An indigenous soil classification system for Bellona Island – a raised atoll in Solomon Islands

One of the challenges of evaluating existing traditional farming systems is to combine local knowledge and modern scientific methods and terminology. This requires an evaluation of indigenous soil classification in modern terms. This paper focuses on an indigenous soil classification system developed by local farmers on the island of Bellona, Solomon Islands. The definitions of the different soil types are described and the principles of the classification system and the applicability of ethnopedology in soil surveys are discussed. Based on interviews with about 20 per cent of the farmers on the island as well as standard soil chemical and physical determinations on main soil types, an evaluation of the soil types for cultivation of various crops is carried out. The soils on Bellona are developed on oolitic or clayey phosphate-rich deposits forming the basis for the agriculture production on the island. The Bellonese soil classification system is mainly based on the physical properties of the humus-containing top layer. Subsoil layers are only used for classification if they are very close to the surface and may be mixed with the topsoil. Results show a general agreement among farmers, who perceive the same four out of seven soil types as highly useful for cultivation and rank these soil types similarly according to their suitability for different crops such as yam, watermelon, cassava and sweet potato. It is concluded that the indigenous soil classification is in line with the soil production potential and useful for land evaluation on Bellona.     

Investigating education,migration and development – Moving triangles in the Pacific

Is it possible that education in the Global South leads to emigration and is therefore detrimental to development prospects? For the Pacific Islands region, this issue is particularly pertinent, given the high rates of migration and the strong emphasis placed on education as a basis for development. Although our knowledge of the bilateral relations between, respectively, education and development, education and migration, and migration and development have advanced, we know very little of the complex interplay between the three. In this article, we suggest a new approach to the trilateral relationship among education, migration and development in the Pacific Islands which may have implications beyond that region.     

Rates of floodplain accretion in a tropical island river system impacted by cyclones and large floods

Fluvial processes, especially rates of floodplain accretion, are less well understood in the wet tropics than in other environments. In this study, the caesium-137 (¹³⁷Cs) method was used to examine the recent historical sedimentation rate on the floodplain of the Wainimala River, in the basin of the Rewa River, the largest fluvial system in Fiji and the tropical South Pacific Islands. ¹³⁷Cs activity in the floodplain stratigraphy showed a well-defined profile, with a clear peak at 115 cm depth. Our measured accretion rate of 3.2 cm year⁻¹ over the last ca. 45 years exceeds rates recorded in humid regions elsewhere. This is explained by the high frequency of tropical cyclones near Fiji (40 since 1970) which can produce extreme rainfalls and large magnitude floods. Since the beginning of hydrological records, large overbank floods have occurred every 2 years on average at the study site. The biggest floods attained peak flows over 7000 m³ s⁻¹, or six times the bankfull discharge. Concentrations of suspended sediments are very high (max. 200–500 g l⁻¹), delivered mainly by channel bank erosion. In the future, climatic change in the tropical South Pacific region may be associated with greater tropical cyclone intensities, which will probably increase the size of floods in the Rewa Basin and rates of floodplain sedimentation.     

Land use/cover, landforms and fragmentation patterns in a tropical dry forest in the southern Pacific region of Mexico

In spite of widely documented studies of deforestation rates and land use/cover changes in tropical dry forests in Mexico, relatively little is known about fragmentation patterns in such forests. This study defines the spatial distribution of landforms and land use/cover types the lower Papagayo River basin and examines their influence on fragmentation patterns and biological diversity in a tropical dry forest in that southern Pacific region. The land use/cover map was constructed from aerial photographs, Landsat TM imagery (2000) and fieldwork. Landform units were defined based on altitude, slope, lithology and morphology. Landscape fragmentation parameters were obtained using FRAGSTATS (version 3.3) considering the numbers of patches, mean, minimum and maximum patch size, edge density, total edge and connectivity. Results show tropical dry forest to be remnant vegetation (~11 per cent), characterized by isolation and low connectivity. Land use/cover types have different effects on fragmentation patterns. Agriculture and cattle raising produce similar numbers of patches, but with a different mean size; and human settlements have a scattered distribution pattern. The abandonment of rural agricultural livelihoods has favoured the expansion of secondary tropical dry forest characterized by continuity and high connectivity, which suggests a high regeneration potential from land abandonment. It can be concluded that tropical dry forest fragmentation and recovery at regional scales depend on such landscape attributes as lithology, slope, geomorphology and management.