cn 5 wed13_medes_wb6_feedback_on_wb6_sessions_geeson

Xi’an, October 2010

WB 6: The Harmonised

Information System and

Dissemination Products

Recent activities, Overview, and Plans

Nichola Geeson, Jane Brandt, Giovanni Quaranta, Rosanna Salvia


WB 6: Recent activities

•Additions, re-organisation and refinements

to the HIS, including use of drop-down

menus

•Compilation of products such as

newsletters, the booklet on salinization (in

the Russian and Nestos (Greece) sites), the

leaflet on “Sustainable land management

enhances our living soils” for

Desertification Day, and the article on

DESIRE for DesertNet (DNI)

Posters and presentations for the recent

DESURVEY conference in Rome

A publication from the DESIRE project - funded by

the European Union’s 6th Framework Program

‘Global Change and Ecosystems’ Newsletter 3

2010 - 2

Scientists and

stakeholders learn to

listen to one another

How should scientists approach al l thestakeholders that can contribute to ensuring thatthe research has practical uses? How can theinterest of the stakeholders be maintained?

By stakeholders we mean everyone who has aninterest: from farmers to national policy makers,from schoolchildren to the UNCCD. The DESIREProject has included a series of stakeholderworkshops in all study sites. This has allowed fulldiscussion of ideas to combat land degradationand desertification, many of which are now

being trialed on experimental plots. Localstakeholders are involved in monitoring the trialswhere possible, and all stakeholders will beinvited to consider the evaluation of success,and contribute to future recommendations.

The most rewarding workshops are where thereis full support for seeking sustainable optionsfrom a wide range of people. It is important totry and include a range of ages and standards ofeducation, and as many women as men.

Knowledge

exchange is the

key to sustainable

action

1

Overgrazing can result in desertification in Tunisia

The DESIRE project (2007-2011) is funded by the European Commission, VI

Framework Program, ‘Global Change and Ecosystems’ and brings together the

expertise of 26 international research institutes and non-governmental

organisations (NGOs). This project is implemented by ALTERRA - research

institute for the green living environment in the Netherlands.

Copyright and Disclaimer:

www.desire-project.eu/disclaimer

Contact DESIRE coordinator: [email protected]

Contact DESIRE Communications: [email protected]

The opinions expressed in this newsletter and on the website are those of the

DESIRE project consortium and do not necessarily reflect the views of the

European Commission.

Each page is from a DESIRE study site partner:

University of Aveiro, Portugal (Mação site);Democritus University of Thrace, Greece (Nestos river basin); University of Botswana (Boteti site); L'Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), France (Cointzio site, Mexico); Instituto de InvestigacionesAgropecurarias (INIA), Chile (Secano interior)

Edited by Nichola Geeson, July 2010

For more information and contact details see:

• The DESIRE Harmonised Information System: www.desire-his.eu and DESIRE website: www.desire-project.eu

© IR

D, P

rat, C.


We need your help to present your work to best advantage. We want your results to be used by non-

scientists as well as scientists, to find sustainable solutions to real problems


Scientific papers you have written

about DESIRE work

Material you have developed,

particularly in your own languages

for use with stakeholders

Links to local and other useful

websites

As well as the results directly from work packages, please continue to send us other material for the HIS:

I. Martinez

I. Martin

ez

I. Martin

ez

Un sistema de siembra sin preparación tradicional del suelo que evita la erosión

F. Van

Hu

lst

INIA – Quilamapu y el proyecto DESIRE han trabajado en el secano

interior durante más de 5 años en el perfeccionamiento de la

tecnología de la cero labranza. Se denomina cero labranza al

establecimiento de un cultivo sin laboreo tradicional del suelo, para

realizar esta práctica es necesario ejecutar una serie sucesiva de

labores, que permitan en primera instancia adecuar el suelo para

luego implementar la cero labranza propiamente tal.

La adecuación de suelo consiste en eliminar y/o identificar los

grandes obstáculos como piedras, y troncos, luego es recomendable

realizar un subsolado al suelo en el mes de agosto – septiembre con

el propósito de mejorar la infiltración de agua y el desarrollo de

raíces. Éste se puede ejecutar con un arado subsolador traccionado

por tractor. En suelos menos arcillosos y con la humedad apropiada

se puede descompactar el suelo con un arado subsolador de tracción

animal. El subsolado se debe realizar a comienzo de primavera del

año anterior a la siembra. Si las condiciones climáticas lo permiten

también se podría ejecutar a fines de abril del año que se va a

sembrar. Previo a la siembra se realiza un rastraje que deja el suelo

en condiciones de sembrar en cero labranza por al menos 4 años

consecutivos, sin volver a realizar la labor de subsolado.

Para controlar las malezas previo a la siembra, lo que también se

llama barbecho químico, se deben esperar las primeras lluvias para

que estimulen la emergencia de las malezas y luego aplicar un

herbicida total para su control.

Para siembras de grano fino y semillas de praderas se puede utilizar

una sembradora de tracción animal, que tiene tres depósitos, uno

permite sembrar trigo, avena, cebada, lentejas arvejas y lupino; otro

para praderas como hualputras y tréboles, y otro para fertilizantes,

también la siembra se puede efectuar con máquinas sembradoras de

discos accionadas por tractor.

Para facilitar el establecimiento y la emergencia del cultivo que

continua al del trigo al año siguiente, se requiere dejar del orden de

2.500 kilos de rastrojo de trigo sobre el suelo, cantidades superiores

generan ciertos ácidos que inhiben la emergencia del cultivo

sembrado sobre el rastrojo. Cuando la caña de trigo queda parada

este daño no es tan severo. Una solución para mitigar éste problema

es que se manejen animales sobre los rastrojos después de la cosecha

y consuman parte de este. Sin embargo aquellos productores que no

tienen animales o poseen superficies más extensas deben retirar

parte del rastrojo.

Ubicación: Yumbel, San José de Ninhue,

y San Carlos en Región del Bio-Bío y

Cauquenes y San Javier en Región del

Maule, Chile.

Área aplicación Tecnología: Secano

interior mediterráneo de Chile central.

Medidas de Conservación de suelo y

agua: Agronómicas y de manejo de

cultivos.

Uso del suelo: cultivos en suelos con

menos de un 20% de pendiente y

praderas y/o sistemas agroforestales en

pendientes superiores.

Clima: Subhumedo

Comentario: La cero labranza es un

sistema prometedor, ya existe un cierto

nivel de adopción en el país. No

obstante éste se encuentra en fase de

desarrollo técnico en Chile, resta por

determinar un sistema técnico-

económico apropiado del manejo de

rastrojos,. En países de América Latina,

como Brasil, Argentina, Paraguay y

Bolivia se siembran con éste sistema

sobre 33,5 millones de hectáreas. En

Chile, sin manejo adecuado de rastrojo

se siembran alrededor de 130.000 ha.

Izquierda: Siembras trigo con maquina

cero labranza de 10 hileras, marca Juber,

accionada por tractor 90 HP con tracción

asistida, Actividades proyecto DESIRE

Yumbel, Secano interior mediterráneo de

Chile central.

Derecha: Cultivo de lentejas establecido

con cero labranza en San José de Ninhue,

obsérvese restos de cereal que cubren el

suelo entre hileras.

TECNOLOGÍA DE LA CERO LABRANZA EN EL

SECANO INTERIOR DE CHILE


Your Dissemination Plan

In January 2011 we will have one year of DESIRE

left to run

So that is when I would like to ask each DESIRE

partner group (not just study sites) to write a brief

plan for how their results can be presented to a

wide range of audiences



Perhaps include:

Maps, with written explanations

Factsheets or leaflets, about challenges as well as successes

Interesting work from PhD students

All manner of other contributions to the HIS: photos, video clips, links to other websites, etc.

See the updated Manual of Communication and Dissemination for ideas



The HIS is growing, to become the complete story of DESIRE in each study site:

Details of desertification issues in each study site

How strategies to combat desertification were chosen, trialled and evaluated

Conclusions for each study site, locally and in a wider regional context

Recommendations for land users and policy makers

Find out all aboutDESIRE

in the Harmonised Information System

The main menus and sub-menus of the Harmonised Information

System provide access to all DESIRE results, products and

recommendations as they become available

Themes can be accessed through

the Study Site menu as well as the main

menu

Find summaries of the aims and progress in each

WB

Find a useful overview of the DESIRE field

experiments to test strategies to combat

desertification

This useful summary tool shows the technologies

implemented at each site, or where any particular strategy is being tested

... in Spanish

... in Russian ……

The Information System is now multi-lingual

Newsletters and other products can be

downloaded

A publication from the DESIRE project - funded by

the European Union’s 6th Framework Program

‘Global Change and Ecosystems’ Info-brief 2

2010 - 2

Sustainable Land

Management enhances

our living soilsWe rely on land based ecosystems to

provide important benefits for human

livelihoods such as: our food, fodder

for animals, construction materials,

climate regulation and clean water. Toachieve this provision sustainably, it is importantto promote a balance between activities such asagricultural production, and respect for natureand the environment. The EU’s legal frameworkfor Rural development 2007-2013 emphasises theneed for better integration of agricultural andenvironmental policies.

The DESIRE Project (www.desire-his.eu) isextending this approach to a number of regionsaround the world, with a range of land usesaffected by desertification. An important benefitof sustainable land use is the maintenance orimprovement of biodiversity. New initiatives suchas the EU’s Biodiversity Information System forEurope will help improve the integration of

coherent land use policies and synergies aroundthe world.

Land degradation in dryland areas dramaticallyaffects the biological diversity of landbasedecosystems. This is because of the effects on plantorganic matter, plant roots, and organisms in thesoil: like termites, moles and earthworms, fungiand bacteria. This living system below the grounddetermines the biological diversity of land abovethe ground, and ultimately land productivity andother benefits that land provides.

The synergies between soil biodiversity andsustainable land management mean that anyaction that conserves water and improves soilquality will also enhance soil habitats. The DESIREProject is developing strategies to remediate landdegradation in dryland areas. The followingexamples demonstrate how these strategiesmaintain or enhance soil biodiversity.

The DESIRE

Project shows

how this can be

achieved

1

Regular resting of rangeland

allows vegetation and soils to

recover from grazing

In Médenine, Tunisia areas of rangeland leftwithout grazing for 3-5 years improve the plantcover and diversity for the next period of grazing.This helps to avoid land degradation from over-grazing. An increase of infiltration, soil organicmatter and runoff control are secondary benefits.

Resting rangeland in Béni Khédache,-El Athmane, Tunisia

Ou

led B

elgacem, IR

A ©

Ou

led B

elgacem, IR

A ©

Overgrazing can result in desertification in Tunisia

Booklets and leaflets in non-scientific

language will inform a wide range of

audiences about desertification

problems and how DESIRE research can

help

The Information System provides

access to PowerPoint

presentations ……

and video clips to summarise key

points…and documents that can be read on-line or downloaded

Training and practical instructions to

disseminate recommendations further are accessible in various

formats


WB 6: The Plan

Dissemination in WB6 depends on

YOU!

Can you supply material, (for direct

use, or to be re-organised for different

uses), for a wide range of

stakeholders ?

Thank you very much !

cn 5 wed13_medes_wb6_feedback_on_wb6_sessions_geeson

Education