Abstract Population pressure on farmlands can have two opposing effects on soil quality. It can negatively affect soil quality due to more frequent and intensive use of farmlands; it can induce transition of farming methods towards more intensive farming in which more fertilisers are used in order to increase productivity of the available small farmlands. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the net effect on soil quality is likely to be negative given the region’s low fertiliser use. However, recent studies show evidence of agricultural intensification in regions with high population pressure. It is important to analyse the extent of soil degradation and its relationship with population pressure. We use unique decade-long panel data containing lab-tested soil measures from Uganda to examine the effect of population pressure on soil quality. We find that population pressure and soil quality are strongly negatively correlated. We, however, find no strong evidence with regard to the positive correlation between population pressure and agricultural intensification. The findings indicate that farmers in Uganda have yet to change their farming practices to respond to increasing land scarcity resulting from population growth.

中文翻译：

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是诅咒还是祝福？撒哈拉以南非洲的人口压力和土壤质量：来自乌干达农村的证据

摘要 农田的人口压力对土壤质量有两种相反的影响。由于更频繁和更密集地使用农田，它会对土壤质量产生负面影响；它可以促使耕作方法向集约化耕作转变，在这种耕作中使用更多的化肥，以提高可用小农田的生产力。在撒哈拉以南非洲，鉴于该地区化肥使用量低，对土壤质量的净影响可能是负面的。然而，最近的研究表明，人口压力大的地区存在农业集约化的迹象。分析土壤退化的程度及其与人口压力的关系很重要。我们使用独特的长达十年的面板数据，其中包含来自乌干达的实验室测试土壤措施，以检查人口压力对土壤质量的影响。我们发现人口压力和土壤质量呈强烈负相关。然而，我们没有发现关于人口压力与农业集约化之间正相关的有力证据。调查结果表明，乌干达的农民尚未改变他们的耕作方式，以应对人口增长导致的土地日益稀缺。