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Title: | An Approach for Simulating Soil Loss from an Agro-Ecosystem Using Multi-Agent Simulation: A Case Study for Semi-Arid Ghana |
Authors: | Badmos, Biola K. Agodzo, Sampson K. Villamor, Grace B. Odai, Samuel N. |
Keywords: | Agricultural land-use adaptation Farm credit Climate change Vea-LUDAS model |
Issue Date: | 2015 |
Publisher: | Land |
Citation: | Land 2015, 4, 607-626; doi:10.3390/land4030607 |
Abstract: | Soil loss is not limited to change from forest or woodland to other land uses/covers.
It may occur when there is agricultural land-use/cover modification or conversion. Soil loss
may influence loss of carbon from the soil, hence implication on greenhouse gas emission.
Changing land use could be considered actually or potentially successful in adapting to
climate change, or may be considered maladaptation if it creates environmental degradation.
In semi-arid northern Ghana, changing agricultural practices have been identified amongst
other climate variability and climate change adaptation measures. Similarly, some of the
policies aimed at improving farm household resilience toward climate change impact might
necessitate land use change. The heterogeneity of farm household (agents) cannot be
ignored when addressing land use/cover change issues, especially when livelihood is
dependent on land. This paper therefore presents an approach for simulating soil loss from
an agro-ecosystem using multi-agent simulation (MAS). We adapted a universal soil loss
equation as a soil loss sub-model in the Vea-LUDAS model (a MAS model). Furthermore,
for a 20-year simulation period, we presented the impact of agricultural land-use adaptation strategy (maize cultivation credit i.e., maize credit scenario) on soil loss and compared it
with the baseline scenario i.e., business-as-usual. Adoption of maize as influenced by maize
cultivation credit significantly influenced agricultural land-use change in the study area.
Although there was no significant difference in the soil loss under the tested scenarios, the
incorporation of human decision-making in a temporal manner allowed us to view patterns
that cannot be seen in single step modeling. The study shows that opening up cropland on
soil with a high erosion risk has implications for soil loss. Hence, effective measures should
be put in place to prevent the opening up of lands that have high erosion risk. |
Description: | An article published by Land 2015, 4, 607-626; doi:10.3390/land4030607 |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/10775 |
Appears in Collections: | College of Engineering
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