Current Science

S . B. Chavan ¹, A. Keerthika ², S. K. Dhyani ¹, A. K. Handa ¹, Ram Newaj ¹, K. Rajarajan ¹

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN
2 ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, RRS, Pali-Marwar 306 401, IN

Abstract

Since ages agroforestry has been known as a traditional land-use system in India. The multivarious benefits and services generated are recognized as a tool to improve the livelihood status of farmers. Commercial agroforestry gained momentum in the regions where it got support from industry and assured market facilities. However, lack of policy initiatives and strict trade regulations has not supported wide adoption of agroforestry. Though prominent agroforestry models are being developed in different parts of the country, there is no clear-cut mechanism from seed procurement to marketing of the products. In this context, the National Agroforestry Policy, 2014 came in limelight to address the issues of quality planting material, tree insurance, restrictions on transit and harvesting, marketing of agroforestry produce, research and extension. This article links highlights of the policy to existing successful ground-level schemes and the challenges to focus on agroforestry not only as a successful land-use system, but also to utilize its full potential in the economic development of the country.

Keywords

Agroforestry Policy, Public Private Partnership, Sustainability, Tree Insurance.

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S. B. Chavan ¹, A. R. Uthappa ¹, K. B. Sridhar ¹, A. Keerthika ², A. K. Handa ¹, Ram Newaj ¹, Naresh Kumar ¹, Dhiraj Kumar ¹, O. P. Chaturvedi ¹

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN
2 ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, RRS, Pali-Marwar 306 401, IN

Abstract

Trees have been a part of life for centuries in India for sustainable livelihood security. Under the difficult climatic situations, farmers are forced to adopt tree-based systems to secure their income and livelihood. Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) harvesting, collection and processing are creating several employment opportunities in the drought-prone Bundelkhand region of India. This article aims to document the livelihood dependency on trees of farmers, tribals and landless labourers for income generation. Surveys and interviews in Bundelkhand region provided an overview of the dependency of different rural communities on NTFPs such as gum, dona pattal, lac from Butea; brooms, jaggery and baskets from Phoenix; flowers and seeds from mahua; bidi leaves from tendu and sticks from bamboo for sustaining their livelihood. To promote NTFPs-based livelihood enterprises, more emphasis should be given for sustainable harvest, value-addition and marketing.

Keywords

Employment Generation, Sustainable Livelihood, Trees.

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R. H. Rizvi ¹, Ram Newaj ¹, Rajendra Prasad ¹, A. K. Handa ¹, Badre Alam ¹, S. B. Chavan ¹, Abhishek Saxena ¹, P. S. Karmakar ¹, Amit Jain ¹, Mayank Chaturvedi ¹

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN

Abstract

Agroforestry is a traditional and ancient land use practice, having deliberate integration of trees with crop and livestock components. In India, agroforestry practices are prevalent in different agro-ecological zones and occupy sizeable areas. These practices have great potential for climate change mitigation through sequestration of atmospheric CO₂. Carbon sequestration potential was studied in four districts of Gujarat (Anand, Dahod, Patan and Junagarh), for which field survey was conducted to collect primary data on existing agroforestry systems. The extent of agroforestry area in these districts was estimated by sub-pixel classifier using medium resolution remote sensing data (RS-2/LISS III). By sub-pixel classifier, the highest area under agroforestry was estimated in Dahod (12.48%) followed by Junagarh district (10.95%) with an average of 9.12%. Sapota (Manilkara zapota) based agroforestry was also mapped in Junagarh district, which occupied an area of 1.13%. An accuracy of 87.2% was found by sub-pixel classifier in delineation of sapota-based agroforestry in the district. Dynamic CO2FIX model has been used to estimate total carbon (biomass + soils) and net carbon sequestered in existing agroforestry systems. Net carbon sequestered over a simulated period of 30 years in Anand, Dahod, Patan and Junagarh districts was found to be 2.70, 6.26, 1.61 and 1.50 Mg C ha^-1 respectively. Total carbon stock in all four districts for baseline and simulated period of 30 years was estimated to be 2.907 and 3.251 million tonnes respectively. Thus, agroforestry systems in Gujarat have significant potential in carbon storage and trapping atmospheric CO₂ into biomass and soils. Hence, CO2FIX model in conjunction with remote sensing techniques can be successfully applied for estimating carbon sequestration potential of agroforestry systems in a district or a region.

Keywords

Agroforestry, Geospatial, Remote Sensing, Sub-Pixel, Tree Cover.

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Ram Newaj ¹, O. P. Chaturvedi ¹, Dhiraj Kumar ¹, Rajendra Prasad ¹, R. H. Rizvi ¹, Badre Alam ¹, A. K. Handa ¹, S. B. Chavan ¹, Anil Kumar Singh ¹, Mayank Chaturvedi ¹, P. S. Karmakar ¹, Abhishek Maurya ¹, Abhishek Saxena ¹, Gargi Gupta ¹, Kedari Singh ¹

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN

Abstract

The rising level of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the atmosphere is a major concern, as scientific evidences show that it is the primary cause of global warming. CO₂ concentration is expected to double by the middle or end of the 21st century, with a temperature rise between 1.5°C and 4.5°C (ref. 1). The importance of agroforestry as a land-use system is receiving wider recognition not only in terms of agricultural sustainability, but also in issues related to carbon sequestration or climate change.

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Ajit ¹, A. K. Handa ², S. K. Dhyani ³, G. M. Bhat ⁴, A. R. Malik ⁴, V. Dutt ⁴, T. H. Masoodi ⁴, Uma ¹, Amit Jain ²

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, Library Avenue, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012, IN
2 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN
3 NRM-Division, ICAR, KAB-II, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012, IN
4 Camp-Wadura, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Srinagar 190 025, IN

Abstract

The dynamic carbon accounting model CO2FIX was used for evaluating carbon stocks and estimate greenhouse gas mitigation through tree-based systems, outside the forest area, in Kupwara district of Kashmir valley India. Primary survey results revealed that on an average, there were about 135 trees per hectare, existing on farmers' field. Malus (33.75%), populus (29.91%), salix (14.32%), juglans (6.68%) and robinia (4.7%) were dominant tree species. Paddy and maize are the dominant kharif crops, whereas rabi season is dominated by oilseeds and fodder crops. The carbon sequestration potential, all the three pools simultaneously (viz. tree, crop and soil), of existing agroforestry systems (AFS) has been predicted as 0.88 Mg C ha^-1 yr^-1. AFS at district level are estimated to sequester 146,996 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent annually, which may offset completely the greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture/irrigation sector on account of electricity consumption throughout the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

Keywords

Agroforestry Systems, Carbon Sequestration Potential, GHG Mitigation, Soil Carbon, Tree Biomass.

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S. B. Chavan ¹, A. Keerthika ², Sheeraz Saleem Bhat ³, A. K. Handa ¹, K. Rajarajan ¹, Suheel Ahmad ³

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN
2 ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Pali-Marwar 306 401, IN
3 ICAR-Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Regional Research Station, Rangreth, Srinagar 191 132, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

Keywords

No Keywords.

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Ayyandar Arunachalam ¹, S. Suresh Ramanan ¹, A. K. Handa ¹

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, India, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

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R. H. Rizvi ¹, R. Vishnu ², A. K. Handa ², S. Ramanan ², M. Yadav ², A. Mehdi ², R. K. Singh ³, S. Londhe ³, S. K. Dhyani ³, J. Rizvi ³, Punam ⁴, Rameshwar Kumar ⁴, Naved Qaisar ⁵

Affiliations
1 ICAR-CSSRI Regional Research Station, Lucknow 226 005, IN
2 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN
3 World Agroforestry, South Asia Regional Programme, New Delhi 110 012, IN
4 Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvidyalay, Palampur 176 062, IN
5 Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture and Technology, Srinagar 190 025, IN

Abstract

In the present study, agroforestry was mapped in nine districts from Western Himalayan Region. The agroforestry area in these nine selected districts was estimated to be 332127.55 ha (12.4%). Salix alba, an important agroforestry species, accounted for about 12% of total agroforestry area in three districts of Kashmir valley

Keywords

Agroclimatic Zone, Agroforestry Mapping, Object-Oriented Classification, Remote Sensing, Tree Species.

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A. K. Handa ¹, Chhavi Sirohi ², A. Arunachalam ¹, S. S. Ramanan ¹, K. Rajarajan ¹, A. Krishna ³, R. H. Kolse ⁴

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN
2 Department of Forestry, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar 125 004, IN
3 Professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University, Hyderabad 500 030, IN
4 Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri 413 722, IN

Abstract

No Abstract.

Keywords

No keywords

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Chhavi Sirohi ¹, K. S. Bangarwa ¹, R. S. Dhillon ¹, S. B. Chavan ², A. K. Handa ³

Affiliations
1 Department of Forestry, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar 125 004, IN
2 ICAR-National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management, Baramati 413 115, IN
3 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 284 003, IN

Abstract

The diverse and multi-component nature of traditional agroforestry systems (AFS) provides them a unique edge over monoculture cropping, particularly in arid and semi-arid ecosystems due to their role in providing several ecosystem services (ES) in addition to their prime role in agricultural production. Appropriate selection of components and their management practices results in reduced competition for resources among the components and maximum capitalization of the interactions. Poplar-based AFS adopted in a big way by farmers in the Indo-Gangetic region of India has improved their economic status due to its high industrial value. The present study discusses the effect Populus deltoides as windbreak on yield of wheat as intercrop and soil nutrient status. We considered winter wheat varieties (WH-1105, WH-542, HD-2967, HD-943 and DPW-621-50) during two consecutive years (2013–15) delimited by a row of poplar trees in the east–west and north–south directions. Whereas effects on crop produce were limited for all wheat varieties with increasing distance from the tree line, considerable yield reductions were found near the tree line (treatments T₁ and T₂) for all the wheat varieties. The highest available soil N (365.2 kg ha^–1), P (19.7 kg ha^–1) and K (357.3 kg ha^–1) were recorded near the tree line at a distance of 2 m. To optimize the provisioning service of poplar windbreak AFS, the cultivation of highly shade-tolerant wheat variety HD-2967 may be advisable over other varieties towards the end of the rotation of mature poplar trees.

Keywords

Agroforestry, crop growth and yield, Populus deltoides, tree-based intercropping, wheat.

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A. Arunachalam ¹, R. H. Rizvi ², A. K. Handa ¹, S. Suresh Ramanan ¹

Affiliations
1 ICAR-Central Agroforestry Research Institute, Jhansi 248 003, India
2 ICAR-CSSRI Regional Research Station, Lucknow 226 002, India

Abstract

No Abstract.

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