in nutrient cycling and soil microbiology. “The farms we will be focusing on have all had severe soil fertility problems in recent years,” he explained. “Reasons include poor inherent fertility of parent materials, continuous nutrient mining (grain offtake) and soil erosion, exacerbated by periodic dry spells. Farmers in these areas are unable to use large amounts of expensive fertilisers so we are trying to offer them a practical and economic a
