Abstract
The successful utilization of marginal and degraded lands for biomass and bioenergy production depends upon various factors such as climatic conditions, the adaptive traits of the tree species and their growth rate and respective belowground responses. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the growth performance of a bioenergy tree (Dalbergia sissoo Roxb.) grown in marginal and degraded land of the Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, India and to analyze the effect of D. sissoo plantations on soil quality improvement over the study years. For this, a soil quality index (SQI) was developed based on principal component analysis (PCA) to understand the effect of D. sissoo plantations on belowground responses. PCA results showed that among the studied soil variables, bulk density (BD), moisture content (MC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and soil urease activity (SUA) are the key variables critically influencing the growth of D. sissoo. The SQI was found in an increasing order with the growth period of D. sissoo. (i.e., from 0.419 during the first year to 0.579 in the fourth year). A strong correlation was also observed between the growth attributes (diameter at breast height, R2 = 0.870; and plant height, R2 = 0.861) and the soil quality (p < 0.01). Therefore, the developed SQI can be used as key indicator for monitoring the restoration potential of D. sissoo growing in marginal and degraded lands and also for adopting suitable interventions to further improve soil quality for multipurpose land restoration programs, thereby attaining land degradation neutrality and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Highlights
The current impetus for bioenergy production across the world has been prompted due to concern for global warming and subsequent climatic change
The higher bulk density (BD) (1.48 g cm−3 ) was found in the control site as compared to the planted area with D. sissoo, showing that the plantation and the growth of the plants could be beneficially related to a lowering of the BD
The increasing trend of available nitrogen (AN) with respect to the growth of plants might be due to the symbiotic nitrogen fixing capacity of Dalbergia
Summary
The current impetus for bioenergy production across the world has been prompted due to concern for global warming and subsequent climatic change. Land 2019, 8, 63 no poverty (Goal No 1), zero hunger (Goal No 2), good health and well-being (Goal No 3), gender equality (Goal No 5), decent work and economic growth (Goal No 8), responsible consumption and production (Goal No 12), climate action (Goal No 13), life on land (Goal No 15), and peace, justice and strong institutions (Goal No 16) [9]. In this context, there is a need to enhance the productivity of degraded lands for multipurpose environmental benefits
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