Journal article

Publication year: 2023

Journal: Agronomy

Volume number: 13

Issue number: 3

eISSN: 2073-4395

Open access status: Gold

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13030632

Publisher: MDPI

Abstract: 
Acidic soils (pH < 5.5) cover roughly 30% of Sub-Saharan Africa. Low nitrogen fertilizer application (15 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1)) has no effect on soil acidification in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). However, the effect of optimized fertilizer use on soil acidification (H+) in SSA crops remains unknown. This study intended to predict the spatial variation of H+ caused by optimized fertilizer use using data from 5782 field trials in SSA cropland. We used ensemble machine learning to predict spatial variation (H+) after measuring the inputs and outputs of major elements and their effect on H+ production. The results revealed that H+ ranged spatially from 0 to 16 keq H+ ha(-1) yr(-1). The most protons (H+) were produced by cassava, banana, and Irish potatoes systems with 12.0, 9.8, and 8.9 keq H+ ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively. The results of the 10-fold cross validation for the soil acidification model were a coefficient of determination (R-2) of 0.6, a root mean square error (RMSE) of 2.1, and a mean absolute error (MAE) of 1.4. Net basic cation loss drives soil acidification under optimized fertilizer application and climate covariates had a higher relative importance than other covariates. Digital soil mapping can produce soil acidification maps for sustainable land use and management plans.

Harvard Citation style: Uwiragiye, Y., Ngaba, M., Yang, M., Elrys, A., Chen, Z. and Zhou, J. (2023) Spatially Explicit Soil Acidification under Optimized Fertilizer Use in Sub-Saharan Africa, Agronomy, 13(3), Article 632. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13030632

APA Citation style: Uwiragiye, Y., Ngaba, M., Yang, M., Elrys, A., Chen, Z., & Zhou, J. (2023). Spatially Explicit Soil Acidification under Optimized Fertilizer Use in Sub-Saharan Africa. Agronomy. 13(3), Article 632. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13030632