Soil microbial biomass is considered as an important early indicator of changes that may occur
in the long term with regard to soil fertility and constitutes an important source and sink of nutrients. In
South Africa, rangeland monitoring has mostly focused on assessing changes of aboveground vegetation
in response to land uses effects, but the associated changes at belowground soil level remain a topic of
further research. The aim of this study was to explore soil microbial biomass at three sites under

SUMMARY OF CIAT ASIA TEAM PLANNING SESSION 19 – 21 FEBRUARY, HANOI Participants: Asia: Rod Lefroy, Keith Fahrney, Tassilo Tiemann, Adrian Bolliger, Tin Maung Aye, Kris Wyckhyus, Georgina Smith, Aparna Mani, Jonathan Newby, Sok Sophearith, Lao Thao, Ou Wenjun, Cu Thi Le Thuy, Giang Tuan Linh and Dindo Campilan (as an observer) HQ: Joe Tohme, Clair Hershey, Kayte Meola and André Zandstra

Land degradation has been identified as severe environmental problem in Ethiopia, especially since the early 1970s. Because there is significant degradation on cultivated lands in Ethiopia, there is potentially high payoff to addressing degradation in the country. In this paper we focus mainly on the effect of short-term benefits to farmers and the explicit considerations of the linkages between natural resource management and market-oriented commodity development on the adoption and scaling out of sustainable land management practices.

This book is another collaborative effort between CIAT and The Nippon Foundation to review and summarize the results of many years of research on cassava, especially that conducted in Asia by CIAT in collaboration with national programs in the various cassava-growing countries. [...] The main objective was not only to continue the development of new technological options to improve cassava yield while protecting the soil from degradation but also to enhance the adoption of these technologies by cassava farmers.

 Durante tres años se establecieron en un Andisol del municipio de Somotillo (Nicaragua) los sistemas

de usos de tierra: tradicional del productor (tala, quema, fertilización y siembra de maíz + fríjol);

agroforestal Quesungual (SAQ) (no quema, árboles nativos en regeneración natural y siembra de

maíz + fríjol); residuos de cultivos (manejo de cobertura con residuos de cultivos); y testigo bosque

secundario (tacotal) de aproximadamente cinco años de edad no cultivado. Se hicieron muestreos de