Research on nutrient flows and balances in West Africa: state-of-the-art

West Africa is poorly endowed when it comes to soil fertility. Unlike for example the Rift Valley area, west African soils never enjoyed volcanic rejuvenation. At low agricultural intensity, this does not matter as nutrients cycle through the soil and the natural vegetation and losses are few. However, the past decades have shown high population increases, the breakdown of traditional shifting cultivation systems, and a rapid decline of land productivity and soil fertility in particular. The present review paper shows how much is known about the severity of this process and the:technologies at hand that can stop it. The information provided Shows that on the technical side much is known now, but research output still is poorly integrated into development efforts. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.