Management of Sloping Lands for Sustainable Agriculture in Sichuan

This project on the sloping lands of Sichuan is evaluating the cost and environmental effectiveness of balanced fertilization (BF) and biological barriers (BB)...also referred to as alley cropping or eco-engineering...against the traditional and expensive engineered terraces (ET). Over a four year period, the BF/BB method has been successfully applied and, as a result, it reduced soil loss and increased farmers’ income. The project is highly regarded by provincial and county governments as well as farmers, and has been appointed as a national model by the Ministry of Agriculture. In 2002, the technology was extended to seven counties in Sichuan and one county in Chongqing.

In 2003, the suitability of, and BF recommendations for, various hedgerow crops were evaluated for the various conditions of climate, landscape, and soil-type. The combinations of:

• pear, day lily, and Chinese prickly ash were determined as most suitable in the hills of Jiangyang County;

• fruit tree + potherb (a wild vegetable), mulberry, and jasmine were suited for the low hills of Qingshen County;

• honeysuckle (a Chinese herb) was suited for the mountainous region of Nanjiang County;

• common Eulaliopsis (a raw material for paper-making) and mulberry were suited for the deep hills of Santai County;

tea, grass, and mulberry were suited for the low hills of Hongya County; and

• Chinese toon and Chinese prickly ash were suited for the deep hills of Jiangjing County in Chongqing.

The pear + day lily hedgerow produced a net income of US$2,000 to US$2,600/ha in Jianyang, which was significantly higher that the previous year. This site has received visitors from all regions of China and is a well known soil conservation success story. All other demonstration and extension sites have begun to show profits from hedgerow crops planted. Sichuan-12A