Northwestern Indian Himalaya Research Articles

Changing crop biodiversity and resource use efficiency of traditional versus introduced crops in the cold desert of the northwestern Indian Himalaya: a case of the Lahaul valley

This paper studies the crop biodiversity and its changing patterns across an altitudinal gradient of three highland village agroecosystems: Hinsa (2700 m), Jahlma (3000 m) and Khoksar (3200 m). It also deals with energy (kilocalorie (physiological); kcal or Megajoules; MJ) and monetary (Indian rupee; Rs) efficiency of traditional crops versus recently introduced cash crops in the cold desert of the Lahaul valley. Newly introduced cash crops like hop, pea and potato have drastically reduced the crop biodiversity along the increasing altitudes. Of the total cropped area, ∼70% is occupied by these cash crops. Organic manure, mainly derived from forests and night soil, accounted for 90 and 77% of the total energy input in traditional and introduced cash crops in all the three selected villages, respectively. The energy output/input for traditional crops ranged in Hinsa from 0.6 (Kuth (Sausurea lappa, family Asteraceae) — a root crop of medicinal use) to 6.1 (amaranths); for the introduced cash crops it varied from 0.9 (potato) in Hinsa to 2.8 (pea) in Jahlma. In terms of energy, traditional crops are richer and more viable than the introduced cash crops. Monetary output/input of traditional crops was 0.8 (maize) to 11.8 (Kuth) and for introduced cash crops it was from 1.8 (potato) to 6.2 (hop). Overall, the average monetary efficiency of introduced crops was higher than that of traditional ones. Taking the average of the three villages, the energy and monetary output/input for the introduced cash crops was 1.4 and 3.3, respectively. However, for the purpose of food security and environmental conservation there is a need to establish a balance between traditional and introduced cash crops. This will make farming sustainable in the cold desert environment where crop growth period is limited. The Lahaul valley is landlocked and due to heavy snow deposits at Rohtang pass (3978 m), its main entry from Kullu valley remains accessible only for 5 months (July–November).

Effects of weed-management on weeds and baby corn (Zea mays) under northwestern Indian Himalayas

A field experiment for evaluating indices of weed management and economics of baby corn (Zea mays L.) was conducted at the research farms of Mountain Livestock Research Institute, Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir during the rainy (kharif) season of 2014 and 2015. The experiment comprising 11 treatments [Farmers practice (W1); earthing-up and weeding at 30 and 45 DAS (W2); atrazine @ 1.5 kg a.i./ha pre-emergence at 1 DAS (W3); atrazine @ 1.5 kg a.i./ha early post-emergence at 10 DAS (W4); straw mulch (@ 1 kg/m2 paddy straw) at 1 DAS (W5); straw mulch (@ 1 kg/m2 brown sarson) at 1 DAS (W6); polyethylene mulch (90 mm black) at 1 DAS (W7); polyethylene mulch (90 mm white) at 1 DAS (W8); saw mulch (1.5 cm depth) at 1 DAS (W9); weedy check (W10) and weed-free (W11)] was laid out in a randomized complete-block design 3 replications. Treatment W11 recorded significantly lowest weed density (2.03) and dry-matter accumulation, but the highest cob yield among all the treatments, whereas the highest values of weed density and dry-matter accumulation were recorded in the W10 treatment. The highest cob yield with and without husk was recorded in weed-free plot followed by the black and white polythene mulched plots, respectively. The husked and unhusked cob yield in black polythene-mulched treatments was higher than the weedy check and farmers practice by 32 and 41% and 7 and 11%, respectively. The highest net profit (`91,760 and `94,994) and benefit: cost ratio (1.54 and 1.58) for 2014 and 2015, respectively, was recorded for earthing-up and weeding at 30 and 45 DAS treatment. However, white polyethylene recorded the lowest values of net returns (`45,802 and `48,128) and benefit: cost ratio (0.45 and 0.47) for 2014 and 2015

The Quaternary glacial history of the Zanskar Range, north-west Indian Himalaya

Abstract Three glacial Stages and a minor advance are recognised from the Zanskar range of the north-western Indian Himalaya. A glaciated palaeosurface >280 m above river level (a.r.l.) with associated erratics represents the oldest and most extensive glaciation, the Chandra Stage. This ice covered a landscape of broad, gentle valleys probably as an ice-cap with an erratic distribution indicating that the ice-shed lay to the south over the High Himalaya. A change in valley form from broad glacial troughs to narrow V-shaped gorges along with large subdued moraine ridges delimits a separate later extensive valley glaciation, the Batal Stage, with its maximum at ∼78.0±12.3 ka BP. Distinct sets of moraine ridges represent a less extensive younger glaciation, the Kulti Stage, which dates close to the global Last Glacial Maximum. A minor advance, the Sonapani, is represented by sharp crested moraine ridges within 2 km of current ice bodies, possibly belonging to the Little Ice Age. Glacier Elevation Indexes (GEIs) calculated for this and adjacent areas, show a rise in elevation from the south-west to the north-east, but dip again to the Indus valley for both the Batal and Kulti Stages, reflecting attenuation of the south-westerly monsoon and possible channelling of westerly depressions along the broad upper Indus valley. GEI depression are ∼500 and ∼300 m for the Batal and Kulti Stages, respectively. The change in extent and style from the Chandra Stage to the later glaciations may be related to uplift of more southerly ranges blocking monsoon precipitation and incision of the landscape such that ice reached lower altitudes over shorter horizontal distances. Why ice extent was greater during Oxygen Isotope Stage (OIS) 4 than 2 is not clear, although recent high-resolution plaeomonsoon records show complex peaks in monsoon intensity, and it is possible that there was a more favourable combination of precipitation and temperature earlier rather than later during the last glaciation.

Energy and Economic Efficiency of the Mountain Farming System: A Case Study in the North-Western Himalaya

ABSTRACT The State of Himachal Pradesh in the north-western Indian Himalaya is distinguished for integration of profit-oriented horticulture and use of modern yield-increasing inputs in the traditional, subsistence-economy-centered agriculture in the recent past. Farming systems in the two neighboring villages of the State were analysed. The average land holding was 0.84 ha split into two distant plots, one in the upland and the other in the valley. A high level of crop diversity (14 rainy season crops and 3 winter season crops) was maintained by rotation of crops in time and space on small fields, together with coexistence of mixed and monocropping practices. Upland, terraced agroecosystems were more diversified, as well as efficient in terms of energy and monetary rates of return, than the valley agroecosystems. Potatoes showed the highest energy and monetary output:input ratio. Mixed cropping was not as dominant as monocropping. Following the introduction of apples in the croplands, rates of return declined after 5 years of tree growth until 15 years, and subsequently increased. Both energy and monetary output: input ratios of a 25-year-old apple plantation, where crops were not grown at all, were much higher than those of agroecosystems. Policies encouraging use of inorganic fertilizers, high-yielding varieties of wheat, and apple cultivation followed land-use intensification in upland rainfed fanning, reduction in crop diversity, and more intensive use of and pressure on forests, along with substantial cash income to the farmers. Implications of the policy-induced changes in traditional farming are discussed.

Pastoral Politics: Gaddi Grazing, Degradation, and Biodiversity Conservation in Himachal Pradesh, India

Two assumptions underlie the current conservation focus worldwide. The first is that democratic governments can restrict human resource use within protected areas, and the second is that human land use for subsistence leads to degradation and is incompatible with the maintenance of high levels of biological diversity. An examination of official policy documents over the past century indicates that Gaddi herders of Himachal Pradesh, northwestern Indian Himalaya, have used political influence to circumvent bureaucratic policies of exclusion and that there is an absence of scientific evidence to support the notion that Gaddi grazing leads to land degradation. Although grazing intensity has profoundly shaped the structure and composition of the Siwalik forests (the Gaddi winter grazing grounds), as demonstrated by transect‐based data presented here, deviations from a supposed “climax” community need not constitute degradation. A growing rather than declining cattle population attests to the regenerative capacities of these forests. Within the alpine meadows grazed by the Gaddi in summer, mean plant species richness increased along transects originating at herder camps and extending 250 m north of border camp sites. Intense grazing pressure or heavy manuring by livestock bedded at night are likely to be responsible for the observed low species diversity adjacent to the campsite, but the effect is insignificant at the level of the overall landscape. Interviews with borders also suggest the presence of a sizable, though hunted, mammalian fauna in these high altitude meadows. Recognition of the difficulties associated with implementing restrictive policies, and the fact that human land‐use practices need not lead to degradation or to a decline in biological diversity, should lead to more inclusive conservation policies within protected areas as well as an expansion of the conservation focus beyond protected‐area boundaries.