Treatment effects of conservation trenching on regulating and provisioning ecosystem services

Abstract

United Nation Sustainable Development Goal 15.3 make a note of growing significance of management and restoration strategies for degraded land, and advocating globally for collaborative frameworks of innovative applied research and policy. Present study, quantified the impacts of the staggered contour trenching (SCT) technology in conjunction with silvi-pasture production system on regulating and provisioning ecosystem services of degraded mini-watersheds. Impacts of the SCT on hydrologic regulating ecosystem services were quantified by employing the paired watershed approach. Concept of watersheds with and without treatments was employed for computing non-hydrologic regulating and provisioning ecosystem services of the SCT in conjunction with silvi-pasture system. Results of analyses revealed that the SCT density of 505 trenches ha−1 had the highest reduction in the hydrologic regulating services namely, mean annual runoff event, runoff amount and soil loss, which were 35.5, 63.3, and 3.73%, respectively followed by 378, and 186 trenches ha−1. The highest improvement in the effective rainfall (9.9%) and effective rainfall efficiency (15.0%) was also with 505 trenches ha−1. The SCT density of 505 trenches ha−1 had retained silt 23.1 and 1.2 times higher than that of 378 and 186 trenches ha−1. The values of the post-treatment non-hydrologic regulating services of 505 trenches ha−1 were many folds higher compare to other trenching densities. Improvement in the non-hydrologic regulating services of the available -nitrogen, -potash and -potassium, and soil organic carbon values of the post-treatment of 505 trenches ha−1 were 36.7, 44.2, 25.8, and 25.0% than their pre-treatment values, respectively. Provisioning ecosystem services in term of the yields of the wood biomass of the Acacia nilotica and the Cenchrus ciliaris were the highest with 505 trenches ha−1 than the control (no trench) by 166.2 and 21.5%, respectively. Study indicated that 505 trenches ha−1 SCT density in the silvi-pasture production system was the best practices in conserving and maintaining the degraded land ecosystem services. These findings would be very supportive to the policy makers and degraded land managers for reclaiming and improving the sustainability and ecosystem functioning of the degraded land ecosystem for achieving the SDG 5.3 and maintaining the land degradation neutrality.