A Review on Nitrogen Flows and Obstacles to Sustainable Nitrogen Management within the Lake Victoria Basin, East Africa
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Date
2024-05
Authors
Masso, Cargele
Gweyi-Onyango, Joseph
Luoga, Hilda Pius
Yemefack, Martin
Vanlauwe, Bernard
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
MDPI
Abstract
The Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) is located in the upper reaches of the Nile River Basin and is
shared by five East-African countries. The population in the catchment is growing rapidly and the
lake is facing several environmental problems. During the past few decades, numerous efforts have
been made across the five countries, with the coordination of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission
(LVBC) to reduce the loading of reactive nitrogen (Nr) into the lake and Lake Watershed. However,
most of the measures envisaged to ensure long-term sustainable N management are not as easily
adopted as planned. This paper reports on a review study on N flows and obstacles in achieving
sustainable N management in the LVB, with the objectives of improving the understanding of the N
cycle and examining the N management practices and policies that can help reduce the loss of Nr
in the region. The scientific literature related to a range of N flows, N management obstacles, and
options to overcome obstacles has been analyzed using N prospects developed at the global level for
their potential applicability across the LVB. The study showed that an unbalanced use of N input
is a serious threat to agricultural productivity leading to extreme soil N mining and degradation,
with the majority of LVB farms operating within negative N balances and above the safe operating
boundary for N in production systems. From the projections in N input as recommended by various
stakeholders, there would likely be changes in both current yield and N use efficiency (NUE) values;
however, most small-scale farmers will continue to experience low yields, which remains a challenge
for food security in the area. These results suggest that scientists as well as those involved in decisionmaking and policymaking processes should formulate new targets for fertilizer increment to reduce
the yield gap for sustainability, focusing on more integrated soil fertility as a package for nutrient
management in cropping systems.
Description
Article
Keywords
Lake Victoria Basin, reactive nitrogen, obstacles to N management, N budget, N management practices and policies, N use efficiency
Citation
Ngila, V., Kweyu, R., & Mbuthia, S. (2024). Socio-Economic Drivers of Agroforestry Practices in Kaiti Watershed, Makueni County, Kenya. East African Journal of Forestry and Agroforestry, 7(1), 200-214. https://doi.org/10.37284/eajfa.7.1.1957