Block Plantations Research Articles

Severe decline in large farmland trees in India over the past decade

Agroforestry practices that include the integration of multifunctional trees within agricultural lands can generate multiple socioecological benefits, in addition to being a natural climate solution due to the associated carbon sequestration potential. Such agroforestry trees represent a vital part of India’s landscapes. However, despite their importance, a current lack of robust monitoring mechanisms has contributed to an insufficient grasp of their distribution in relation to management practices, as well as their vulnerability to climate change and diseases. Here we map 0.6 billion farmland trees, excluding block plantations, in India and track them over the past decade. We show that around 11 ± 2% of the large trees (about 96 m2 crown size) mapped in 2010/2011 had disappeared by 2018. Moreover, during the period 2018–2022, more than 5 million large farmland trees (about 67 m2 crown size) have vanished, due partly to altered cultivation practices, where trees within fields are perceived as detrimental to crop yields. These observations are particularly unsettling given the current emphasis on agroforestry as a pivotal natural climate solution, playing a crucial role in both climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, in addition to being important for supporting agricultural livelihoods and improving biodiversity.

Growing Eucalypt Outside its Native Range: A Review on Suitability and Beneficial Role

Eucalypt is an industrial short rotation fast growing tree species (SRFGTs), having wide range regarding climatic and edaphic requirements in Indian subcontinent. Eucalyptus camaeldulensis, E. globulus, E. grandis, E. tereticornis and E. citriodora are the widely planted eucalyptus species for different purposes in the country. Oil extracted from E. globulus has medicinal value and used to inhibit the avian influenza virus H11N9, and has wide scope in cosmetics, perfume, food, beverages, phytotherapy and aromatherapy. Oil contain p-coumaric, gallic, gentisic, p-hydroxybenzoic, syringic and vanillic acids and catechol are the responsible for retarding seed germination growth and survival of Parthenium, Solanum lycopersicum, Lactuca sativa and Agrostis stolonifera. Burning of eucalypt leaves used as mosquito repellent and compound 1, 8 cineole of eucalypt oil damage and kills Pediculus humanus capitis and lice. Aqueous solutions extracted from different parts of eucalypt showed nematocidal properties. Maize, wheat, mustard, berseem, potato, lentil are agricultural crops widely grown under eucalypt based agroforestry systems. Wider spacing of eucalypt in block plantations or boundary plantation mostly adopted in the agroforestry systems. Eucalypt sequester carbon 6 – 43 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 under plantations and agroforestry systems. The species has potential to reclaim waterlogged sites and escalate soil health through improving soil physical, chemical and biological properties. In case of economic returns from eucalypt based agroforestry systems, it gives nearly 1.5 B:C ratio.

Screening of efficient drought tolerant accessions of Terminalia arjuna plant for sustainable Tasar sericulture production based on biochemical tools

Aim: Tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta, feeds on the foliage of many plant species belonging to different families, but it prefers the foliage of Terminalia arjuna, T. tomentosa and Shorea robusta. The aim of the present study was to screen the drought-tolerant accessions of Arjuna for the successful and sustainable rearing of the Tasar silkworm. Methodology: An investigation was undertaken at the Central Tasar Research and Training Institute, Ranchi during 2016–17 and 2017–18 to study the "screening of fast-growing drought tolerant accessions of Arjuna for raising block plantations" by using biochemical tools. Ten accessions (40 saplings from each accession) were selected and allowed to grow for one year. Then, drought treatments were imposed. The experiment was laid out in a factorial completely randomised design (FCRD) with two factors. Two factors were accessions and moisture levels, i.e., control and stress. Results: The experimental result revealed that the T. arjuna accessions differed significantly for total chlorophyll contents under drought stress. Accn. 523, 525 and 135 significantly recorded higher chlorophyll content under drought-stress conditions. Water stress increased the proline concentrations in all accessions of T. arjuna, reaching 3–16 fold over the non-stressed control. Proline level was significantly increased in Accn. 525 followed by 523 and 135 at 7 and 14 days after treatment was imposed. Interpretation: Accessions of T. arjuna plant 525, 523, 123 and 135 can be used as the most drought tolerant accessions under drought conditions with limited leaf yield and quality loss. Key words: Biochemical tools, Chlorophyll, Drought, Proline, Tasar silk, Terminalia arjuna

Soil fertility status under long-term block plantations of different tree species in South-West Haryana

Soil fertility status under long-term block plantations of different tree species in South-West Haryana

Biomass Production and Carbon Sequestration Potential of Different Agroforestry Systems in India: A Critical Review

Agroforestry systems (AFS) and practices followed in India are highly diverse due to varied climatic conditions ranging from temperate to humid tropics. The estimated area under AFS in India is 13.75 million ha with the highest concentration being in the states of Uttar Pradesh (1.86 million ha), followed by Maharashtra (1.61 million ha), Rajasthan (1.55 million ha) and Andhra Pradesh (1.17 million ha). There are many forms of agroforestry practice in India ranging from intensified simple systems of monoculture, such as block plantations and boundary planting, to far more diverse and complex systems, such as home gardens. As a result, the biomass production and carbon sequestration potential of AFS are highly variable across different agro-climatic zones of India. Studies pertaining to the assessment of biomass and carbon storage in different agroforestry systems in the Indian sub-continent are scanty and most of these studies have reported region and system specific carbon stocks. However, while biomass and carbon stock data from different AFS at national scale has been scanty hitherto, such information is essential for national accounting, reporting of C sinks and sources, as well as for realizing the benefits of carbon credit to farmers engaged in tree-based production activities. Therefore, the objective of this study was to collate and synthesize the existing information on biomass carbon and SOC stocks associated with agroforestry practices across agro-climatic zones of India. The results revealed considerable variation in biomass and carbon stocks among AFS, as well as between different agro-climatic zones. Higher total biomass (>200 Mg ha−1) was observed in the humid tropics of India which are prevalent in southern and northeastern regions, while lower total biomass (<50 Mg ha−1) was reported from Indo-Gangetic, western and central India. Total biomass carbon varied in the range of 1.84 to 131 Mg ha−1 in the agrihorticulture systems of western and central India and the coffee agroforests of southern peninsular India. Similarly, soil organic carbon (SOC) ranged between 12.26–170.43 Mg ha−1, with the highest SOC in the coffee agroforests of southern India and the lowest in the agrisilviculture systems of western India. The AFS which recorded relatively higher SOC included plantation crop-based practices of southern, eastern and northeastern India, followed by the agrihorticulture and agrisilviculture systems of the northern Himalayas. The meta-analysis indicated that the growth and nature of different agroforestry tree species is the key factor affecting the carbon storage capacity of an agroforestry system. The baseline data obtained across various regions could be useful for devising policies on carbon trading or financing for agroforestry.

Agroforestry Suitability for Planning Site-Specific Interventions Using Machine Learning Approaches

Agroforestry in the form of intercropping, boundary plantation, and home garden are parts of traditional land management systems in India. Systematic implementation of agroforestry may help achieve various ecosystem benefits, such as reducing soil erosion, maintaining biodiversity and microclimates, mitigating climate change, and providing food fodder and livelihood. The current study collected ground data for agroforestry patches in the Belpada block, Bolangir district, Odisha state, India. The agroforestry site-suitability analysis employed 15 variables on climate, soil, topography, and proximity, wherein the land use land cover (LULC) map was referred to prescribe the appropriate interventions. The random forest (RF) machine learning model was applied to estimate the relative weight of the determinant variables. The results indicated high accuracy (average suitability >0.87 as indicated by the validation data) and highlighted the dominant influence of the socioeconomic variables compared to soil and climate variables. The results show that >90% of the agricultural land in the study area is suitable for various agroforestry interventions, such as bund plantation and intercropping, based on the cropping intensity. The settlement and wastelands were found to be ideal for home gardens and bamboo block plantations, respectively. The spatially explicit data on agroforestry suitability may provide a baseline map and help the managers and planners. Moreover, the adopted approach can be hosted in cloud-based platforms and applied in the different agro-ecological zones of India, employing the local ground data on various agroforestry interventions. The regional and national scale agroforestry suitability and appropriate interventions map would help the agriculture managers to implement and develop policies.

Rejuvenation of Reserve Forest by Forest Interventions (Species and Different Plantations)

Abstract: Eco-restoration is a technique for rejuvenation of degraded ecosystem to their near original state. It also helps to control soil erosion, develop microbial ecology, enhance biomass production and socio-economic development. The present study was focused on a new approach called Rejuvenation Technology for less forest area. India is bestowed with the rich diversity of flora and fauna due to diverse environment. Global warming and consequent impending danger of climate changes has necessitated to arrest deforestation. The species diversity has also helped in the selection of appropriate native species to enhance the ecological functions of urbanizing landscapes. Adoption of monoculture plantations though the region appears green, but fulfilling the vital ecosystem functions such as groundwater recharge, food and fodder to dependent biota, etc. Forest Rejuvenation Action Plan was prepared for each Reserve Forest Block with forestry activities like Reserve Forest boundary deep trench, fencing, Plantations of Gacchakaya on trench mounds along the periphery of the Reserve Forest boundary having interface with Revenue Land to protect the forest from biotic interference. Further Soil & Moisture Conservation works were proposed to improve moisture regime. Silvicultural operations like Cultural operations & removal of invasive species were proposed for better natural regeneration & growth of existing root stock. It was further supplemented with plantations like Block plantations, fruit bearing plantations, Yadadri Model plantations, Grassland development in 0.0 - 0.10 canopy density forest area. Further plantation activities like Gap planting, Medicinal herbs & Shurbs, plantation inside and on the mounds of SCT, Bamboo plantations along nalas/Streams were proposed to improve three tier canopy in the Reserve Forest in 0.1 - 0.40. These Forestry Interventions help to improve the forest cover, biodiversity, Carbon sequestration, Water Argumentation etc to meet the required results as per National & Global Commitments. To demonstrate this technology, plantation of seedlings of 5 different canopy density. Block plantation. Yadadri Model Plantations, Grass lands, Forest Fruit bearing Plantations was carried out in a village community degraded land located in Medhal district in Telangana State. This study developed spatial definitions of the Rejuvenation of reserve forest. Keywords: Rejuvenation, Reserve forest, Plantation models, canopy, Soil & Moisture Conservation

Performance of wheat and mustard in agroforestry system under terai conditions of U.P., India

A large area is available in the form of boundaries, bunds, block plantations, wastelands where this system can be adopted. Poplar and Eucalyptus are suitable and promising agroforestry tree species, which is planted cropping system. In this particular study, Economical aspects and viability of wheat and Mustard have been studied. Trees intercropped with crops attained better growth and higher litter. In the study of nutrients (NPK) it is reviewed that all the three nutrients increase as the age of trees increases. All the nutrients increases as the tree age are increased. It is clearly seen after the whole research work done, nutrients in the soil are high insole plantation of trees. The yield of intercrops is low in the fields which are cultivated along with trees. The height of intercrops is higher under Poplar than intercrops under Eucalyptus. This might be due to the leaf pattern and its canopy shade. No significant results were obtained for tillers per plant and effective tillers per plant in wheat, however, more tillers were found in pure cropping. In Mustard primary branches per plant and seeds per siliqua were at par under Eucalyptus, Poplar, and pure cropping. Yield parameters such as secondary branches per plant, siliqua per plant, and test weight were significantly higher in pure cropping. The grain and straw/stover yields of both the crops under Eucalyptus and Poplar decreased significantly as compared to open fields (crops without Eucalyptus and Poplar). Net returns from a crop grown with Eucalyptus, & Poplar and sole cropping revealed that maximum income (Rs.82819.00/ha) was recorded in pure cropping (monoculture) of wheat, whereas net returns from Mustard grown Eucalyptus, Poplar and sole cropping revealed that maximum income (Rs.67275.00/ha) and whereas negative net returns of Rs.3943.47/ha (under 4years Eucalyptus) and also negative net returns Rs. 8731.00/ha (under 5 years Poplar) was recorded in Mustard oil.

The soil quality of the world's largest refugee campsites located in the Hill forest of Bangladesh and the way forward to improve the soil quality

The Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh are located in the forest areas of the Cox's Bazar South Forest Division. The construction of refugee camps has caused detrimental changes in the natural vegetation and soil quality of the campsites. The objectives of this study were to develop a database on the soil quality of the block plantation sites and to prescribe native species for plantation and site quality improvement. A total of 204 soil samples from 34 sites of block plantations and control-denuded hill sites were collected from the refugee camps. Soil physical properties (depth of humus layer, bulk density, soil texture) and chemical properties (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon, and nutrients (N, P, and K) of the collected samples were measured. Depth of soil humus layer was varied from 0.6 to 2.5 cm and only 4% sampling points possessed the humus layer. Comparatively (p < 0.05) higher bulk density (1.64 g/cm3) was observed for the control-denuded sites. Soil EC found to vary significantly (p < 0.05) among the plantations types and the control-denuded hill sites. Comparatively lower concentration of soil organic carbon and nutrients (N, P, and K) were observed for the control-denuded hill sites. While comparatively higher stocks of carbon and nutrients were observed for block plantations without terraces. This study has prescribed 40 native tree species for plantation in the campsites. However, periodic monitoring of the soil quality properties and carbon stock and sequestration are at a time interval are needed to track the restoration performance of the studied areas.

MAPPING TREES ON FARMLANDS USING OBIA METHOD AND HIGH RESOLUTION SATELLITE DATA: A CASE STUDY OF KORAPUT DISTRICT, ODISHA

Abstract. Agroforestry is an integrated self-sustainable land use management system that is not only capable of producing food from marginal agricultural land but also capable of maintaining and improving the quality of environment. Accurate assessment of trees on farmlands i.e. agroforestry would help in determining their contribution in meeting timber demand and also in carbon sequestration vis-a-vis climate change mitigation. In the present, high resolution multispectral satellite imagery (LISS-IV) has been used for mapping and estimating agroforestry area in Koraput district of Odisha. Both supervised and Object based Image Analysis (OBIA) classifications methods have been applied. In case of supervised maximum likelihood method, those pixels are fully captured where trees exist, whereas in OBIA captures trees according to their crown shapes. This proved OBIA method to be better in identification of trees on farmlands (scattered trees, boundary, and block plantations) than supervised method. This can lead to accurate estimation of area under trees in scattered form, in linear form and also in patch form. Improved results were obtained in case of OBIA classification with more than 90% accuracy. This research implies that remote sensing provide promising tools for evaluating and mapping of agroforestry at district level. Hence, the proposed approach of using high resolution remote sensing data in conjunction with OBIA method would be promising for mapping agroforestry area.

Eucalyptus geometry in agroforestry on waterlogged saline soils influences plant and soil traits in North-West India

Impacts of agroforestry comprising wheat and rice crops in combination with Eucalyptus tereticornis trees having high transpiration rate were assessed for remediation of waterlogged saline soils. To find out optimum spacing of trees in strip plantation for higher water table draw down, wood production and crop yield, a study was carried on waterlogged fields by planting E. tereticornis (clone C-7) in paired rows on ridges (0.5-m height) made along the field boundaries in north-south direction at 1m×1m, 1m×2m and 1m×3m spacing resulting in population of 300, 150 and 100 treesha−1. The results were also compared with the control (field without tree plantation) and block plantation. During sixth year of growth, Eucalyptus attained the maximum growth in 1m×3m spacing followed by 1m×2m, 1m×1m; and minimum in block plantation. Due to higher number of trees per unit area, timber dry wood production was 33.5 Mgha−1 in spacing of 1m×1m; 19.1 Mgha −1 in 1m×2m and 13.5 Mgha−1 in 1m×3m and sequestered 15.2, 8.9 and 6.4 Mg Cha−1, respectively. Block plantations of Eucalyptus generated 141.7 Mgha−1 timber wood biomass and sequestered 66.5 Mg C ha−1. The transpiration rate of Eucalyptus in block plantation on an average was 40.0Lday−1tree−1 compared to 68.0, 71.5 and 73.8Lday−1tree−1 in 1m×1m, 1m×2m and 1m×3m tree spacing, respectively in strip plantation. The corresponding total amount of water transpired per annum was 1825mm in block plantation and 745, 391, 269mm in 1m×1m, 1m×2m and 1m×3m tree spacing. Due to high transpiration rate of Eucalyptus, water table was lowered by 43.0cm in 1m×1m; 38.5cm in 1m×2m and 31.5cm in 1m×3m spacing during the fourth year of plantation than in adjacent fields without plantation. Near the tree lines, grain yields of both wheat and rice were comparatively low. But lowering of water table resulted in improvement in soil properties which produced 1.7 and 1.3 folds higher grain yield of wheat and rice respectively compared to control. The results suggested that in a rotation of six years, 1m×1m spacing for strip plantation of Eucalyptus in paired rows on farm acre line was the optimum for achieving higher water table draw down, wood biomass production, carbon sequestration and crop productivity on waterlogged fields.

Spatial assessment of soil organic carbon and physicochemical properties in a horticultural orchard at arid zone of India using geostatistical approaches.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a major indicator of long-term sustenance of agricultural production system. Apart from sustaining productivity, SOC plays a crucial role in context of climate change. Keeping in mind these potentials, spatial variation of SOC contents of a fruit orchard comprising several arid fruit plantations located at arid region of India is assessed in this study through geostatistical approaches. For this purpose, surface and subsurface soil samples from 175 locations from a fruit orchard spreading over 14.33ha area were collected along with geographical coordinates. SOC content and soil physicochemical properties of collected soil samples were determined followed by geostatistical analysis for mapping purposes. Average SOC stock density of the orchard was 14.48Mgha(-1) for 0- to 30-cm soil layer ranging from 9.01Mgha(-1) in Carissa carandas to 19.52Mgha(-1) in Prosopis cineraria block. Range of spatial variation of SOC content was found about 100m, while two other soil physicochemical properties, e.g., pH and electrical conductivity (EC) also showed similar spatial trend. This indicated that minimum sampling distance for future SOC mapping programme may be kept lower than 100m for better accuracy. Ordinary kriging technique satisfactorily predicted SOC contents (in percent) at unsampled locations with root-mean-squared residual (RMSR) of 0.35-0.37. Co-kriging approach was found slightly superior (RMSR=0.26-0.28) than ordinary kriging for spatial prediction of SOC contents because of significant correlations of SOC contents with pH and EC. Uncertainty of SOC estimation was also presented in terms of 90% confidence interval. Spatial estimates of SOC stock through ordinary kriging or co-kriging approach were also found with low uncertainty of estimation than non-spatial estimates, e.g., arithmetic averaging approach. Among different fruit block plantations of the orchard, the block with Prosopis cineraria ('khejri') has higher SOC stock density than others.

Comparative study on growth, wood quality and financial returns of teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) managed under three different agroforestry practices

Growth, wood quality parameters and productivity estimations of 12-year-old teak (Tectona grandis L.f.) grown under three agroforestry systems, namely unmanaged block (Bum), unmanaged line on the farm boundary (Lum) and intensively managed block (Bim) plantations are studied. Mean annual increment (MAI) of 0.020, 0.006 and 0.016 m3 tree−1 year−1 was recorded in Lum, Bum and Bim, respectively. Overall growth performance of teak raised in Lum, plantation appears to be better than two block plantations (Bum and Bim). For evaluating various wood quality parameters, tree logs from each plantation were tested for different physical and mechanical properties according to the standard procedures. The wood quality of Bum was found to be comparatively superior to Bim and much better than those of Lum. The 12-year-old farm teak trees from three systems exhibited lower average values of different wood quality parameters compared to mature forest teak. Since physical and strength properties of Bum were inferior compared to Lum and Bim, its exploitation is not advisable at this stage. Line plantation, however, releases land for cultivation of arable crops and does not demand any special silvicultural management as required by Bim. Although, total extractable volume of teak wood available after 12-years of age from Bum was much smaller compared to Bim or Lum, its commercial exploitation at an early age may be preferred over other two practices due to better wood quality and lower management cost. For optimum economic utilization and mechanical maturity of wood, harvesting of block plantation may be delayed for about 10-15 years because growth volume and strength properties are expected to improve with age of tree.

Conservation of native flora and fauna of agro-biodiversity park in ANGRAU, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India

Deccan plateau region in India is unique due to presence of diversified geography and ecosystems with rich agricultural diversity including wild flora and fauna. However, it was over exploited by several anthropogenic activities. Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad has established first Agro-biodiversity Park in August, 2008 and is the first of its’ kind in India with a main objective of preserving, conserving and promoting the rich biodiversity of Deccan plateau region of Hyderabad. The park site is naturally spread with hillocks, boulders, undulated terrain with sloppy lands covered diverse vegetation besides a natural water tank. In the initial stage, the dangerous invasive alien species such as Partheniumhysterophorous, Lantana camera and Prosopis juliflora present in the vicinity were removed. Subsequently, several block plantations were developed with Teak and Mahua (70%) and forest mixed tree species (30%). Besides, separate generic blocks viz., palm and medicinal tree, mixed forest tree gardens and Ficus species diversity block were also developed. Of late, a rare, endemic, endangered and globally threatened species Ceropegia was identified in 2009. Since then, utmost care was taken for conservation in agro-biodiversity park. Water ponds and bodies were also created as a source of water for all resident and migratory bio-creatures for promotion of faunal genetic resources. At present, 24 species of insects, 5 species of fish and 8 species of reptiles were recorded. Out of 120 species of butterflies present in the Andhra Pradesh, 56 were found in this park.

Crop coefficients of Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) and Pongamia (Pongamia pinnata) using water balance approach

Jatropha and Pongamia are a potential source of biodiesel and grow in a wide range of agroclimatic zones and soil conditions. Data and knowledge available on water requirement of Jatropha and Pongamia are very scarce. Crop coefficients are important parameters used for assessing water requirement and irrigation scheduling. In the present study, crop coefficients of Jatropha and Pongamia were estimated using water balance approach. Temporal data on soil moisture at different depths in block plantations of Jatropha and Pongamia at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi‐Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) farm, Patancheru in India, were collected at 15 days interval between 2007 and 2010. Measured soil moisture data were analyzed using one‐dimensional water balance model. Results showed that annual water requirement of Jatropha is 750 mm and of Pongamia is about 950 mm in semi‐arid tropics. Crop coefficients of Jatropha ranged from 0.10 to 0.95 and of Pongamia from 0.30 to 1.10 depending on plant growth stage in different months. ICRISAT received 820 mm of rainfall in a normal year (data between 2001 and 2010) during the monsoon, of which 52% (430 mm) contributed to evapotranspiration (ET), 34% (280 mm) was stored in soil, and 14% (110 mm) was lost through surface runoff. Stored soil moisture during monsoon season was subsequently utilized by the Jatropha and 270 mm converted into ET during nonmonsoonal period. Pongamia utilized stored soil moisture more effectively than Jatropha as it could remove water from deeper soil layers even at high levels of soil moisture suction.This article is categorized under: Bioenergy &gt; Science and Materials Bioenergy &gt; Economics and Policy Bioenergy &gt; Climate and Environment

How sustainable are forestry clean development mechanism projects?—A review of the selected projects from India

This paper analyses social, economic and ecological issues affecting sustainability of the four selected forestry clean development mechanism (CDM) projects from India. Data from the group discussions and stakeholder interviews suggest that three out of the four projects are economically unsustainable for local people because of high opportunity cost of land and labour, and delayed and low benefits. The average opportunity cost of the land is 20000, 12000 and 9000 INR/ha/year in case of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, India projects respectively, which is unlikely to be met through projected carbon revenues and other benefits. A significant number of farmers have already withdrawn their private lands in Haryana and Tamil Nadu projects. Very few of them have undertaken plantations on the private lands in the Himachal project. All the four projects have undertaken block plantations of predominantly fast growing species such as Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus hybrid), Casuarina (Casuarina equisettifolia) and Ailanthus (Ailanthus excelsa) for high growth and quick returns, which could have adverse social and ecological impacts over long term. There are social and institutional issues such as low participation of local communities, weak or non existing community institutions, inflexible design and rigid CDM rules, which affect sustainability of these projects. It has implications for other carbon forestry programmes such as Green India Mission and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) being rolled out at a large scale in the country. The rationale and significance of these programmes needs to be objectively reexamined in context of the issues affecting CDM projects.

Intercropping of Medicinal and Spice crops under different Agroforestry tree species in Punjab

Performance of five medicinal and spice crops viz. Fenugreek, Fennel, Celery and Dillseed was investigated as sole crops and as intercrops with block plantations of Poplar, Dek, Toon, Gmelina, Maharukh and Eucalypt spaced at 6 x 3.5 m at the age of two and three years during 2006-2007 and 2007-2008, respectively in the Research Farm of Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab. Eucalypt trees recorded the maximum height, whereas the mean gain in DBH was maximum in Maharukh. Crown spread was more of Dek than rest of the tree species after three years of tree growth. All the crops performed better as sole crops than intercrops. Increase in age of trees from two to three years resulted in significant decline in growth and yield contributing characters like plant height, number of primary branches, umbels and umbellets per plant in Fennel, Celery, Dillseed, and number of pods, seeds/pod and pod length of Fenugreek crop. The seed yield of Fenugreek and Fennel was higher under Gmelina, whereas Dillseed recorded highest yield under Poplar trees during both the years. The production of Celery was higher under Poplar and Toon at the age of two and three years, respectively. All the crops recorded the highest reduction in seed yield when grown with Eucalypt than other trees during 3rd year of tree growth. Celery gave the highest returns followed by Fennel and Dillseed in second year of tree growth, while Dillseed, Fenugreek and Fennel remained more remunerative in the subsequent year.

Soil Organic Carbon Pool under Different Land Uses in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand

A study was conducted to estimate the soil organic carbon pool in different land uses in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. Soil samples were collected from three land uses viz. Forests, Plantations and Horticulture up to 30 cm depth. Under forests land use, soil organic carbon (SOC) pool was estimated in Sal (Shorea robusta), Deodar (Cedrus deodara), Quercus (Quercus leucotrichophora), Chir (Pinus roxburghii) and Miscellaneous forests. Under horticulture land use SOC was estimated in Apple, Guava, Mango and Litchi orchards and under plantation land use SOC was estimated in block plantations of Eucalyptus and Teak. Maximum SOC pool was observed in the soils under Deodar up to 30 cm depth (94.07 t ha-1) followed by Quercus (78.09 t ha1), Sal (56.60 t ha-1), Chir (49.80 t ha-1) and the least was under Miscellaneous (49.20 t ha-1). SOC pool under Deodar was significantly different from the SOC pool under Quercus, Sal, Chir pine and Miscellaneous and SOC pool under Quercus was also significantly different from Sal, Chir and Miscellaneous species. SOC pool under Sal, Chir pine and Miscellaneous did not differ significantly from each other. SOC pool in the soil under Teak plantation was 55.65 t ha-1 and under Eucalyptus it was 41.77 t ha-1. Apple orchards have maximum SOC pool i.e. 33.80 t ha-1 while all other orchards viz. Mango, Guava and Litchi have not much variation in the amount of SOC pool and have 23.60, 21.62 and 20.98 t ha-1 respectively. Major increase was observed in SOC pool under forests (236.44 %) as compared to plantation and 88.39 % as compared to horticulture land use.

Soil organic carbon pool under different land uses in Tehri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand

The concept of carbon sequestration emerged in eighties due to the consequences of steadily increasing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. No systematic study has been undertaken to estimate the soil organic carbon pool in forests of Uttarakhand, by following uniform methodology for field and laboratory work. This study was conducted in three land uses viz. Forests, Plantations and Horticulture in Tehri Garhwal district. Under forests land use, SOC pool was estimated in Sal, Deodar, Quercus, Chir, Silver fir, Miscellaneous and Kail forests up to 30 cm depth. Under Horticulture land use SOC was estimated in Apple and Letchi and under plantation land use SOC was estimated in Block plantations of Eucalyptus, Chir, Teak and Thuja. Over all 413 soil samples were collected from different locations. Soil organic carbon, bulk density and coarse fragments were estimated in collected samples and SOC pool was calculated by using the equation as suggested by IPCC Good Practice Guidance for LULUCF. Maximum SOC pool (140.95 t/ha) was estimated under Deodar followed by silver fir (134.90 t/ha), Quercus 99.18 t/ha, Sal (81.62 t/ha), Chir (73.52 t/ha), Kail (67.11 t/ha), while Miscellaneous forests has the minimum SOC pool (53.88 t/ha) in Tehri Garhwal district. SOC pool was higher (81.81 t/ha) in the soils under Apple orchards as compared to Letchi orchards (49.95 t/ha). Maximum SOC pool was estimated in the soils under Thuja (54.01 t/ha) followed by Teak (39.43 t/ha), Chir (36.68 t/ha) and the least was under Eucalyptus (31.35 t/ha). On an average Tehri Garhwal’s forests have 93.02 t/ha SOC pool while orchards have 65.88 t/ha and plantations have 40.37 t/ha.

Productivity and profitability of intercrops under four tree species throughout their rotation in north-western India

In an experiment, different crops, viz. pearlmillet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.], wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), Egyptian clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) and annual turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) were evaluated during 2005 to 2011 at Ludhiana, Punjab under 4 agroforestry tree species, viz. necklace poplar (Populus deltoides Bartr ex. Marsh.), eucalypt (Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm.), M. composita Willd. and toon (Toona ciliata M. Roem) during first to sixth year of tree age. Tree growth parameters, growth and yield param- eters of intercrops and sole crops, soil organic carbon, nutrient status and economics of agroforestry systems were determined. The diameter at breast height (DBH) and height of poplar and eucalypt were higher than the other species after 6 years of age. The fresh stem biomass was the lowest (73 t/ha) in toon and the highest in eu- calypt (213 t/ha). The growth and yield of all the crops declined under tree plantations with the increase in growth of trees during each subsequent year. Toon plantation had the minimum adverse effect on understorey crops, whereas eucalypt caused the maximum reduction in yield of all the intercrops. When grown as intercrops under tree block plantations, productivity of turmeric and wheat was better than the other crops under tree species. Amongst different tree-crop combinations, intercropping of turmeric with poplar and eucalypt gave the maximum net returns ( 16,22,225 and 14,62,065/ha respectively) followed by poplarwheat ( 14,30,000/ha). Agroforestry systems also improved the soil fertility status. Soil organic carbon, six years after planting, was the highest under Melia, i.e. 21.2% increase over its initial level (2.83 g/kg). Available N and P were the highest under Melia (139.1 kg/ha) and poplar (15.65 kg/ha) based agroforestry system, respectively, at the end of the experiment.