# Fertilizer tree

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'''Fertilizer trees''' are used in [agroforestry](/source/agroforestry) to improve the condition of [soil](/source/soil)s used for [farming](/source/farming). As [woody](/source/Woody_plant) [legume](/source/legume)s, they [capture nitrogen](/source/nitrogen_fixation) from the air and put it in the soil through their roots and falling leaves.<ref name="Food security">
{{cite web
 |url=http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/newsroom/press-releases/new-study-finds-400000-farmers-southern-africa-using-%E2%80%98fertilizer-trees%E2%80%99-dram 
 |title=New Study Finds 400,000 Farmers in Southern Africa Using 'Fertilizer Trees' to Dramatically Improve Food Security 
 |publisher=World Agroforestry Centre 
 |date=October 14, 2011 
 |access-date=August 29, 2012 
 |author=Langford, Kate 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309105653/http://www.worldagroforestrycentre.org/newsroom/press-releases/new-study-finds-400000-farmers-southern-africa-using-%E2%80%98fertilizer-trees%E2%80%99-dram 
 |archive-date=March 9, 2014 
}}
</ref> They can also bring nutrients from deep in the soil up to the surface for crops with roots that cannot reach that depth.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2007-05-22-voa72/351919.html|title=Zambian Fertilizer Trees Improve Soil, Maize Production|date=November 2009 |publisher=}}</ref> Fertilizer trees are further useful for preventing fertilizer erosion, [soil degradation](/source/soil_retrogression_and_degradation) and related [desertification](/source/desertification), and improving water usage for crops.<ref name="Food security" />

''[Sesbania](/source/Sesbania)'', ''[Gliricidia](/source/Gliricidia)'', ''[Tephrosia](/source/Tephrosia)'', and ''[Faidherbia albida](/source/Faidherbia_albida)'' are known as fertilizer trees. Tree lucerne or tagasaste (''[Cytisus proliferus](/source/Cytisus_proliferus)'') is able to fix more than 587 kg. of nitrogen per hectare per year. It can increase maize (corn) yields from 1 ton per hectare per year to more than 10 tons per ha/year in areas with more than 850 mm. of rain per year or a perched water table. Tree lucerne is also used to create and maintain [terra preta](/source/terra_preta).

==Use in Africa==
The use of ''[Faidherbia albida](/source/Faidherbia_albida)'' in [Malawi](/source/Malawi) and [Zambia](/source/Zambia) has resulted in a doubling or even tripling of maize yields.<ref name="wac">{{Cite web |url=http://www.worldagroforestry.org/evergreen_agriculture |title=Evergreen Agriculture &#124; World Agroforestry Centre |access-date=2010-12-02 |archive-date=2011-05-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515041751/http://worldagroforestry.org/evergreen_agriculture |url-status=dead }}</ref> As part of evergreen agriculture, use of fertilizer trees is proposed as a means to improve food security. Niger has more than 4.8 million hectares of predominantly Faidherbia agroforests, while Zambia has 300,000 hectares.<ref name="wac" /> In Zambia and Malawi, farmers plant the trees in a checkerboard pattern every 30 feet.<ref name="msnbc">{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32600636 | title=African tree acts as 'fertilizer factory' for crops | work=NBC News | date=August 8, 2012 | access-date=August 29, 2012 | author=Marshall, Jessica}}</ref>

Fertilizer trees are used to prevent the expansion of desert, and to keep agriculture viable in arid lands in many African countries.<ref name="agroforestry">{{cite web | url=http://www.worldagroforestry.org/newsroom/highlights/surviving-drought-through-agroforestry | title=Surviving drought through agroforestry | publisher=World Agroforestry Centre | date=August 31, 2011 | access-date=August 29, 2012 | author=Langford, Kate | archive-date=October 16, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016041535/http://worldagroforestry.org/newsroom/highlights/surviving-drought-through-agroforestry | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==See also==
*[Agroforestry](/source/Agroforestry)
*[Ecoscaping](/source/Ecoscaping)
*[Green manure](/source/Green_manure), fertilization with herbaceous legumes

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Plant nutrition}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Agroecology
Category:Sustainable forest management
Category:Sustainable agriculture
Category:Permaculture concepts
Category:Agriculture in Africa
Category:Environment of Africa

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Fertilizer tree](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilizer_tree) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fertilizer_tree?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.