Abstract
In the Congo Basin, smallholder farmers practice slash-and-burn shifting cultivation. Yet, deliberate burning might no longer be sustainable under reduced fallow scenarios. We synthesized data from the Forest Margins Benchmark Area (FMBA), comprising 1.54 million hectares (ha), in southern Cameroon and assessed the impact of fire exclusion on yield, labor inputs, soil fertility, ecosystem carbon stocks, and fallow recovery indicators in two common field types (plantain and maize) under both current and reduced fallow scenarios. While we could not distinguish between impacts of standard farmer burning practice and fire exclusion treatments for the current fallow scenario, we concluded that fire exclusion would lead to higher yields, higher ecosystem carbon stocks as well as potentially faster fallow recovery under the reduced fallow scenario. While its implementation would increase labor requirements, we estimated increased revenues of 421 and 388 US$ ha(-1) for plantain and maize, respectively. Applied to the FMBA, and assuming a 6-year reduced fallow scenario, fire exclusion in plantain fields would potentially retain 240,464 Mg more ecosystem carbon, comprising topsoil carbon plus tree biomass carbon, than standard farmer practice. Results demonstrate a potential "win-win scenario" where yield benefits, albeit modest, and conservation benefits can be obtained simultaneously. This could be considered as a transitional phase towards higher input use and thus higher yielding systems.
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
Effects of burning and fire exclusion could not be distinguished under current fallow.
- Taxon
- plantainMusa ABB Groupe1
- Outcome
- impactse0
- Qualifier
- current fallow scenarioe0
- Comparator
- standard farmer burning practicee0
Verbatim
e0“could not distinguish between impacts of standard farmer burning practice and fire exclusion treatments for the current fallow scenario”
e1“field types (plantain and maize)”
Claim · model-written summary
Fire exclusion was estimated to raise plantain yield under reduced fallow.
- Taxon
- plantainMusa ABB Groupe2
- Treatment
- fire exclusione0
- Outcome
- yieldse0
- Direction
- highere0
- Qualifier
- reduced fallow scenarioe1
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“fire exclusion would lead to higher yields”
e1“under the reduced fallow scenario”
e2“field types (plantain and maize)”
Claim · model-written summary
Fire exclusion was estimated to raise maize yield under reduced fallow.
Zea maysNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“fire exclusion would lead to higher yields”
e1“under the reduced fallow scenario”
e2“field types (plantain and maize)”
Claim · model-written summary
Fire exclusion was estimated to increase ecosystem carbon stocks under reduced fallow.
- Taxon
- plantainMusa ABB Groupe1
- Treatment
- fire exclusione0
- Outcome
- ecosystem carbon stockse0
- Direction
- highere0
- Qualifier
- reduced fallow scenarioe0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“fire exclusion would lead to higher yields, higher ecosystem carbon stocks as well as potentially faster fallow recovery under the reduced fallow scenario”
e1“field types (plantain and maize)”
Claim · model-written summary
Fire exclusion could hasten fallow recovery under reduced fallow.
- Taxon
- plantainMusa ABB Groupe2
- Treatment
- fire exclusione1
- Outcome
- fallow recoverye0
- Direction
- fastere0
- Qualifier
- potentiallye0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“potentially faster fallow recovery under the reduced fallow scenario”
e1“fire exclusion would lead to higher yields”
e2“field types (plantain and maize)”
Claim · model-written summary
Fire exclusion would increase labor requirements.
- Taxon
- plantainMusa ABB Groupe1
- Treatment
- fire exclusione1
- Outcome
- labor requirementse0
- Direction
- increasee0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“its implementation would increase labor requirements”
e1“fire exclusion in plantain fields”
Claim · model-written summary
Plantain revenue was estimated to increase by 421 US$ ha(-1).
- Taxon
- plantainMusa ABB Groupe0
- Treatment
- fire exclusione1
- Outcome
- revenuese0
- Direction
- increasede0
- Value
- 421e0
Not reportedComparator
Verbatim
e0“increased revenues of 421 and 388 US$ ha(-1) for plantain and maize, respectively”
e1“fire exclusion in plantain fields”
Claim · model-written summary
Maize revenue was estimated to increase by 388 US$ ha(-1).
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increased revenues of 421 and 388 US$ ha(-1) for plantain and maize, respectively”
e1“fire exclusion would lead to higher yields”
Claim · model-written summary
Fire exclusion in plantain fields could retain 240,464 Mg more ecosystem carbon than standard practice in a six-year reduced fallow scenario.
Verbatim
e0“assuming a 6-year reduced fallow scenario, fire exclusion in plantain fields would potentially retain 240,464 Mg more ecosystem carbon, comprising topsoil carbon plus tree biomass carbon, than standard farmer practice”
The same questions in other papers
fire · yield · Zea mays (maize)Results differ
16 papers in the same direction as this paper · 3 in the opposite direction
- positive
- no effect
- no effect
16 papers more in this group
See all 20 papers →fire · yield · Musa x paradisiaca (banana)Positive and negative results
1 in the opposite direction
- no effect
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.