IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ssefpa/v9y2017i6d10.1007_s12571-017-0663-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fusion of indigenous knowledge and gamma spectrometry for soil mapping to support knowledge-based extension in Tanzania

Author

Listed:
  • Nadja Reinhardt

    (University of Hohenheim)

  • Ludger Herrmann

    (University of Hohenheim)

Abstract

Food shortages often threaten central Tanzania. Sustainable action adapted to local environmental conditions is desperately needed. In the framework of the TransSEC project, two food value chains in the Dodoma region of Tanzania were inspected in order to make propositions for improvement , spanning from soil preparation to product consumption. Therefore, soil mapping approaches were required to obtain rapid and reliable information. This would enable local farmers to participate in the development of upgrading strategies and extensionists to develop recommendations that take local soil conditions into account. In this study, a combination of participatory soil mapping and gamma ray spectrometry-assisted transect mapping was applied to establish local soil maps of two villages in the Dodoma region. Participatory mapping included key informant interviews, group discussions and transect walks. Local farmers indicated reference profiles for local soil types. Their gamma radiation signatures delivered base information for further soil exploration and soil unit delineation in the field. Finally, high resolution satellite images were used to establish the village soil maps. This approach allows capture of the major soil differences within a village territory and reduction of the costs of chemical analyses. Challenges were soil unit separation with gamma ray spectrometry due to erosional redistribution processes at the surface, correct translation of specific terms from local tongues as well as variable individual soil knowledge of local participants. Ultimately, the combination of local soil knowledge with innovative scientific mapping yielded quick results with sufficient spatial resolution for extension work.

Suggested Citation

  • Nadja Reinhardt & Ludger Herrmann, 2017. "Fusion of indigenous knowledge and gamma spectrometry for soil mapping to support knowledge-based extension in Tanzania," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 9(6), pages 1271-1284, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:9:y:2017:i:6:d:10.1007_s12571-017-0663-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-017-0663-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-017-0663-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12571-017-0663-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Todd Benson & Tewodaj Mogues, 2018. "Constraints in the fertilizer supply chain: evidence for fertilizer policy development from three African countries," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(6), pages 1479-1500, December.
    2. Branwen Peddi & David Ludwig & Joost Dessein, 2023. "Relating inclusive innovations to Indigenous and local knowledge: a conceptual framework," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(1), pages 395-408, March.
    3. Cecilia M. Onyango & Justine M. Nyaga & Johanna Wetterlind & Mats Söderström & Kristin Piikki, 2021. "Precision Agriculture for Resource Use Efficiency in Smallholder Farming Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-17, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:9:y:2017:i:6:d:10.1007_s12571-017-0663-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.