The role of legumes in improving marginal lands

The term marginal land refers to non-arable land within and adjacent to the cropping zone of the Mediterranean basin. This land constitutes a sizable portion of the total land resource available. It is used primarily for livestock grazing but because its productivity is low, animals using it need supplementary feeding from various sources. Improving the productivity of these lands should reduce the need for supplementation and increase their carrying capacity. Marginal lands were found to be rich in legume species which can be used as the basis for improving productivity. One possibility which is discussed here is to apply phosphate fertilizer, and some of the results obtained from an ongoing long-term experiment established on 80 ha of marginal land in north Syria are presented. On the fertilized plots the legume component, including seed production, increased up to four times, and sheep gained weight faster requiring less supplementary feed.