Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
more. The practice of leaving trees
in situ
on farms ensures that basic farm
resources are continually renewed, easily available, and, above all, provide
diversity to the agricultural environment.
Farmer management practices
Generally croplands in the forest zone are routinely maintained through the vari-
ous husbandry practices of weeding, pest control, and timely harvesting. In the
special case of trees left
in situ
on farms, tree saplings are protected against weeds
till they are strong enough to compete with weeds and other shrubs. There is no
conscious effort to fertilize the trees or shrubs, but invariably they benefit from the
minimal amounts of fertilizers that are applied in maize and vegetable fields. To
reduce competition between the food or cash crop and the tree crop, regular tree
side pruning, lopping, and pollarding are undertaken during cropping seasons.
Forest-savanna transition zone
The transitional zone is an intergrade between the forest and the savanna zones.
It covers part of the Central, Eastern, Volta, and Ashanti regions and almost the
entire Brong Ahafo region.
Traditional cropping systems
Basically the traditional cropping systems practised in the transitional zone are
not different from those described for the forest zone. However, it is important to
note that continuous cropping is widespread in the transition zone.
Maize-based farming is typical of this zone. There also are subsystems such as
maize/rice/yam, maize/yam, and plantain/cocoyam intercrops, as well as vegetables.
Other crops of prominence cultivated in the zone are tobacco, cowpea, and cassava.
The cropping sequence and patterns take several forms. They include sole cropping,
rotations, and multiple cropping.
Traditional agroforestry systems
The following traditional agroforestry systems are found in the zone:
•
shifting cultivation/bush fallowing
•
tree crop/food crop/forest complex
•
plantation crop/root and tuber crop complex.
Compared to the bush fallowing in the forest zone, the transitional zone has shorter
fallow periods.
