Tree diversity, soil organic carbon lability and ecosystem carbon storage under a fallow age chronosequence in North East India

Abstract

Shifting cultivation, the oldest farming system of the world and is the dominant land use in mountainous regions of South and Southeast Asia. North-East India (NEI) region, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, covers 17.2 million ha of land under forests, constituting ~25% of India's total forest area. The population-driven abrupt decline of the fallow period's duration has aggravated soil erosion, depletion of nutrients, decreased productivity, reduced biodiversity, and weakening of essential ecosystem services. Therefore, the present research aims to explore whether the duration of the fallow period of up to 20-years can restore diversity of tree species, biomass carbon, and ecosystem carbon stock equivalent to those under natural forests. Based on the accessibility and availability of the fallow stands, three categories were selected for the study (1–2, 5–8, and 15–20 years), and these were replicated eight times for each age group. While the 20-years of fallow increased tree diversity, it was still 22% lower than that of the natural forest. Similarly, a 2.7-fold increase in biomass carbon storage was observed with an increase in the fallow period from 5–8-years (33.4 Mg ha −1 ) to 15–20-years (92.9 Mg ha −1 ), yet the latter was 40% lower than that under the natural forests. The very labile and labile carbon stocks decreased with increase in the fallow period. In contrast, the less labile and non-labile carbon stocks increased with increase in the fallow age. Because of the absence of a long fallow management system in the region, and to minimize the risks of ecosystem carbon degradation, adopting an integrated approach is recommended to enhance the ecological integrity of the degraded lands under shifting cultivation while also improving the livelihood of the shifting cultivators. • Shifting cultivation dominates tropical to sub-tropical forest regions in North East India. • Shifting cultivation is a major driver of ecosystem C loss. • The 15-20-year-old fallow had more even distribution of tree species. • SOC: ecosystem C ratio was the highest under 1–2-year fallow. • 15–20-year fallow had 23% lower ecosystem C storage than natural forest.