Local Knowledge into Soil and Water Management Interventions which Minimise Nutrient Losses in the Middle Hills of Nepal. Incorporation of Local Knowledge into Soil and Water Management Interventions which Minimise Nutrient Losses in the Middle Hills of N

Between the elevations of 1000 and 2000 m in the mid-hills of Nepal, over 12 million people subsist on land-holdings of less than 0.5 hectare. These farmers are have very limited access to commercial inputs such as fertilisers and are reliant on rainfall and organic manures for soil fertility maintenance. In particular, bari lands (upper slope rain-fed crop terraces) in Nepal are increasingly becoming a focus of concern in terms of soil fertility decline and management. Previous work has shown that erosion is important during heavy rainfall events pre- monsoon in April/May and later in the season nutrient losses through leaching are significant. There is a need for soil and water management interventions which utilise locally available resources that control erosion without resulting in high leaching and so are effective in minimising total nutrient losses. Farming alternatives that conserve water and soil are urgently needed in these marginal and fragile hillside environments to sustain soil fertility and hence rural livelihoods. The objective of this project was to ensure that nutrient losses due to leaching and erosion are minimised by devising economically and culturally viable land, soil and water management techniques, building upon the sophisticated local knowledge of the movement of water across soil an