Summary
Experiments will be conducted under the two main land use types within the study area: dryland cereals and dryland almond production. In the cereal production the effect of reduced tillage on soil parameters, productivity and net farm income will be explored. In the almond fields, four different techniques will be studied to assess their effects on soil water content, soil erosion, soil parameters, productivity and farm income:
1) traditional water harvesting ('Boquera'),
2) straw mulch,
3) green manure, and
4) reduced tillage.
The main forms of land degradation in the study area are caused by water erosion and drought. Most farmers are more concerned about a lack of water than about soil loss. The results of the DESIRE experiments are expected to provide information on the possibilities of a more efficient use of water by preventing evaporation (i.e. straw mulch) and by collecting surface runoff (i.e. Boquera). Moreover, an assessment will be made of the potential of various technologies (i.e. reduced tillage, straw mulch, green cover and water harvesting) to improve soil properties, increase infiltration, increase soil organic matter and reduce soil erosion. So the overall objective of the monitoring experiments is to assess the effectiveness of different conservation measures to reduce erosion and increase soil water content and to assess the crop yield and profit after correction for possible extra costs related to the conservation measure. This is considered crucial since an effective but expensive or yield reducing method will not be acceptable for stakeholders. In general, their first consideration will be short-term profitability rather than long-term land degradation.
