The study of cultivated soils in the Algerian steppe regions

Agrarian Academic Journal

agrariacad.com

doi: 10.32406/v7n6/2024/66-81/agrariacad

 

The study of cultivated soils in the Algerian steppe regions.

O estudo dos solos cultivados nas regiões do estepe Argelino.

 

Bourahla Lame¹, Boukhari Yakia² , Guerine Lakhdar³, Hadjaj Kouider⁴

 

^1- Department of Agronomy, Laboratory of Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones, University Center of Naâma, Algeria. E-mail: bourahla@cuniv-naama.dz

^2- Geomatics, Ecology and Environment Laboratory, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, Mustapha Stambouli, University of Mascara, Algeria. E-mail: yahia.boukhari@univ-mascara.dz

^3- Department of Agronomy, Laboratory of Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones, University Center of Naâma, Algeria. E-mail: lguerine.dz@gmail.com

^4- Department of Agronomy, Laboratory of Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in Arid and Semi-Arid Zones, University Center of Naâma, Algeria. E-mail: hadjadj.kouider@cuniv-naama.dz

 

Abstract

 

The introduction of cereal farming in the Algerian steppe began several years ago. This land reallocation results in the replacement of native steppe species by irrigated cereal crops. This study aims to assess the impact of this mechanism on soil evolution and to predict their ecological sustainability. The study was carried out by comparing five station cultivated with the same technical itineraries but they differ only in the duration of exploitation. The results showed that soil tillage and irrigation accelerated the degradation process. Signs of salinity appeared after less than fifteen years and the soils retained their low chemical fertility despite the continuous supply of organic amendments. The recorded yields decrease over time and do not cover the costs of the projects. The evaluation of the land by the Sys method showed that these soils are not suitable for this crop.

Keywords: Cereal. Irrigation. Fertility. Salinity. Sustainability.

 

 

Resumo

 

A introdução do cultivo de cereais na estepe argelina começou há vários anos. Essa realocação de terras resulta na substituição de espécies nativas de estepe por culturas de cereais irrigadas. Este estudo visa avaliar o impacto desse mecanismo na evolução do solo e prever sua sustentabilidade ecológica. O estudo foi realizado comparando cinco estações cultivadas com os mesmos itinerários técnicos, mas diferem apenas na duração da exploração. Os resultados mostraram que o preparo do solo e a irrigação aceleraram o processo de degradação. Sinais de salinidade apareceram após menos de quinze anos e os solos mantiveram sua baixa fertilidade química, apesar do fornecimento contínuo de aditivos orgânicos. Os rendimentos registrados diminuem com o tempo e não cobrem os custos dos projetos. A avaliação da terra pelo método Sys mostrou que esses solos não são adequados para esta cultura.

Palavras-chave: Cereal. Irrigação. Fertilidade. Salinidade. Sustentabilidade.

 

 

Introduction

 

In Algeria, the useful agricultural area (UAA) hardly exceeds 8.5 million hectares, 90% of which extends over a northern ribbon 100 km wide parallel to the Mediterranean Sea and 400mm precipitation isohyet constitutes his lower limit (MADR, 2020). This agricultural area which ensure a third of the need for strategic crops for the population (especially cereals), it is a subject to national demographic pressure where the ratio (UAA/individual) has fallen from 0.8 in 1962 to 0.2 in 2020 (MADR, 2020). To increase the agricultural area, a cultivation projects have emerged in other ecological zones, including the steppe region, this zone which was for a very long time the domain of traditional nomadic pasture (SLIMANI; AIDOUD, 2018). With its ecological and anthropogenic specificities, this marginal space remained very fragile and very sensitive to both climatic and anthropogenic changes (NEDJIMI et al., 2012).

The country contains a large number of species classified according to their degree of rarity (ZERAIA, 1983). Rare taxa in Algeria vary according to biogeographic sectors (MIARA et al., 2017). More or less rare taxa, with an abundance ranging from AR to RRR in the sense of Quézel and Santa (1962-63), number 1818 taxa across all biogeographic sectors of the country (VÉLA and BENHOUHOU, 2007). These indices, which are independent of the notion of endemism, need to be updated in the light of recent data (MIARA et al., 2017).

For limiting the degradation and the sustainable exploitation of this area, a specific unconventional and adapted technique must be introduced. But it appears that the generalization of the same technical methods applied in traditional cereal-growing areas has constituted a significant brake on productivity or even generated negative effects (ZENAGUE and FALI, 2022).

Indeed, the conversion of these lands from its pasture vocation to an agro-system requires irrigation. So these soils which have evolved from hundreds of years with a rainfall of less than 230 mm per year, suddenly receive by irrigation more than 800 mm and the situation will get even worse if this water is added to the salinity (MACHEKPOSHTI et al., 2017). Some studies have shown that these lands, once plowed, show a strong ability to ablation by the wind and quickly lose their fertilizing potential. Ziza et al. (2012) concluded that irrigation will lead to a profound transformation in soil behavior. Al-Ghobari (2011) demonstrated that the use of water with an EC exceeding 2.5 dS.m^-1 will damage soil quality even at high permeability. It is important to note that the world (especially in arid and semi-arid areas) loses an average of two thousand hectares of arable land per day and more than 424 million hectares by salinization, of which irrigation practices are the main causes (FAO, 2021).

Meurer et al. (2020) demonstrated that intense tillage does not have significantly marked effects; on the contrary, it reduces organic carbon levels and soil microbial activity (GOVEDNIK et al., 2023) but their attenuation improves these parameters (KRAUSS et al., 2020). Direct seeding reduces nutrient losses; increases carbon sequestration and improves aggregate stability (LIU et al., 2022), which is much more related to the degree of aromaticity than to the aliphatic chain richness of organic matter (YANG et al., 2023). Zahra et al. (2023) comparing the impact of tillage, noted that soil deep plowing quickly lost most of its properties compared to untilled soil, except for pH and limestone, which increased with tillage intensity. Khan et al. (2023) have demonstrated that even fertilization (especially phosphate) does not improve the properties of coarse-textured soils. In this context, this study aims to assess the impact of this cultivation on soil evolution and to estimate the sustainability and profitability of these projects.

 

Material and methods

 

1. Study area

 

The study was conducted in the southern part of the Naama region, 800 km southwest of the capital of Algiers (Figure 1). The thermal data show continental and arid climates. The minimum temperature is 2°C recorded in January, while the maximum temperature reaches 38.3°C in July and the annual average is 17.8°C. The average annual rainfall rarely exceeds 180 mm and it is characterized by its great variability whose maximum is observed during the cold period; as for the average potential evapotranspiration (PET), it records more than 800 mm per year (DSA, 2021).

 

Figure 1 – Location of the study area.

 

The soil cover is characterized by a very low slope relief; it is dominated by calcid soils with a xeric moisture regime and strong calcium carbonate accumulation. The epipedon is thin, with coarse texture and lithic contact (BOURAHLA, 2017). The natural vegetation is an herbaceous xerophytic plant (Stipa tenacissima L., Lygeum spartum L., Atractylis serratuloide Sieber ex Cass., Thymelea microphylaea L) which was the main source of livestock nutrition.

Currently, this phytomass covers less than 10% of the feed needs of an animal population exceeding 10⁶ sheep equivalents (DSA, 2021).

Today, this area is subject to cropping projects as part of the increase in agricultural land. In this context, this study is initiated and aims to assess the anthropogenic impact on soil behavior and to predict the evolutionary kinetics of soil indicators.

 

2. Sampling

 

The experiment was conducted on a few cereal plots created as part of the operation of the accession to agricultural land ownership in an area limited by the cardinal points mentioned in Table 1.

 

Table 1 – Cardinal points of the study area.

A	B	C	D
32°58’38”N	32°58’48”N	32°57’16”N	32°57’05”N
00°36’30”W	00°35’12”W	00°34’35”W	00°36’02”W

 

The work of this investigation was anticipated by collecting information from farmers on the mode of production, the applied technical itinerary, the duration and the means of irrigation etc. For this study, five stations were chosen, characterized by a great pedological resemblance (Xeric Haplocalcid) and which differ only by the use of time to avoid the effect of soil heterogeneity during the analysis. S0: uncultivated pasture soil (control), S5: soil cultivated for five years, S10: soil cultivated for ten years, S15: soil cultivated for fifteen years, and S20: soil cultivated for twenty years.

The cultivations are dominated by irrigated herbaceous crops based on cereals. Irrigation is ensured by the mobilization of underground water resources from a Jurassic age aquifer whose chemical characteristics are predominantly carbonated calcium and magnesium and whose dry residue does not exceed 2g.l^-1 (DSA, 2021). Five samples were collected per station (25 samples in total). The samples were taken only at the surface horizon (<20 cm). The evaluation of the soil indicators is determined by standard methods of analysis: the texture by Robinson’s international pipette method, water retention capacity (WRC) by PF metric, permeability (KS) by disk infiltrator, total calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) by calcimetry, acidity (pH) by potentiometry, salinity (EC) by conductivity from the saturated extract, cation exchange capacity (CEC) by the ammonium acetate method, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium by spectroscopy, chlorides, sulfates and carbonates by titrimetry, total organic carbon (Corg) by the Anne method, microbial biomass carbon (Cbio) by the fumigation extraction method. Both indices (the crusting ability index (Ib) and the aggregate instability index (Is) are calculated according to the Henin equation (LE BISSONNAIS; SOUDER, 1995). An analysis of financial costs was estimated to assess the economic profitability as regards ecological sustainability by calculating the global index (Ig) of land suitability established by SYS (parametric method) (SYS et al., 1993). This method consists of estimating the inertia exerted by each edaphic property influencing the growth of a given crop. Each degree of limitation has a parametric value that varies from 0 (unsuitable conditions) to 100 (ideal conditions) for the crop practiced. The global index Ig is obtained by multiplying the parametric notations relating to each degree of limitation. By estimating the Ig value, Sys identifies five classes (Table 2).

 

Ig=(%VP1*%VP2*%VP3*…….*%VPn)*100

Ig: Sys global index. VP1, VP2, VP3…VPn: parametric value.

 

Table 2 – Sys classification of land suitability for agriculture.

Class	Ig	Land suitability classification
S1	100-75	Suitable
S2	75-50	Moderately suitable
S3	50-25	Marginally suitable
N1	25-12	Currently unsuitable but potentially suitable after correction
N2	below 12	Not currently or potentially suitable

 

Results and discussion

 

1. The global evolution of the ecosystem

 

The conversion of this ecosystem from a pasture vocation to an agro-system has caused a regressive evolution. The hierarchical classification of the stations mentioned in Figure 2, shows the presence of two great groups: one is formed by stations S0 and S5 and another group comprises the other three stations. The comparison of the five stations shows the trend of the change of the land properties with the use time. The hierarchical classification analysis of the stations shows that the differentiation of these soils appears early and plots begin to differentiate from each other after an average duration of five years. During the first five years, the effect of the cultivation of these soils remains masked and the soils retain the same characteristics, but it is only after ten years of exploitation that the soil properties are strongly modified and that the soil loses its native diagnostic characteristics (Figure 2).

 

Figure 2 – Hierarchical classification of stations.

 

The analysis of Figure 3 shows that the soil parameters that determine the fertilizing potential of the soil in an arid environment namely the CEC, the two forms of carbon: organic and microbial, the water retention capacity, and the stability of the aggregates show a negative correlation and they are opposed to the impact of anthropogenic actions including the salinity caused by irrigation during the time of use and the effect of deep horizons rich in limestone brought to the surface by deep plowing often practiced in the region.

 

Figure 3 – Principals components analysis of soils parameters.

 

2. The evolution of texture

 

The texture remains generally coarse, loam type (sand and silt form more than 80%) (Figure 4). This texture is related to the mineralogical nature of the parent rock, which is dominated by sandstone and whose resistance to alteration prevents any marked geochemical modification. This behavior is due not only to the presence of quartz, but also to high climatic aridity in this region on quaternary age. Similar results found by Souza et al. (2018). But it should be noted that this cultivation technique reduced the clay soil contents by 34% compared to the initial values depleting the soil of its aggregation matrix and exposing it to selective wind erosion. In these conditions, Le Houerou (1995) estimated an annual loss by wind erosion of 150-300 t.Ha^-1.year.

 

Figure 4 – Evolution of texture during 20 years of cultivation.

 

3. The evolution of water retention capacity

 

The evolution of the water retention capacity remains substantially constant during twenty years of cultivation of these soils and it records an average value of 13.25% (less than 40mm) (Table 3).

 

Table 3 – Evolution of the water retention capacity (%) during 20 years of cultivation.

Variable	Descriptive statistics
	Valid N	Mean	Minimum	Maximum	Std. Dev.
S0	5	13.50	12.50	14.50	0.790
S5	5	13.25	12.50	14.25	0.810
S10	5	13.00	10.50	14.24	1.515
S15	5	13.55	12.25	14.50	0.855
S20	5	13.00	11.25	14.25	1.211

 

No improvement was observed despite the organic amendments often practiced by these farmers. This value makes the soil constantly dry without internal drainage and with a rapid loss of its moisture to satisfy the potential intense evapotranspiration that characterizes this region. This is due to the low clay content and the presences of traces of non-swelling clays that inhibit carbon sequestration by adsorption, reduces humification, and even expose these organic compounds to intense mineralization (RABOT et al., 2024). Halitim (1988) has demonstrated that under conditions of high limestone content, swelling clays are minority or and only those with no swelling and with small specific surfaces (like kaolinite, and palygorskite) can persist.

 

4. The evolution of total calcium carbonate

 

The evolution of the total calcium carbonate during twenty years of exploitation is given in Figure 5.

 

Figure 5 – Evolution of total calcium carbonate during 20 years of cultivation.

 

These soils have calcimorphic pedogenesis where limestone is omnipresent in the form of crusts and slabs in the depth horizons, but the epipedon sometimes remains little limestone (NRCS/USDA, 2022).

The evolution of the total calcium carbonate during twenty years of culture shows that the saturation of the superficial horizon in calcium carbonate is observed after fifteen years of culture. The calcium carbonate content has gone from 11% to 20% in twenty years. This increase is the main cause of reduced nutrient assimilation in soil (GOLDBERG et al., 2002). Indeed, the strong limestone accumulations that are hidden in the underlying horizons, under the effect of deep plowing, these fractions overcome on the surface by contaminating the epipedon. Pouget (1980) showed that calcareous fractions remain concentrated in in-depth horizons as long as tillage remains superficial. Similarly, the soil solution remains saturated with calcium and carbonate ions, accelerating their accumulation in the soil. Similar remarks were made by Masmoudi et al. (2013).

 

5. The evolution of physical parameters

 

After twenty years of cultivation of these steppe soils, the relatively unfavorable physical parameters that characterize them (soils very crusting, very filtering, and unstable) and which limit any evolution towards an agro-system persist (Table 4).

 

Table 4 – Evolution of soil parameters during 20 years of cultivation (average of 5 reps ± SD).

Use time (years)	0	5	10	15	20
Permeability K (cm.h-1)	8.00 (±0.189)	12.00 (±0.232)	14.00 (±0.410)	15.00 (±0.419)	15.00 (±0.390)
Aggregate instability index Is	1.58 (±0.037)	1.63(±0.047)	1.61 (±0.020)	1.65 (±0.040)	1.61 (±0.015)
Crusting ability index Ib	2.62 (±0.164)	2.57 (±0.253)	2.74 (±0.304)	2.52 (±0.248)	2.64 (±0.233)

 

Indeed, the applied agricultural techniques do not improve the physical properties of these soils, making them very vulnerable, powdery, unstructured, and very aerated. This type of applied agricultural technical by increasing the macroporosity does not improve the stability of the aggregates nor decrease the crusting ability, on the contrary, it exposes the few humic compounds, that characterize these soils and which can play the role of stabilizer, to high mineralization. These results confirm those found by Fan et al. (2023) and Kumar et al. (2023) who demonstrated the proportions of soil aggregates >2 mm decreased with tillage system. The spray irrigation technique widely used by farmers has accelerated the degradation of the structure. Indeed, the energy brought by water droplets under the sprinkling irrigation effect, when arriving at the soil surface, they burst the aggregates already weakened by the motorized works. The same observation was made by Šimanskú et al. (2023) who demonstrated that the continual passage of machinery causes the degradation of the structure and reduces the formation of aggregates of biological origin.

 

6. The evolution of biochemical parameters

 

The main biological indicators of soils, namely carbon in its two forms: (total and microbial) show a reduction in the contents with the time of exploitation. The decrease is observed much more in organic matter of microbial origin than in non-living fractions. The reduction rate is 32% and 39% respectively for organic carbon and microbial biomass (Table 5).

 

Table 5 – Evolution of soil biochemical parameters during 20 years of cultivation (average of 5 reps ± SD).

Use time (years)	0	5	10	15	20
Corg (%)	0.50 (±0.020)	0.42 (±0.018)	0.39 (±0.024)	0.35 (±0.040)	0.34 (±0.045)
Cbio (mg.kg-1)	89.00 (±3.535)	95.00 (±5.916)	65.00 (±5.000)	60.00 (±2.828)	54.00 (±3.391)

 

The tillage techniques practiced by farmers, do not manage to incorporate crop residues and improve the sequestration of organic carbon which remains localized in the coarse fraction. The humus formed is weakly polymerized rich in aliphatic compound and which undergoes intense mineralization processes. The same results were found by Naitormbaide et al. (2010). Indeed, after the harvest, the area is subject to a period of very intense ventilation with a lack of plant cover. The wind sweeps away these residues not yet incorporated or poorly mixed with the clays; contrary to the endemic vegetation where the root phytomass is degraded in situ by creating a specific organic evolution (POUGET, 1980).

 

7. The evolution of chemical parameters

 

The Cation Exchange Capacity is an essential component for the assessment of soil chemical fertility. Its evolution is a function of organic matter and clay contents (both in quality and quantity). It provides information on the sustainability of soil fertilization potential and its ability to meet the nutritional needs of biomass. The evolution of the CEC during twenty years of cultivation is given in Table 6.

 

Table 6 – Evolution of cation exchange capacity (cmole.kg^-1) during 20 years of cultivation (average of 5 reps ± SD).

	Descriptive Statistics
Variable	Valid N	Mean	Minimum	Maximum	Std. Dev.
S0	5	11.420	11.000	11.650	0.284
S5	5	11.500	11.000	12.220	0.480
S10	5	11.400	11.000	11.700	0.280
S15	5	11.250	10.900	11.500	0.279
S20	5	11.200	11.000	11.400	0.158

 

Despite the organic inputs made to these soils, the CEC does not record any change during twenty years of cultivation with an average value not exceeding 11.50 cmole.kg^-1. This behavior can partly explain the low ability of these soils to humify these organic compounds due to the lack of clay and the unfavorable biotic conditions (aridic soil moisture regimes, salinity…). Salinity and alkalinity are two essential chemical parameters that indicate the geochemical trend of soils (GIBSON et al., 2021). The impact of irrigation on the evolution of salinity is given in Figure 6.

 

Figure 6 – Evolution of salinity during 20 years of cultivation.

 

Electrical conductivity values increase from 1.70 dS.m^-1 for pastoral uncultivated soil (S0) to 7.00 dS.m^-1 after twenty years of cultivation (S20). This way of using these lands has transformed this layer into a salic horizon. These results are consistent with those found by Pratt et al. (1999), who showed that salinization is normally a long-term process, however, this irrigation with this type of water (the dry residue does not exceed 2g.l^-1) and under these aridic and torric soil moisture regimes (water deficit exceeds 800 mm.year^-1and limited internal drainage) salinization is early not exceeding a decade to appear. As for the pH, (Table 7), this parameter remains unchanged; for twenty years of cultivation, its value does not exceed 8 with an average of 7.9. This stability is due to the richness of the adsorbent complex in calcium ions which hinder any tendency to alkalinity of the soil by buffer effect. It is therefore a non-alkaline salinization of these soils. A low correlation between pH and Ca (r²= 0.49 p: 0.05). Same results were made by Zenague and Fali (2022).

 

Table 7 – Evolution of pH during 20 years of cultivation.

Variable	Descriptive Statistics
	Valid N	Mean	Minimum	Maximum	Std. Dev.
S0	5	7.90	7.70	8.14	0.174
S5	5	7.80	7.27	8.03	0.309
S10	5	7.85	7.50	8.08	0.243
S15	5	7.90	7.08	8.60	0.563
S20	5	8.00	7.87	8.24	0.145

 

8. The project evaluation

 

The economic approach

 

The cultivation of these soils was carried out after the clearing and eradication of endemic woody depriving these soils of their humic restitution in-situ. The results of the surveys carried out with the farmers and within the local administrative services make it possible to estimate the financial costs for the exploitation of one Ha for barley production (Hordeum vulgare). These financial charges are summarized in Table 8.

 

Table 8 – Financial balance sheet for a first-year agricultural campaign (average yield is 20q.Ha^-1).

Operation type		Average amount (€)
Rehabilitation works repayable annually for 20 years (fixed costs)	Well drilling	200
	Pumping and irrigation equipment
	Electrification
	Accumulation basin
	Land improvement (stone removal, clearing…)
	Other operations
Cost of an agricultural campaign	Tillage	60
	Fertilization	120
	Seeds andworks	60
	Energy	150
	Crop maintenance	20
	Harvest operation	30
	Other works	40
Total charge (1)		680
Production	Grain 30€*20q	600
	Hay Barley 4€*60U	240
Total production (2)		840
Balance sheet campaign (2-1)		+160

 

By reference to Table 8, it is clear that the economic gain generated remains insignificant compared to the expected objectives despite the inputs and efforts provided by farmers. This gain does not make it possible to increase investments. In terms of fodder equivalent (UF), this gain corresponds to 450UF (1q of animal feed is worth an average of 30€ on the local market). Although farmers see that their farms are progressing physically; really the increase in production is less than proportional to that of inputs. Paradoxically, the rangelands that are only laid to rest for less than five years, the yield of this endemic vegetation give more than 300 UF.Ha^-1 without the risk of ecological disturbance and financial burden. The yield evolution analysis during twenty years of exploitation is given in Figure 7.

 

Figure 7 – Evolution of agricultural yield during 20 years of cultivation. Sample 0 used as a reference: represents torrifluvent (located in closed depressions called daya) whose average surface area rarely exceeds one hectare traditionally farmed dry by local farmers for subsistence cereal growing.

 

During the first ten years of cultivation of these soils, the yield recorded a significant ephemeral growth, before the process begins to decrease over time, indicating an low productivity sustainability. By this deep plowing and the soil wetting, a favorable physico-chemical condition has been created by making available to the roots nutrients that have been inaccessible by adsorption and precipitation phenomena; but this situation does not take long to change after a decade of years and it becomes unfavorable to the survival of this culture because of the high mineralization of organic matter and saline accumulation (DJILI et al., 2003). Although the follow-up period was short to better predict the evolution of the economic profitability of these projects the recorded values ​​of the financial costs/grain yield ratio tend to increase over time. This average ratio increased from 31€.q^-1during the first ten years to 40 €.q^-1 after twenty years of cultivation making these projects of very low economic profitability.

 

The ecological approach

 

The impact of this anthropogenic action (irrigated cereal growing) was assessed through a comparison between two plots, one from uncultivated pastoral soil (S0) (control) and another from soil cultivated for twenty years (S20) by applying the Sys method (Table 9).

 

Table 9 – Parametric evaluation of the two plots studied.

Soil character	Uncultivated pastoral soil (S0)		Soil cultivated after 20 years (S20)
	Real value	Parametric value	Real value	Parametric value
Slope (%)	-1	1.00	-1	1.00
Drainage	Average	0.92	Average	0.92
Depth (cm)	20	0.65	20.00	0.65
Texture	Sandy loamorloam	0.75	Sandy loamorloam	0.75
Total limestone (%)	11	0.75	20.00	0.45
Organic carbon (%)	0.5	0.65	0.34	0.45
CEC (cmole.kg-1)	11.42	0.55	11.20	0.55
Salinity (dS.m-1)	1.5	0.92	7.00	0.45
	Ig	11.06	Ig	2.24

 

By referring to Table 9, the overall index calculated for the two plots varies from 11.06 for uncultivated pastoral soil (S0) and 2.24 for that subjected to cultivation for more than twenty years (S20). It is clear that the soils of this ecosystem are not suitable for these types of speculation (cereal cultivation) and the two calculated indices still classify these soils as unsuitable either currently or potentially for these cultures. On the contrary, we are witnessing a regressive dynamic with a decrease in Ig which results in a tendency towards soil degradation (saline accumulation, rising of limestone on the surface, intense mineralization of humus, and a low incorporation of organic inputs with mineral matter).

 

Conclusion

 

The clearing of steppe rangelands given the installation of irrigated cereal crops has generated a regressive dynamic and a loss of the productive potential of these lands. These soils, which are classified in class N2 in the SYS system for their suitability for cereal growing, still retain this character and they are neither currently nor potentially favorable for introducing this type of speculation. This land use method has further weakened these soils already disturbed by overgrazing and increasing climatic aridity. The high financial costs of inputs for the cultivation of these soils (cereal growing) make these types of projects of low economic profitability with a decrease in the financial value of these farms with time. Ecologically, despite the reduction in the fodder supply of endemic vegetation under the effect of drought and overgrazing, this floral resource will remain the main bioreactor of these soils in this region and its replacement by this agriculture has generated an irreversible loss in potential fodder and even socio-economic dysfunction.

 

Interest conflicts

 

There was no conflict of interest between the authors.

 

Authors’ contributions

 

 All authors contributed equally for this work.

 

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Received on May 24, 2024

Returned for adjustments on December 6, 2024

Received with adjustments on December 7, 2024

Accepted on December 18, 2024