CREATION CARE AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

BASIC CONCEPTS AND STRATEGIES

By Abram J. Bicksler ECHO Asia Impact Center

MEAS• Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services

– Aims to equip extension and development personnel around the world to adapt to changing extension environments

– Funded by generous support of US Agency for International Development (USAID)

Using iClickersPerception question: I am familiar with Natural Resource Management • A: Strongly disagree• B: Slightly disagree• C: Neither agree or disagree• D: Slightly agree• E: Strongly agree

Why is Creation Care Important?

• 1) Creation exists to bring God Glory • Heb 3; Col 1

• 2) God owns and sustains the Creation• Heb 3; Cattle on 1,000 hills

• 3) When God created the world, He called it “Good”• Gen 1

• 4) God calls us to care for and to keep His Creation• Gen 3

• 5) Although Creation, like us, is fallen, it too waits for its Redemption• Rom 8

• 6) Our neighbors depend upon it• Luke 10

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The Purpose of the Presentation:

• To help you learn about key concepts and strategies related to the management of natural resources, such as water, soil, plants and ecosystems

• To help you to teach these skills to the farmer and community groups that you work with

What is in this presentation: This presentation is comprised of 6 lessons:

1. Why are natural resources important?2. Water 3. Soil 4. Plant health5. Life systems in nature (ecosystems) 6. Sustainable use – bringing it all together

NRM Theory

Lesson 1. Why are Natural Resources Important?

Natural resource: any asset that we can obtain from our environment: water, soil, plants, wind, animals, minerals, the energy of the sun and many others. We would not be alive without these.

• Renewable natural resource: one that can regrow, or whose supplies can be replenished, through natural processes– Plants– Animals– Insects – Wind

• Non-renewable natural resource: one that can be used up, one that will not replenish itself. Examples of these include oil, coal, minerals or rocks – Oil– Coal– Minerals– Rocks– Water

Managing natural resources• Our goal: 1) use resources to not reduce their

supply and 2) preserve the harmony between the different resources and organisms in the environment

• Maintaining healthy ecosystems - All living and non-living things interact with each other and co-exist in a balance

• Building sustainable livelihoods - All farmers rely on the entire ecosystem (the water, soil, plants and everything else in it) for their livelihoods– Good management practices help farmers safeguard and

improve their livelihoods.

Lesson 2. Water – the cycle of life

• Main Points:– Water is essential for all life, for people, plants and animals– How much water we have and how we use this water determines

the productivity of our land– Water flows in a cycle

• How water moves off the land -For farmers the most important part of the water cycle is what happens to the rainwater once it reaches the soil. After it rains, 1 of 3 things can happen:– Infiltrate: It can seep into the soil going underground (useful for

plants, needs to be maximized)– Runoff: It can move across the surface of the field and go into a

ditch, stream, river (lost to farmer, causes erosion)– Evaporate: Because of effects of the heat and the sun, it can also

evaporate and return to the atmosphere (lost to the farmer)

Lesson 2. Water- Connecting Everything

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Problem: Surface RunoffErosion: Water that runs off the soil surface too quickly and carries away the soil from fields and unprotected areas.

•One of the biggest dangers to agriculture•The best layer of soil for growing crops is topsoil•Preventing soil erosion essential to livelihoods

Flooding: Large amounts of water spill over and out of rivers and lakes

• People, animals, plants, infrastructure areaffected by floods

Drought: If water leaves the land too quickly, no infiltration and recharge of ground water

•Can result in an agricultural droughtPrevention: Keeping trees and grass cover on the upper slopes to slow

down runoff; taking measures to prevent erosion; and capturing morewater in the soil or in small dams

Watersheds and Watershed

Management

• “Watershed” = an area from which all of the rainfall drains into a common outlet or water-body

• Watersheds can be small (only a few meters)– that all drain into one gully or stream

• Watersheds an also be large, covering thousands of hectares and many small water bodies

• Things to Remember:– It is important to manage rainfall across the entire watershed– It is impossible to manage one part of a watershed effectively

without looking at the bigger picture upslope and downslope

Hotspots: How to Identify Problem Areas• Problem areas- usually caused by runoff that is

moving too fast and therefore causing erosion. • Looking for signs of erosion or potential for

erosion: •Areas of bare soil on a slope, with no vegetation•Places where gullies are forming•Areas where plant roots are exposed•Areas where the soil surface is covered with stones•Areas where plowing brings up subsoil or stones•Areas where heavy rain turns streams muddy

Quiz Question #3 (on your i>Clicker):

• What is this a picture of?:

• A: Drought• B: Flooding• C: Erosion• D: Percolation

Quiz Question #4:Rainwater that falls on a crop field should:• A: Sink into the soil• B: Be removed as quickly as possible• C: Be prevented from running off too quickly• D: Only A and C• E: Only A and B

Lesson 3. Soil – The Foundation of Life What is soil and what does it do? • A matrix which provides plants with water and food

(nutrients) and keeps plants stable and strong by anchoring their roots.

• Soil is made up of different layers – most important for plant growth is the darker top layer,

called topsoil– Holds many of the essential nutrients plants need – Contains pathways for roots to grow and holds the water

and air that roots use to survive– Deeper topsoil can hold more nutrients and retains water

longer during dry spells– Very vulnerable – can be quickly washed or blown away

Characteristics of An Ideal Soil• Fertile• Deep• Well drained/aerated• High in organic matter

(>5%)• Friable- easily worked

Lesson 3. Soil – The Foundation of Life • Topsoil has more organic

matter than layers below – Organic matter – living and dead

plant roots, rotting stems, leaves, animal manure & small animals in soil

– Small micro-organisms and larger soil animals (like earthworms & beetles) transform organic matter into rich topsoil

– Cycle- More organic matter = more soil animals = transform organic matter into even more nutrients = making topsoil very fertile

• More organic matter:– Holds more moisture during dry periods – Drains excess water faster after heavy rainfall– Breaks down and releases nutrients

• To increase the number of soil animals:– Reduce the use of agro-chemicals – Increase plant organic matter– Add compost to the soil – Produce vermiculture (worm compost)– Grow green manure cover crops– Rotate crops– Practice natural farming

Lesson 3. Soil – The Foundation of Life

Soil Texture• Soil texture = size of the particles in the soil• Sand, silt, clay• Loam = soils that have a more or less equal amount

of sand, silt and clay • Some soils are stony, some are sandy and others

are sticky (clayey) and get muddy when it rains • Soil texture varies from place to place, even in the

same plot

What is Soil Texture?

The Importance of Soil Texture

Sandy Soils• Gritty, rough and

light colored • Grains do not stick

together like clay and do not provide solid grounding for plant roots

• Water drains through them quickly and not very fertile

Soil Texture Types

Clay soils• Good at holding water, but

become muddy when wet and drain poorly

• When it is wet, plant roots have a difficult time to get enough air

• Generally very fertile • Can be improved by adding

organic matter– helps to bind it together and

form clumps called aggregates

Soil Texture Types

Silty soils • Somewhere in-between clay and

sand• They do not get as muddy as clay

and are very fertile• They can become compacted if

cultivated when wet

Loam soils• Contain a balanced mix of sand, silt

and clay • One of the best soils for agriculture• Retain water but also drain well and

are easy to plow • Hold nutrients and provide an ideal

home for soil animals with good balance

Soil Texture Types

Quiz Question #5• True or False:

The three main textures of soil are sand, silt, and organic matter– A: True– B: False

Quiz Question #6Ways to add more organic matter to soil include:• A: Add animal manure• B: Make and add compost• C: Add mulch• D: All of the above• E: Only A and C

Lesson 4: Soil Nutrients, Nutrient Cycles, and Soil Fertility

• Plants need four things to grow:– energy from the sun– water– nutrients from the soil – carbon dioxide from the air

• When a crop grows it takes nutrients from the soil • If nutrients are not replaced – by adding organic matter

or commercial fertilizer – soil becomes infertile and cannot produce future crops

• There are 17 nutrients that plants need to grow – 3 are known as macro-nutrients- very important and needed

in large amounts –N, P, K – 14 micro-nutrients – still very important, but needed in lesser

amounts

Macronutrients• Nitrogen (N): Essential for vegetative growth

– Plants that receive plenty of nitrogen grow large and their leaves are dark green

– Yellow leaves are a sign that Nitrogen is lacking– Some plants (legumes -beans, clover or groundnuts) fix N – Manure and commercial nitrogen fertilizer also put

nitrogen back into the soil– Important to work animal manure or nitrogen fertilizer

into the soil and not let it sit on the surface, as the nutrient quickly evaporates

Macronutrients• Phosphorus (P)

– Essential for roots to grow, and flowers and seeds to develop – Can be added to plants as commercial fertilizer, or through

organic matter and manure – Needs to be worked into the soil near plant roots because not

water soluble– Phosphorus content of the soil is reduced either by removing

the crops or as part of soil erosion • Potassium (K)

– Helps strengthen the stalks and stems and it helps plants resist disease and drought.

– Like nitrogen, potassium can be washed away by heavy rains, flowing away with the groundwater

• Maintaining the balance of nutrients in the soil over time is usually done through fertilizer application– Supplies the nutrients that plants need and that previous crops took

out of the soil • Commercial fertilizers are called inorganic because they are

taken from minerals and ores– Expensive and do not improve the soil structure or its capacity to

hold water– Too much artificial N-P-K fertilizer too often will kill important soil

animals and contaminate downstream water sources• Farm-made fertilizers are considered organic because they

come from plants and animals– Less expensive– Benefits soil health and tilth because adding organic matter (OM)

Origin of Fertility

How to Protect Existing Organic Matter:

• Do not use burning to clear land for crops– Burning weeds and vegetation removes

OM– Unburned soils have twice the number of

important nutrients (carbon and nitrogen) and twice the number of soil animals

– Burned soils degrade faster– If need to till, best strategy is to adopt a

minimum tillage system

How to Protect Existing Organic Matter:

• Protecting soil cover and organic matter from livestock:– If uncontrolled grazing allowed, livestock would often

eat or trample much of the plant material that would otherwise remain in place and protect the soil against erosion

– One way to prevent this is to control free grazing by carefully tending to your livestock

– Another solution is called “cut and carry forage”– Third solution is to use dedicated pasture lands

• Mulch: Leaving a layer of dead plant matter on the surface of the soil – Can help control

weeds – Adds nutrients– Keeps the soil damp

longer– Increases soil biota

How to Increase Existing OM:

How to Increase Existing OMGreen Manure / Cover Crops: Certain plants increase minerals in the soil – N–Grown primarily to improve soil fertility–Usually GMCCs cut and left on surface of the

soil while still “green” –Sometimes a green manure crop can be

grown next to a cereal crop–Other times the dead parts can be directly

incorporated into the topsoil –GMCCs include beans, cowpeas, peanuts

(groundnuts), clover, alfalfa and the leaves of some trees

–Additional Benefits:• Erosion reduction• Weed suppression• Organic matter• Soil improvement

Rice Beanwww.css.cornell.edu

Jack Beanwww.ufl.edu

How to Increase Existing OM

Livestock manure – Natural farming- pigs raised on

rice husks and sprayed with EM– Integrate into system-

ducks/tilapia systemCompost: mix of organic materials:

soil, dead leaves, stalks, vegetable scraps and ash from cooking fires, eggshells and animal manure– Compost breaks down into a

rich, dark mixture called humus– Full of richly concentrated

nutrients

Quiz Question 7• Which of these is not a micronutrient?

– A: Boron– B: Calcium– C: Phosphorus– D: Iron– E: Zinc

Quiz Question 8• Which of the following are sources of plant

nutrients?– A: Commercial fertilizers– B: Water– C: Sunlight– D: Mulch– E: Only A and D

Lesson 5. Ecosystems• Ecosystem = The combination of living (plants, animals,

bacteria, etc) and non-living things (air, water, sun, soil) – We are also a part of this environment, and our actions affect how

it functions– In this system all living things are dependent and connected to one

another, because they continually exchange essential nutrients and energy

• Producers: Plants produce “chemical” energy from sunlight• Consumers: Animals eat plants to get energy (e.g., cows)

– Primary Consumers: animals that eat only plants to get energy– Secondary Consumers: animals that eat other animals to get energy

(e.g., wild cats mainly eat mice and birds and other small animals)– Omnivores: animals eating both plants and other animals to get

energy• Humans

Ecosystems• How living things are connected in an ecosystem:

– Plants take up minerals from the soil, water and air to make matter

• Has carbon in it, so “organic matter”– When plants are eaten, some of their matter is absorbed and

utilized by the organism that has eaten it – Both energy and matter are transferred from one to the other

when an organism eats another – Food web diagram: shows the flow of energy and matter from

producers to consumers, and from primary consumers to secondary consumers

• When things die, their “matter” usually returns to the ground – to feed more plants and start the cycle again

What is Happening in the Food Web:• Producers capture solar energy and

convert it into chemical energy throughphotosynthesis– Also take up nutrients from the soil and

the air, and combine them to make OM• Removal of one or more species (or group of species) from

an ecosystem has life changing effects on many other species

• Removal of many species from an ecosystem will often result in a loss of energy and matter, and make the whole system much less productive

Broken Food Webs • Why is our field swamped with insect pests?• If we cut down most of the trees in our area:

– Birds will not have a place to make their nests or to sleep in safety– They will settle elsewhere, and with less birds around to eat insects,

the population of insects will explode– With more insects eating our crops, our crop yields will go down

• Humans are consumers; we depend on maintaining the productivity of our environment (living & nonliving)

• Mismanagement = decreased productivity• Threat to well-being and livelihoods• Maintaining a “balance of species” in environment

– can prevent problems related to booming populations of species

• When things are out of balance - can threatenthe existence of other life inecosystem

Managing Healthy Ecosystems

• Manage your resources carefully; do not use them all up!

• If soil and water resources become degraded = reduced capacity to generate food and income as well as endanger the livelihoods of our future generations

• It is very important that we manage resources well so that we do not destroy our own environment and our own livelihoods.

Managing Healthy Ecosystems

Lesson 6. Sustainable Use – Bringing it All Together

Maintaining and increasing productivity • Main theme of the presentation = we need to carefully manage

our existing soil, water and natural resources• This will help us protect our current

capacity to produce food and secure income from farms

• Good natural resource management in the long term – Will increase our capacity to provide food and income – Will build rich resources that we can pass on to our children

Consequences of Environmental Degradation• If soil, water, and natural resources

become polluted and degraded:– Lose our capacity to generate food and

income• If we allow the diversity in our local

natural resources to be lost:– Capacity to withstand adverse events

(like droughts, floods, GCC, or insect plagues) will be reduced

– Will be more difficult to produce crops

Good Practices for Farming and Managing the Natural Environment

• Protect the soil at all costs– Keep it covered as much as

possible– Minimize tilling and exposing

the soil to weather– Build up/add OM– “Put back whatever you take

out” - add soil nutrients using either organic or inorganic types of fertilizer

• Capture and use rainfall– First in the soil (add OM,

GMCC’s)– Then in the runoff (ponds,

dams, paddy)

Good Practices for Farming and Managing the Natural Environment

• All excess water should “walk, not run” off the slope– This will prevent erosion by

ensuring excess water does not carry away the topsoil

– Use tools such as contour ditches, dams, terraces to slow and stop water erosion

Good Practices for Farming and Managing the Natural Environment

• All excess water should “walk, not run” off the slope

Good Practices for Farming and Managing the Natural Environment

• Maintain a wide diversity of living organisms– Reduces risk– Breaks pest-disease cycle– Only cut down trees that must be removed

(both within your fields and in common-use areas)

– Do not burn crop residues or pasture lands– Do not overgraze– Remember that all living things are

connected and maintaining balance is the goal

– Diversifying farming system will promote stable production and reduce risk

Quiz Question 9• True or False: In a food web, matter and energy are

continually being transferred between organisms– A: True– B: False

Quiz Question 10• Why is it important to manage soil, water, and

other natural resources?– A: To protect our ability to produce food and

income– B: To protect vital ecosystem services– C: To ensure that we pass on to our children rich,

productive natural resources– D: All of the above

For your Consideration:Some Questions to consider in your community:• Which important natural resources are being lost

most quickly? • What will be the consequences to individuals,

families and our community if these trends continue?

• What are the local natural resources in our community that need to be protected right away?

• Are there any concrete steps we can take now?