Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid lands
One of the most features of land degradation is soil erosion, which at its extreme, causes formation of gullies. Nonetheless, there is limited understanding on how such gullies, their management or rehabilitation measures influence soil macrofauna, despite being a critical component of soil ecosyste...
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Soil Advances |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950289625000016 |
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| author | Harrison Churu Solomon Kamau Wilson Ng’etich Keziah Magiroi Bonface Alkamoi James Mutio Syphyline Kebeney Fred Wamalwa |
| author_facet | Harrison Churu Solomon Kamau Wilson Ng’etich Keziah Magiroi Bonface Alkamoi James Mutio Syphyline Kebeney Fred Wamalwa |
| author_sort | Harrison Churu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | One of the most features of land degradation is soil erosion, which at its extreme, causes formation of gullies. Nonetheless, there is limited understanding on how such gullies, their management or rehabilitation measures influence soil macrofauna, despite being a critical component of soil ecosystems. Thus, this study evaluated the influence of gully erosion mitigation and rehabilitation measures on soil macrofauna abundance, diversity and species richness in semi-arid lands with severe degradation and where restoration efforts are being put in place. Soil macrofauna were sampled across two categories of lands under mitigation (terracing) and rehabilitation (sand-damming) efforts in croplands and pasturelands. These were compared with lands where no mitigation or rehabilitative measures were taken up. Therefore, the combinations were as follows: (i) terraced croplands, (ii) unterraced croplands, (iii) terraced pasturelands, (iv) unterraced pasturelands, (v) sand dams, and (vi) degraded lands. Soil samples were also collected in these lands for chemical analysis. Results showed degraded lands to be characterized by low organic C, available P and total N (less than 9.9 g kg−1, 4.7 mg kg−1 and 2.8 g kg−1, respectively) indicative of chemical degradation. Land degradation significantly reduced total earthworm abundance by more than 80 % when compared with pastureland and croplands. Specific genera were also affected negatively, with abundance of Lumbricus sp. reducing by up to 6 times in degraded lands compared with terraced croplands which had 65 individuals m−2, and by more than 9 times compared with that of terraced pasturelands that had 97 individuals m−2. Beetles also showed similar differences to that of earthworms, with greater abundance in pasturelands than in degraded lands. On the contrary, termites were more abundant in the degraded lands, with an average of 306 individuals m−2 which was more than four times the abundance reported in sand dams and close to 50 % more than that reported in pasturelands. Terracing and sand-damming increased soil macrofauna diversity by more than 21 %, to more than 1.3 units compared with that of degraded lands with 0.99 units. In summary, our study shows that gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures positively affects the most sensitive soil macrofauna groups (earthworms and beetles), which are often used as bioindicators of soil health. Thus, installation of these measures can be a starting point towards restoration and increasing the resilience of these fragile ecosystems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-10fbcb20a6d54027a21196be77b34004 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2950-2896 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Soil Advances |
| spelling | doaj-art-10fbcb20a6d54027a21196be77b340042025-01-23T05:28:09ZengElsevierSoil Advances2950-28962025-06-013100033Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid landsHarrison Churu0Solomon Kamau1Wilson Ng’etich2Keziah Magiroi3Bonface Alkamoi4James Mutio5Syphyline Kebeney6Fred Wamalwa7Department of Soil Science, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, Kenya; Corresponding author.Department of Agriculture, Animal Science and Natural Resources, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, KenyaDepartment of Soil Science, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, KenyaKenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), P.O. Box 450-30200, Kitale, KenyaDepartment of Seed Crops and Horticultural Sciences, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, KenyaDepartment of Soil Science, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, KenyaDepartment of Agriculture, Animal Science and Natural Resources, Moi University, P.O. Box 3900-30100, Eldoret, KenyaDepartment of Rural Development and Agricultural Economics, University of Eldoret, P.O. Box 1125-30100, Eldoret, KenyaOne of the most features of land degradation is soil erosion, which at its extreme, causes formation of gullies. Nonetheless, there is limited understanding on how such gullies, their management or rehabilitation measures influence soil macrofauna, despite being a critical component of soil ecosystems. Thus, this study evaluated the influence of gully erosion mitigation and rehabilitation measures on soil macrofauna abundance, diversity and species richness in semi-arid lands with severe degradation and where restoration efforts are being put in place. Soil macrofauna were sampled across two categories of lands under mitigation (terracing) and rehabilitation (sand-damming) efforts in croplands and pasturelands. These were compared with lands where no mitigation or rehabilitative measures were taken up. Therefore, the combinations were as follows: (i) terraced croplands, (ii) unterraced croplands, (iii) terraced pasturelands, (iv) unterraced pasturelands, (v) sand dams, and (vi) degraded lands. Soil samples were also collected in these lands for chemical analysis. Results showed degraded lands to be characterized by low organic C, available P and total N (less than 9.9 g kg−1, 4.7 mg kg−1 and 2.8 g kg−1, respectively) indicative of chemical degradation. Land degradation significantly reduced total earthworm abundance by more than 80 % when compared with pastureland and croplands. Specific genera were also affected negatively, with abundance of Lumbricus sp. reducing by up to 6 times in degraded lands compared with terraced croplands which had 65 individuals m−2, and by more than 9 times compared with that of terraced pasturelands that had 97 individuals m−2. Beetles also showed similar differences to that of earthworms, with greater abundance in pasturelands than in degraded lands. On the contrary, termites were more abundant in the degraded lands, with an average of 306 individuals m−2 which was more than four times the abundance reported in sand dams and close to 50 % more than that reported in pasturelands. Terracing and sand-damming increased soil macrofauna diversity by more than 21 %, to more than 1.3 units compared with that of degraded lands with 0.99 units. In summary, our study shows that gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures positively affects the most sensitive soil macrofauna groups (earthworms and beetles), which are often used as bioindicators of soil health. Thus, installation of these measures can be a starting point towards restoration and increasing the resilience of these fragile ecosystems.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950289625000016Land degradationPasturelandsSand damsSoil biodiversityEcosystem engineersTerraces |
| spellingShingle | Harrison Churu Solomon Kamau Wilson Ng’etich Keziah Magiroi Bonface Alkamoi James Mutio Syphyline Kebeney Fred Wamalwa Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid lands Soil Advances Land degradation Pasturelands Sand dams Soil biodiversity Ecosystem engineers Terraces |
| title | Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid lands |
| title_full | Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid lands |
| title_fullStr | Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid lands |
| title_full_unstemmed | Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid lands |
| title_short | Gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi-arid lands |
| title_sort | gully mitigation and rehabilitation measures have varying effects on soil macrofauna abundance and diversity in semi arid lands |
| topic | Land degradation Pasturelands Sand dams Soil biodiversity Ecosystem engineers Terraces |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950289625000016 |
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