Karakteristik Fisik Tanah Kawasan Budidaya Sayuran Dataran Tinggi, Hubungannya dengan Strategi Pengelolaan Lahan - Umi Haryati (Indonesian Center for Agriculture Land Resource Development, 2014)
Abstrak. Lahan kering di kawasan lahan budidaya hortikultura sayuran di dataran tinggi semakin intensif dikelola oleh petani dan mempunyai peluang pengembangan yang strategis. Lahan di kawasan ini mempunyai karakteristik yang spesifik, sehingga perlu pengenalan sifat lahannya agar dapat mengelolanya secara baik dan benar. Kawasan budidaya hortikultura sayuran dataran tinggi umumnya terletak pada ketinggian di atas 700 m dpl dengan curah hujan rata-rata 2800 – 3300 mm tahun-1, suhu udara rata-rata 16 - 22oC serta topografi lahan berombak sampai berbukit (9 - >45 %). Tanah-tanah di kawasan budidaya sayuran dataran tinggi didominasi oleh ordo Andisol dengan kandungan C-organik yang tinggi, BD yang rendah, porositas tinggi, distribusi pori drainase cepat serta permeabilitas tanah tinggi. Terdapat beberapa kendala baik dari segi agroekosistemnya maupun kendala sifat fisik tanahnya yang berakibat terhadap implikasi teknis yang memerlukan strategi pengelolaan lahan spesifik yang dihadapkan pada kendala implementasi yang spesifik pula. Strategi pengelolaan lahan di lahan kering berlereng kawasan budidaya sayuran di dataran tinggi diarahkan kepada sistem usahatani yang berwawasan konservasi tanah dan air (SUTK) yang dapat mengendalikan erosi sampai mendekati nilai besaran erosi yang diperbolehkan (tolerable soil loss- TSL), pengelolaan bahan organik in situ, usahatani efisien karbon (carbon efficient farming-CEF) dan usahatani nir limbah (zero waste).Abstract. Upland in vegetable horticulture farming area in highland is more and more intensively cultivated by farmer and has strategic development opportunity. Land in this area has specific characteristic, so it needs to be known its properties in order to be able to manage well and properly. Vegetable horticulture farming area in highland is generally located at the region of upper 700 m asl with average rainfall of 2800 – 3300 mm annually, average air temperature 16 - 22oC and rolling to hilly (9 - >45 %) terrain. Soil in vegetable horticulture farming area in highland is dominated by Andisols ordo with the high organic-C content, low bulk density (BD), high porosity, high rapid drainage pore distribution, and high soil permeability. Base on the agroecosystem point of view, there are many constraints as well as soil physics characteristic which due to technically implication and need specific land management strategy that to be faced on several implementation constraints too. Land management strategy in highland vegetable horticulture farming area is directed to conservation farming systems/CFS which can controll soil erosion reached to below tolerable soil loss, in situ organic matter management, carbon efficient farming/CEF as well as zero waste farming systems/ZWFS.