Land degradation caused by erosion and nutrient depletion in the Andes poses serious existential threats to small-scale farming. Although the potential of hedgerows to decrease water erosion is well recognised, their potential dual-use as a source of organic amendments to supplement farmer inputs is much less studied. The objective of this investigation was therefore to explore locally developed options for hedgerows that address these twin challenges. Experimental plots were installed to assess water erosion control by hedgerows and the effect of organic amendments harvested from the hedgerows on soil productivity, soil moisture, and soil fertility over the course of 2 years and three crop cycles (two of barley and one of rye). The experiment was conducted in two sites within the community at distinct elevations and associated biophysical contexts. At each site, four treatments were established, comparing a control treatment versus three types of hedgerows: (a) Andean alder, (b) canary grass strips, and (c) mixed canary grass and Andean alder. Results demonstrated that hedgerows and associated organic inputs comprised canary grass, and mixed canary grass and Andean alder reduced water erosion by 50–60% and increased biomass production by up to 1.1 Mg ha−1 and grain yield by up to 0.5 Mg ha−1. We conclude that although hedgerows are unlikely to produce sufficient quantities of organic resources to satisfy all nutrient input requirements, their potential to decrease erosion and supplement existing organic matter inputs indicates that they should be strongly considered as an option for improved agricultural management within this and similar resource constrained contexts.

中文翻译：

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在厄瓜多尔安第斯山脉的山坡农业系统中，活障和相关的有机改良剂减轻了土地退化并提高了作物生产力

安第斯山脉的侵蚀和养分枯竭造成的土地退化对小规模农业构成了严重的生存威胁。尽管树篱减少水蚀的潜力已得到广泛认可，但它们作为有机添加物来源以补充农民投入的潜在双重用途却鲜有研究。因此，本次调查的目的是探索当地开发的解决这些双重挑战的绿篱方案。安装了试验地块，以评估绿篱对水侵蚀的控制以及从绿篱收获的有机改良剂在 2 年和三个作物周期（两个大麦和一个黑麦）的过程中对土壤生产力、土壤水分和土壤肥力的影响. 该实验是在社区内不同海拔和相关生物物理环境的两个地点进行的。在每个地点，建立了四种处理方法，将对照处理与三种类型的树篱进行比较：（a）安第斯桤木，（b）金丝雀草条，以及（c）金丝雀草和安第斯桤木混合。结果表明，绿篱和相关的有机投入物包括金丝雀草，混合金丝雀草和安第斯桤木减少了 50-60% 的水蚀，生物量产量增加了 1.1 Mg ha-1，谷物产量增加了 0.5 Mg ha-1 . 我们得出的结论是，虽然树篱不太可能产生足够数量的有机资源来满足所有营养输入需求，