eChapters

Management approaches to soil, including problems of soil degradation and low soil fertility, have recently undergone major changes. The earlier concept was to concentrate on achieving high levels of production from the more fertile areas, leaving the marginal lands for extensive use only. Steeply sloping and highly drought-prone areas were mostly left without any cultivation as production from these areas was hardly cost effective. Soil constraints were to be overcome by inputs like improved crop varieties, fertilizers, chemical control of pests and diseases, and the use of irrigation. The approach of use of newly developed high yielding crop varieties, improved agronomic management practices, use of chemical fertilizers, efficient water management and timely plant protection measures has been successful in achieving large increases in crop productivity in recent years. On the other hand, continuous application of fertilizers at higher rates leads to environmental problems. Yield responses to fertilizers have declined because of soil physical degradation and micronutrient deficiencies.

Management approaches to soil, including problems of soil degradation and low soil fertility, have recently undergone major changes. The earlier concept was to concentrate on achieving high levels of production from the more fertile areas, leaving the marginal lands for extensive use only. Steeply sloping and highly drought-prone areas were mostly left without any cultivation as production from these areas was hardly cost effective. Soil constraints were to be overcome by inputs like improved crop varieties, fertilizers, chemical control of pests and diseases, and the use of irrigation.

The approach of use of newly developed high yielding crop varieties, improved agronomic management practices, use of chemical fertilizers, efficient water management and timely plant protection measures has been successful in achieving large increases in crop productivity in recent years. On the other hand, continuous application of fertilizers at higher rates leads to environmental problems. Yield responses to fertilizers have declined because of soil physical degradation and micronutrient deficiencies. Above all, large numbers of poor farmers simply can neither afford high levels of fertilizers and other purchased inputs, nor do they have the capital to take on the risk involved in their use. Increasing the area under irrigation has also run into severe constraints in the form of limits to available freshwater resources.

ABSTRACT

Contour hedgerow technology has different names in different regions. Sloping Agriculture Land Technology (SALT) has alley farming with hedgerow barrier technology. It is basically an agroforestry system in which nitrogen - fixing trees or shrubs are planted very closely in rows and cash crops grown in between the alleys. The SALT has been considered as an alernative to shifting cultivation. Forest dwellers are mostly tribals and shifting cultivation have been their practice for food production. The slash and burn has caused enormous damage to the forest composition. The forests on the hills and on the mountains have suffered a lot due to “Podhu” cultivation. The similar situations have been observed also in most of the Asian country. The hilly area has been considered under the hedgerow system for soil and water conservation. The introduction of the agroforestry systems in the farmers fields and in the wastelands have brought potential forest farming. The young leaves of some hedge row plants provide good fodder for livestock. Hedgerows can also be managed to provide fuelwood, if necessary. The hedgerows and their trimming provide mechanical and biological barriers and help minimise soil erosion by reducing surface runoff velocities, leading to higher deposition of soil sediments and living source of nutrient cycling. The food and cash production has been observed to be the most essential components in four types of SALT models.

ABSTRACT

Deforestation, land degradation, biodiversity decline, demand of fuelwood, fodder and timber had necessitated the planners and scientists to develop a system of cropping which would be able to revert these detrimental effect of exploitation and simultaneously provide the day-to-day needs. In present paper we have revisited our ancestors who practiced agriculture in a sustainable basis by keeping trees in the field. This paper intends to highlight some of the problems which are being faced in North-Western Himalayas and suggest different agroforestry practices which should be adopted to sustainable utilize our resources.

INTRODUCTION

Though late, the country and the society have gradually started to realize the detrimental deterioration of our ecosystem and environment. There are several factors and reasons for the same. However, land use in the country in general and hills in particular have proved to be one of the most important factors and needs much of attention for proper planning. The vital role of the forests in maintaining the balance of the ecosystem has long been acknowledged world over. In our country too, it was rightly resolved through a National Forest Policy Resolution in the years 1952 to bring at least twothird of the land in hills under the forest cover. This decision, though wise timely and farsighted, was never implemented with same spirit and there are evidences to accept the fact that effective forest cover in hilly areas is far less. The increasing need of expanding industrialization and urbanization coupled with population growth, the process of illegal and indiscriminate cutting of trees is resulting in consistent decrease of forest cover in the hills. The cultivation of land on steep slopes and hillsides is causing heavy loss of top soil and depleting the productivity of these soils besides siltation of river beds and cultivated lands down below. Coupled with this is the reckless destruction of vegetative cover by way of over-grazing which is resulting in large scale denudation and degradation of lands and thereby increasing acreage under wastelands. With this background the regular rains for which most of our country was well known have become irregular and drought have become a permanent menace and crores of rupees spent on relief work. The need for developing correct methodologies of land uses has become imperative to protect the existing forest cover, whether on public or private lands. Forest influences the rural prosperity and the human needs for the growing population have to be ensured while preserving the environment and ecological balance. A sustainable land-use system in conformity with ecological stability, economic viability and above risk aversion is desirable land use pattern in the Himalayan region.

Northwestern Himalayan region is spread between 28°43^'-37°05^'N latitude and 72° 40^'-81°02^' E longitude covering an approximate area of 33 million ha. The major natural resources of western Himalayas are water, forests, floral, and faunal biodiversity. Although there is wide spectrum of farming systems diversity in the region, yet there are quite a few commonalities viz. crop diversity, including mixed cropping as well as crop rotation of subsistence nature rather than commercial nature of agriculture, maintenance of soil fertility through natural processes. The variability in agroclimatic conditions in the hilly regions of India due to geographical location and climatic conditions require micro planning for assuring sustainable agricultural production. Introduction of horticultural crops is more recent phenomenon and it has penetrated the traditional farming systems of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and central Himalayan region for commercial benefits than the local consumption. Climatic conditions are optimal for growth of many food, medicinal and other commercial crops and live stock occur in these hills and the need is to exploit these opportunities for economic upliftment of the region, without degradation of natural resource base, therefore a long term development approach for sustainable farming system in these hills must have an eye on conservation farming for developing various production systems since this is a highly fragile system. The agriculture including livestock continues to be the dominant sector despite the fact that the area is exposed to adverse and harsh geophysical and agri-silviculture conditions. Strategies by planting fodder trees or grasses in the waste/ degraded lands (representing 7.9, 9.8 and 11.5% of the geographical area in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, respectively), is needed for enhancing the fodder production. In addition, farm spaces on terrace risers and improved crop production technology coupled with integration of agroforestry will help in bridging the gap between demand and supply of the fodder. The indigenous agroforestry systems such as homestead (kyaroo), plantation crop combinations, scattered trees on farm lands/field bunds and bamboo grove are practiced by the farming community. The land management operations are predominated by different indigenous agroforestry practices which have proven potential and hold promise in alleviating the poverty among rural masses of this hilly region. The agroforestry systems provide unique opportunity for integration of different components in the farming systems, which help to optimize the ecosystem functioning and better management of land, water, and biological resources. These systems need to be further improved with suitable technological interventions considering the local population need, so that the socioeconomic status of the farming communities uplifted. Experiences gained in managing natural resources through well-tested agroforestry systems have been shared in this chapter.

Introduction

Expanding human and livestock population, fast-growing industrial requirements and urbanization are putting ever-increasing pressures on land resources, creating competition and conflicts which results in sub-optimal use of both land and its natural resources. With no additional land for horizontal expansion of agriculture, there is an urgent need to find viable technologies for enhancing productivity and resource conservation on a sustainable basis. In this context, Agroforestry offers huge potential not only to diversify and increase overall land productivity to meet the demands of fuel, fodder, timber, medicine and other non-woody forest products but also to enhance green cover, and reduce the pressure on forest (Chavan et al. 2016; Handa et al., 2016). Agroforestry offers an affordable alternative in place of expensive conventional conservation measures for providing insurance against risks caused due to weather aberrations, controlling erosion hazards and ensuring sustainable production of the land on a long-term basis. The main objective of agroforestry is to take the advantage of complementary relationships between trees, crops, and livestock in such a way so that sustainability, productivity stability, and profitability of the system is maintained. In India, agroforestry practices are important component in the various developmental programmes schemes like Flood Control/Management Programmes, Multipurpose River Valley Projects, Agriculture Development Programmes, Integrated Rural Development Programmes (IRDP), National Watershed Development Programme for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA), Forestry Development Scheme, Drought Prone Area Development Programme (DPAP) and Desert Development Programme (DDP) from government sector and wood based industry from private sector. After 2000 a transitional shift in agroforestry observed to tackle the ill effects of intensive agriculture, climate change and nutritional security. Under changing climatic scenarios agroforestry rose as a silver bullet to offer not only single benefits but also a basket of multiple benefits. In the present chapter a journey of agroforestry research and developments, region-specific models, area under agroforestry, initiative of government on policy aspects and challenges are elaborated extensively.

India shares 17.4% of the world population, while its land is only 2.4% of the total geographical area of the world. Naturally, the pressure on the land is often beyond its carrying capacity. Therefore, the productive lands, especially the farmlands in India are in the constant process of various degrees of degradation and are fast turning into wastelands. At present, approximately 55.76 million hectare area of the land is lying as wastelands in India. Out of these lands, about 50% lands are such non-forest lands, which can be made fertile again if treated properly. In the last 60 years India’s lush green village forests and woodlots have been deforested to the maximum. To restore this ecological imbalance by developing the degraded non-forest wastelands, Government of India had created the Department of Wasteland Development during July, 1992 under the Ministry of Rural Development, which has been subsequently reorganized and renamed Department of Land Resources, with a broader mandate.

National Wasteland Development Board was established in 1985 mainly to tackle the problem of degradation of lands, restoration of ecology and to meet the growing demands of fuelwood and fodder at the national level. The Board was reconstituted in August, 1992 and was made responsible for development of wastelands mainly in non-forest areas in totality by involving local people at every stage of development. It aims at creating a scenario where the Government acts as a facilitator and the people at the grass root level become the real executioner of the programme. The degradation of environment in the fragile Indian subtropical ecosystem is basically attributed to the following factors.

India shares 17.4% of the world population, while its land is only 2.4% of the total geographical area of the world. Naturally, the pressure on the land is often beyond its carrying capacity. Therefore, the productive lands, especially the farmlands in India are in the constant process of various degrees of degradation and are fast turning into wastelands. At present, approximately 63.85 million hectare area of the land is lying as wastelands in India (NRSA, 2005). Out of these lands, about 50% lands are such non-forest lands, which can be made fertile again if treated properly. In the last 50 years India’s lush green village forests and woodlots have been deforested to the maximum. To restore this ecological imbalance by developing the degraded non-forest wastelands, Government of India had created the Department of Wasteland Development during July, 1992 under the Ministry of Rural Development, which has been subsequently reorganized and renamed Department of Land Resources, with a broader mandate.

National Wasteland Development Board was established in 1985 mainly to tackle the problem of degradation of lands, restoration of ecology and to meet the growing demands of fuelwood and fodder at the national level. The Board was reconstituted in August, 1992 and was made responsible for development of wastelands mainly in non- forest areas in totality by involving local people at every stage of development. It aims at creating a scenario where the Government acts as a facilitator and the people at the grass root level become the real executioner of the programme. The degradation of environment in the fragile Indian subtropical ecosystem is basically attributed to the following factors.

A watershed is a geohydrological unit or all the land and water area bounded by a divide which contributes runoff to a common point. Watershed is considered to be synonymous with ‘catchment basin’ and ‘drainage basin’. In watershed management approach, development is not only confined to agricultural lands but also covers the area, starting from the highest point of the land to the outlet of the natural stream. Watershed management becomes increasingly important as a way to improve livelihood of people while conserving and regenerating their natural resources.

Watershed management is the process of creating and implementing plans, programmes and projects to sustain and enhance watershed functions that affect the plant, animal and human communities within a watershed boundary. It implies the judicious use of all the resources,i.e., land, water and vegetation in an area to prevent soil erosion, improve water availability and increase food, fodder, fuel and timber on sustained basis.

A watershed is a geohydrological unit or all the land and water area bounded by a divide which contributes runoff to a common point. Watershed is considered to be synonymous with ‘catchment basin’ and ‘drainage basin’. In watershed management approach, development is not only confined to agricultural lands but also covers the area, starting from the highest point of the land to the outlet of the natural stream. Watershed management becomes increasingly important as a way to improve livelihood of people while conserving and regenerating their natural resources.

Watershed management is the process of creating and implementing plans, programmes and projects to sustain and enhance watershed functions that affect the plant, animal and human communities within a watershed boundary. It implies the judicious use of all the resources, i.e., land, water and vegetation in an area to prevent soil erosion, improve water availability and increase food, fodder, fuel and timber on sustained basis.

A watershed is a geohydrological unit or all the land and water area bounded by a divide which contributes runoff to a common point. Watershed is considered to be synonymous with ‘catchment basin’ and ‘drainage basin’. In watershed management approach, development is not only confined to agricultural lands but also covers the area, starting from the highest point of the land to the outlet of the natural stream. Watershed management becomes increasingly important as a way to improve livelihood of people while conserving and regenerating their natural resources.

Watershed management is the process of creating and implementing plans, programmes and projects to sustain and enhance watershed functions that affect the plant, animal and human communities within a watershed boundary. It implies the judicious use of all the resources i.e. land, water and vegetation in an area to prevent soil erosion, improve water availability and increase food, fodder, fuel and timber on sustained basis.

ABSTRACT

Eastern Uttar Pradesh has 27 districts and lowest per capita net domestic output then other regions of the state. Rainfall is the only source of water. Acute shortage of fuel, fodder and timber makes agroforestry an important proposition for this region. The paper presents different agroforestry models developed by Allahabad Agriculture Institute for the region. Economics of the prominent agroforestry systems has been worked out. Emerging innovative agroforestry practices like aqua farming, honey bee, sericulture are discussed. Recommended species and agroforestry models for utilizing wastelands of the region are also provided.

INTRODUCTION

Eastern Uttar Pradesh covers an area of 87,840 sq. km. ranging from 24° - 28°20’ N latitude and 81° - 85° E longitude (map of Eastern U.P.) with population of 632 lakhs (Census, 2001). It has 27 districts and the lowest per capital net domestic output than other regions of U.P. It has 6 districts which are under developed and 15 districts are industrially backward. The contour of 100m roughly marks the western limit of Eastern Uttar Pradesh. It is mostly filled with deep alluvial deposits by the Ganga and tributaries. The Microregional variations are highlighted by the Bangar (the old alluvium) and the Khedar (new alluvium) formations. It enjoys tropical humid climate (rainfall varying from 120 cm to 140 cm). This region is plaughed with recurring floods and droughts. In 1983 Eastern Uttar Pradesh suffered a loss of the order of Rs. 319.12 crores because of the floods; in the same region, drought due to long dry spells left 3.820 lakhs ha. of sown area to wither. The menancing of Ganga – Ghaghara, Doab and recurring drought of trans Yamuna tract of Allahabad district, parts of Mirzapur and Varansi districts and big chunks of usar and unculturable wasteland (2.93 lakh ha) sap agricultural potential of these areas. Hardly 9.54 percent of total geographical area is under forests. Their paucity accenulates the problems of floods and soil erosion. Most Ganga plain is devoid of mineral wealth excepting kankar in Bhanagar tracts, but southern uplands are rich in minerals like limestone, dolomite, silica, sands, marble, building stone, magnesite and coal; organic matter is rich but nitrogen is deficient. Despite of vast water resources percentage of irrigated to gross cropped area is only 40.36 per cent that led cropping intensity only 145.20 and net irrigated to net sown area is 54.22 per cent. It has depressed economy where unemployment and underemployment is rampant, thus out migration is a typical phenomena.

INTRODUCTION

The North-Eastern Himalayas comprise of eastern-Nepal, entire Bhutan, parts of North Bengal and the eight states of North-East India viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Sikkim and Tripura. The region is characterised by diverse agro-climatic and geographical situations. This has a predominantly humid sub-tropical climate with hot, humid summers, severe monsoons and mild winters. The total forest covering this part of India is 17.50 m ha (which includes 8 NE states and hills of West Bengal) which is about 65.94 per cent of the total geographical area (FSI 2013), and the rest either under crops or non-agricultural uses or un-cultivated land. The low area under agricultural crops is due to natural corollary of the physiographic features of the region, as major chunk of the land has more than 15 per cent slope, undulating topography, highly eroded and degraded soils, and inaccessible terrain. Continuous depletion of the forest cover in the region due to shifting cultivation, firewood, and timber collection is posing the most crucial problem resulting in poor soil health and the resultant environmental degradation. In order to overcome these problems the farmers of the Eastern Himalaya have evolved various types of crop rotations in consonance with the varied environmental conditions and agronomic requirements with tradition by practising different approaches since ages. These practices so developed through major and minor adjustments in land use strategies are mostly sustainable from ecological point of view (Dash and Mishra 2001). 
The practises of agroforestry in this region exhibit a great deal of variation in crop diversity which is influenced by the crop composition and crop rotation. Along an altitudinal gradient, diversity in agroforestry practices is influenced by variation in ecological factors and difference in agricultural practices. Agroforestry has the potential to improve livelihood as it offers multiple alternatives and opportunities to farmers to improve farm production and income and also provides productive and protective (biological diversity, healthy ecosystems, protection of soil and water resources, terrestrial carbon storage) forest functions to the ecosystems. It is accepted as the sustainable management system that encompasses the variety and variability of animals, plants and micro-organisms which can be combined together to derive key functions of the agro-ecosystem, its structure and processes for, and in support of food production and food security. It is promoted widely as a sustainability-enhancing practice that combines the best attributes of forestry and agriculture. This practice is now recognized widely as an applied science and is instrumental in assuring food security, reducing poverty and enhancing ecosystem resilience at the scale of thousands of smallholder farmers in the tropics (Sharma et al. 2007). Therefore, strengthening linkages between knowledge systems using “Community” participatory management approaches is now seen as critical for sustainable forestry and agroforestry systems (Adhikari et al. 2007; Dhakal et al. 2007; Ramakrishnan 2007). 
The mountain communities of eastern Himalayan regions have also adopted diverse agroforestry systems as their land use. Environmental, biological, socio-cultural and economic variation existing in the eastern Himalayas have led to the evolution of diverse and unique traditional agro-ecosystems, crop species and livestock, which facilitate the traditional mountain farming societies to sustain themselves. Appropriate agroforestry systems have the potential to check soil erosion, maintain soil organic matter and physical characteristics, augment nitrogen build-up through nitrogen fixing trees and promote efficient nutrient cycling (Patiram et al. 2003).These systems have today become an established approach of integrated land management system not only for renewable resource production but also for ecological consideration (Saha et al. 2012).

ABSTRACT

The paper introduces the biophysical environment and landuse pattern of newly formed state. On the basis of ownership of land the scope of adopting agroforestry had been discussed. Existing agroforestry systems under different agroclimatic zones of Uttaranchal are provided with examples. Tree improvement program and system development research carried out under AICRP on Agroforestry for Terai zone of the state has also been discuused in the paper. Constraints in adopting and carrying out research in agroforestry along with future strategies to extend agroforestry in Uttaranchal are also given in the paper.

INTRODUCTION

Uttaranchal, formed on November 9, 2000, is the 27^th state in India. The state is spread over 53,483 km² of land, which extends between 77° 34’ and 81° 02’ E longitude and between 28° 43’ to 31° 27’ N latitude. It covers 1.67 per cent of the country’s total area and is home to 84.7 lakhs of people as per the provisional census report 2001. The entire state forms part of the Central Himalayas. The state is strategically located and forms part of the Northern boundary of the country sharing its borders with Nepal and China. The entire region, except the southern most foothills belt, is mountainous with a series of ridges and valleys. Starting with an altitude of about 240 m in the tarai on the southern fringes, the terrains rise to 7817 m in the north with in a short width span of about 160 km. It touches Tibet in the north, Himachal in the west and northwest, gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh in the South and Nepal in the east. Uttaranchal has two administrative divisons, the western half known as Garhwal and the the eastern region known by the name of Kumaon.

Agroforestry is a land use system that involves two or more plant species at least one of which must be a woody perennial. When perennial woody and herbaceous components are grown together on the same piece of land their performance would largely depend on their ability to share various growth resources in a given environmental situation. Due to difference in growth pattern and resource requirement of the components in agroforestry situation, a close interactive relation is obvious. Thus, careful management practices for the components are required to establish a successful agroforestry system. The characteristics of the trees and crops, and their interactions, can be modified with good management practice in order to take advantage of the positive characteristics and minimize the effects of the negative ones. Effective and efficient agroforestry management may be divided into two groups - tree management and agricultural crop management.

ABSTRACT

Modelling has been used in natural sciences since centuries in one-way or the other. However, system modelling as a discipline in itself is established in the recent years. Agroforestry modelling is a complex process that essentially involves at least two elements viz. tree and crop, where tree is the long term and crop is the short-term component. Agroforestry models, usually, predict tree growth and yield and the reduction/enhancement in crop yield as influenced by the tree component in temporal and spatial sequence. In this paper the need of modeling, stages of model development, its validation and classification of models are given. The models, which are relevant to agroforestry, have also been given.

INTRODUCTION

Agroforestry combines agriculture and forestry technologies to create more integrated, diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land use systems. According to the Association for Temperate Agroforestry - “Agroforestry practices are intentional combinations of trees with crops and/ or livestock that involve intensive management of the interactions between the components as an integrated agroecosystem”. These key characteristics are the essence of agroforestry and are what distinguish it from other farming or forestry practices. To be called agroforestry, a land use practice must satisfy all of these criteria:

Agroforestry is a land use system that involves two or more plant species at least one of which must be a woody perennial. When perennial woody and herbaceous components are grown together on the same piece of land their performance would largely depend on their ability to share various growth resources in a given environmental situation. Due to difference in growth pattern and resource requirement of the components in agroforestry situation, a close interactive relation is obvious. Thus, careful management practices for the components are required to establish a successful agroforestry system. The characteristics of the trees and crops, and their interactions, can be modified with good management practices in order to take advantage of the positive characteristics and minimize the effects of the negative ones. Effective and efficient agroforestry management may be divided into two groups; tree management and agricultural crop management.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE SELECTION OF TREE SPECIES

Trees in an agroforestry system contribute significantly to the total output of the system and therefore, success of the system depends on the selection of the tree species. The following factors are to be considered to choose the best tree species for the agroforestry systems in a particular site.

Agroforestry is a land use system that involves two or more plant species at least one of which must be a woody perennial. When perennial woody and herbaceous components are grown together on the same piece of land their performance would largely depend on their ability to share various growth resources in a given environmental situation. Due to difference in growth pattern and resource requirement of the components in agroforestry situation, a close interactive relation is obvious. Thus, careful management practices for the components are required to establish a successful agroforestry system. The characteristics of the trees and crops, and their interactions, can be modified with good management practices in order to take advantage of the positive characteristics and minimize the effects of the negative ones. Effective and efficient agroforestry management may be divided into two groups - tree management and agricultural crop management.

Factors Affecting The Selection Of Tree Species

Trees in an agroforestry system contribute significantly to the total output of the system and therefore, success of the system depends on the selection of the tree species. The following factors are to be considered to choose the best tree species for the agroforestry systems in a particular site.

Agroforestry is a land use system that involves two or more plant species at least one of which must be a woody perennial. When perennial woody and herbaceous components are grown together on the same piece of land their performance would largely depend on their ability to share various growth resources in a given environmental situation. Due to difference in growth pattern and resource requirement of the components in agroforestry situation, a close interactive relation is obvious. Thus, careful management practices for the components are required to establish a successful agroforestry system. The characteristics of the trees and crops, and their interactions, can be modified with good management practices in order to take advantage of the positive characteristics and minimize the effects of the negative ones. Effective and efficient agroforestry management may be divided into two groups; tree management and agricultural crop management.

Trees have been used in cropping systems since the beginning of agriculture. Throughout the world, at one period or another in its history, it has been the practice to cultivate tree species and agricultural crops in intimate combination. In the tropics, human beings underwent a transition from hunting/gathering to the use of domesticated plants and livestock. As a part of the process they cut down trees, cleared the debris by burning and sowed crops in the ash- enriched soil. It was the ‘slash-and-burn’ agriculture, a primary forerunner of the present day agroforestry and a practice that might have originated in the Neolithic period, around 7000 BC.

There are innumerable examples of traditional land-use practices involving combined production of trees and agricultural species on the same piece of land in many parts of the world. Trees were an integral part of these farming systems and they were deliberately retained on farmlands to support agriculture. These practices are now known as agroforestry. However, the ultimate objective of these practices was not tree production but food production.