eChapters

Abstract

Remotely sensed data have become the primary realistic source for natural resources and biomass estimation, since last 30 decades. A summary of earlier research on remote sensing and GIS based biomass estimation approaches and a discussion of existing issues prompting biomass estimation are very valuable for further improving biomass estimation performance with the integration of geographical information systems. This paper discusses the recently most accurately alternative research methods to integration of remote sensing and GIS applications for identification, characterization and analysis of biophysical characters. The remote sensed data and geographical information systems using the accurate assessment of natural resource and management for the enhancement of biomass production and estimation. There is not any other option for the perfectly biophysical and natural resources estimation in small to large area. The earlier research has demonstrated that biomass estimation remains a challenging task, especially in those study areas with complex forest and mixed traditional cropping systems and environmental conditions. Either optical sensor data or radar data are more suitable for forest sites with relatively simple forest stand structure than the sites with complex biophysical environments. A combination of spectral responses and image textures improves biomass estimation performance. More research expertise is needed to focus on the integration of remote sensing, GIS& GPS, the use of multisource data, and the selection of suitable variables and algorithms for biomass estimation at different scales. Understanding and identifying major uncertainties caused by different stages of the biomass estimation technique and applying strength of mind to reduce these uncertainties are critical.

Keywords : Integrating, Remote Sensing, Bio-physical, Resources, Environment

Abstract

Any country’s socio-economic development essentially depends on land and water resources. Resource depletion takes place when there is an overstretching due the exploding population, calling for prudent management of the resources. Application of remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) tools in the management of natural resources at different levels including watersheds is quite well known. In addition, applied geoinformatics are also used in research on management of these delicate resources also besides characterization. There is a continuous advent in technology in both hardware and software necessitating updation of application scientist/manager. Once an exclusive tool of elite institutions and government agencies, GISnow became an indispensible part of our day-to-day life. As the urge for information intensifies, new applications of GIS continue to evolve. A concerted effort is needed to develop an information system when vast expanses of natural resources are to be managed and a combination of information tools like remote sensing, global positioning system and GIS always updates the database effectively. However, the cost factor should not hinder the applications at micro level. This necessity calls for attention to popularize free and open sources of software (FOSS) and data (particularly digital elevation models (DEM) and satellite imagery) to put the techniques into use by enthusiasts at village level such that a database at a regional level can be built through participatory GIS. It is in this direc tion the av ailab le li terat ure on appl ied geoinformatics coupled with use of FOSS is reviewed and presented in this article to give an idea as to how an open ended information system could be developed to help the management.

Keywords: Natural resources, management, Remote sensing, GIS, FOSS, DEM

Abstract

Traditionally remote sensing technology has been widely used in the mapping and change detection of vegetation features. Of late research has shown that remote sensing technology can be successfully employed for retrieval of biophysical parameters of vegetation, either by statistical techniques or by employing radiative transfer models (RTMs). This paper gives an introduction to leaf and canopy RTMs, especially about PROSAIL, which is the most commonly used model. It reviews different techniques for inverting RTM models, their merits and performance comparison. The main techniques briefly described are iterative optimization, look-up table, artificial neural network, genetic algorithm and support vector machine. At the end, it gives examples of applications which use canopy biophysical parameters retrieved by inverting RTM.

Keywords: Radiative transfer, PROSAIL, Inversion, Vegetation

1.0 Introduction

Accurate quantitative estimation of vegetation biophysical variables is useful for a large variety of agricultural, ecological, and meteorological applications (Houborg et al., 2007). The spatial and temporal distribution of these variables are important inputs into models quantifying the exchange of energy and matter between the land surface and the atmosphere, developing better yield prediction models and detecting abiotic stresses at regional scales. Among the many vegetation characteristics leaf area index, leaf chlorophyll content and leaf water content are of prime importance (Bacour et al., 2006; Houborg et al., 2007).

Abstract

In the present study an integrated remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) based methodology is adopted for demarcating the groundwater prospective zones and identification of artificial recharge sites in the Peddavanka watershed, Andhra Pradesh. In this study Shuttle Radar Topograhic Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) with spatial resolution of 90 m and Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRS-1A), Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS- III) satellite data along with other field and collateral data on geology and well inventory have been utilized to generating the Drainage, Slope, Lineaments and Hydro geomorphology of the study area, which are an essential prerequisites for demarcating water resources and identification of recharge sites. Spatial data integration and analyses are carried out in GIS environment.

Keywords : DEM, Drainage, Hydrogeomorphology, Groundwater prospective zones, Remote sensing, GIS

1.0 Introduction

Groundwater is an important natural resource in arid and semi- arid regions, because most of the places surface water resources are scarce and some places it’s totally absent particularly in hard rock areas. Because in hard rock terrains availability of groundwater is of limited extent and its occurrence is essentially confined to fractured and weathered zones (Saraf and choudhury 1998, Sankar 2002). In these areas groundwater recharge depends on rainfall only. For understanding rainfall recharge mechanism and groundwater management in the watersheds level, first we have to understand the morphometric parameters in the watershed level.

Abstract

Land development in urbanized watersheds poses a potential of increasing storm runoff rates, and therefore increasing the risk of flooding in the downstream areas of a watershed. To investigate the impact of change in land use practices on the watershed hydrology, an hydrological analysis was conducted on Little Kitten Creek watershed located near Manhattan city of Riley county, Kansas, USA. Prior to development, land use types in the watershed included woodland, pasture, and fallow land. However, rapid development has occurred in the watershed in the last ten years. Post development land use practices include commercial development, residential housing, and conservation (woodland and grasslands). Data collected and analyzed included digital elevation model (DEM) of study site, stream network and soil data using ArcGIS (ESRI, 2006) and Arc-Hydro Software (Maidment, 2000). Watershed characteristics such as slopes, channel length, circularity ratios, and drainage density were also computed. The delineated watershed boundary, stream segments and soil data layers were over laid to produce soil maps. Time of concentration (Tc) was determined for the pre and post development conditions in the watershed using seven different methods. The time of concentration values computed using Kerby, Federal Aviation Agency, Kinematic Wave and NRCS (SCS) methods found more reasonable compared to the remaining three methods used.

These computed time of concentration values were observed to be shorter for the post-development condition when compared to the pre-development condition of the watershed. The reduced time of concentration in the post development condition is attributed to increase in percentage of impervious areas due to increased residential development in the watershed; therefore increased rates of runoff in the watershed are expected.

Keywords: Rezoning, Time of Concentration, DEM, Kinematic Wave, Drainage density, Circularity ratio.

Abstract

Conventional wisdom holds that variability in rainfall represents a significant variability of agriculture production. But urbanization of the cities on one hand and climate change on theother hand areaffecting the agriculture. Surprisingly, there have been very few analyses exploring the link between rainfall variability and urbanization on agriculture production. Therefore an attempt is made in this paper to know the affect of rainfall variability and urbanisation on the cropping area. For this purposeNDVI analysis is carried out in the catchments of Osmansagar and Himayathsagar Reservoirs by using the medium to high spatial resolution multi spectral data provided by remote sensing satellites, such as Landsat TM, IRS-1C/1D LISS-III and IRS-P6 LISS-III has been used for the years1989, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2008 for Kharif season, 1975, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2003 and 2008 for rabi season which is collected from NRSC (National Remote Sensing Centre). From this analysis it is found that the increment is more in rabi season compared to kharif season due to the increment of non-monsoon rainfall intensities and ground water withdrawal structures. The increased utilization of the groundwater is causing the reduction of inflows to the reservoirs in the recent years because whatever the rainfall that occurs in the catchment, first utilised for meeting the depleted soil moisture and ground water consequently reducing the surface runoff.

Keywords : Climate change, Urbanisation, Inflows, Cropping area, NDVI

Abstract

The rapid development and integration of spatial technologies viz., Geographical Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS) along with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) provide functional alternatives to revolutionize the conventional entomological approaches like surveillance, spatial/temporal distribution of insect populations, pest distribution mapping and predictive modeling. Application of these technologies for insect problems is well established in the fields of forest, range land, medical and agricultural entomology elsewhere. Nevertheless, in India its field relevance in agricultural entomology is still limited owing to lack of proven field prototype studies and collaborative efforts among stakeholders. It’s time to gain real momentum to integrate these progressive technologies to formulate sustainable integrated pest management programs.

Key words: GIS, Remote Sensing, Insect Populations, Field Applications

Abstract

Carrying out effective and sustainable agriculture has become an important issue in recent years. A key to this is the usage of modern technologies for precision agriculture. Recent technological developments allowed envisioning sensor devices with distributed ambient sensory network, which could be a potential technology for monitoring various natural phenomena (weather parameters, soil moisture, etc.) at micro level. As more and more agricultural data are virtually being harvested along with the crops and are being collected/ stored in databases, the same can be used in productive decision making if appropriate data mining techniques are developed/applied. As a case study for this, an experiment was conducted with four consecutive agricultural (Kharif and Rabi) seasons in a semi-arid region of India to understand the crop-weather-environment-pest/diseases relations using wireless sensory and field-level surveillance data on closely related and interdependent pest/disease dynamics of groundnut crop. Association rule and multivariate regression mining techniques/algorithms were propose developed /tailor-made to turn the data into useful information/ knowledge/relations/trends to know crop-weather- environment-pest/disease continuum. These findings have been used for development of prediction models (cumulative and non-cumulative) followed by a web based pest/disease decision support system.

Keywords : Data Mining, Pest/Disease Management, Precession Protection, Wireless Sensor Networks

Abstract

Remote sensing is the art and science of obtaining information about an object or phenomenon without having any contact with the object concerned. Geographical information system is a tool to create, manage, retrieve and query spatial databases. Remote sensing in conjunction with Geographical Information System (GIS) has wide applications in all spheres of life and especially in agriculture. Specifically, this paper reveals some of the applications of remote sensing and GIS in the field of crop condition assessment viz., crop type classification, crop stress detection, crop yield estimation and pest and disease monitoring.

Keywords : Remote Sensing, GIS, Yield Forecasting, Crop Stress, Pest and Disease Monitoring

1.0 Introduction

Remote sensing is the art and science of obtaining information about an object or phenomenon without there being any physical contact. The information is so collected using a device called a sensor. The sensors are mounted on a platform at an advantageous position. Accordingly the remote sensing is called ground based (sensor is hand held or mounted on mast), air borne (sensor is on a balloon or aero plane) or space borne (sensor is mounted on a satellite). The basic principle in remote sensing is that each and every object has unique reflecting property like human thumb impression and when the solar energy is falling on an object a part of it gets reflected, which carries the information about the object. The reflected light is converted in to reflection percentage of incoming solar radiation. This percentage of reflection can be used to work out the vegetation indices which are surrogate measure of crop condition.

Geographical Information System (GIS) is software system which enable Collection of large volume of data with spatial relation Integration of data from different source is possible Analyze such data for our requirement Present the data in different formats (maps, table and reports)

Abstract

The present study discusses the cropping pattern changes in Andhra Pradesh agriculture will leads to crop diversification and crop concentration using with Geographical Information System (GIS). Crop data were compiled for the triennium ending period 1980-81, 1990-91, 2000-01 and 2004-05 from various statistical abstracts of Andhra Pradesh. For measuring the crop diversification indices, we have used the Herfindahle index and for crop specialization is measured by using the Location quotient method. The level of crop diversification in the some districts of the state in the eighties is very high. However with the advent of green revolution, there had been a moderate crop unification or crop concentration in the eighties. This trend of crop unification is found to be reversed after 1990-91, though the magnitude of the change is not very striking. The crop diversification is observed to differ across the districts. The level of crop diversification is high in the agricultural backward regions of Rayalaseema and Telangana districts and low in the agriculturally progressive Coastal Andhra districts. During the period 1990-91 to 2004-05, the major trends in crop concentration are increase in the concentration of rice in the districts where it is popularly grown and decline in the concentration of coarse cereal crops, pulses and oilseeds. The concentration of spice crops and fruits and vegetables are also on an increasing trend, which they are popularly grown in their respective districts.

Keywords : Cropping Pattern, Diversification, Location Quotient, Andhra Pradesh, GIS

Abstract

Food security to the increasing population on one side and the increasing export of food grains on the other side has lead to the immediate attention on to raise the food production in our country. The decreasing land availability for agriculture due to the increased degraded lands and use of agricultural lands for non agricultural purposes has still worsened the situation. In order to match with the food requirement from decreasing agricultural lands, Indian agriculture has been pushed towards indiscriminate use of farm inputs exploiting the non renewable natural resources without any concern to the environmental ill effects leading to further degrading of the situation. Even though the concept of sustainability is age old, the importance is felt recently. Sustainable use of resources at farm level can magnify the effect of conserving non renewable resources and reducing ill effects on the environment at state level and to the country. Sustained farm production is a key to manage our resources and environment. Adoption of new information technologies with the conventional agronomic practices to increase farm production is made inevitable due to our past experience. The advancement in the technology tools like Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System, Global Positioning System and Decision Support Systems have paved way for better and effective management of crop production at farm level. 46 Geospatial Technologies for Natural Resources Management

A systematic approach of management involving advanced technologies and conventional agronomic practices through understanding the factors like soil variability, weather parameters and crops that contribute for the sustainable farm production is need of the hour. The spatial and temporal variability of the farm production parameters are to be studied and mapped in relation to historical data of the farm for successful site specific management. Site specific management tools may improve decisions related to site conditions, thereby reducing the aspect of uncertainty in the management system. This approach of farm management using advanced technologies viz., Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System, Global Positioning System, Variable rate technology, crop production modeling and Decision Support System can enable sustainable farm production with beneficial effect on the environment in future.

Keywords : Remote sensing, GIS, Sustainable Farm production, Site Specific Management

Abstract

Soil Resource Appraisal helps in characterizing the existing land resources, assessing their suitability for various land uses and then helping the user to prepare a rational land use plan suitable for the integrated development of the area. Application of Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographical Information System (GIS) helps not only in the characterization of the resource base, but also in the generation of various thematic maps and preparation of land use and action plans for effective implementation of various developmental plans at farm level.

Keywords : Soil Resource Appraisal, Land Use Plan, Farm level Developmental Plans

1.0 Introduction

A thorough knowledge and understanding of soils is basic to the development and management of agricultural resources. About 100 years ago, man began systematic study of soils in the field and tried to separate, classify and map their geographic distri­bution. Today we have sufficient knowledge about soils; however the characterisation, classification and mapping of soils is still tedious, time consuming and costly affair. Therefore the need for adopting new and more rapid and accurate methods of mapping soils has resulted in the use of satellite images with image interpretation techniques for soil survey and map­ping.

In India for the country as a whole, soil and other land resources information is available at 1:1 M scale, which was generated from the state level mapping done at 1:250,000 scale under the Soil Resources Mapping Project of India during the period from 1986 to 1995. This information is of general nature and useful for planning on a wide canvas and not particularly useful for farm or watershed level planning in the country. For site-specific needs and for developmental works at watershed level, we need detailed farm level database at 1:10,000 scale. Once this type of information is generated at village/watershed level, this will be useful for identifying site specific constraints, generation of area and site specific agro technologies, land-use options based on soil site suitability assessment, wasteland identification, identification of prime farm lands and farm clusters for zoning and Strategic planning, preparation of farm level development plans by line departments and proactive advice and technology transfer to farmers.

Abstract

The ever increasing population in India and the world, impeding threats from the climate change scenario and the increasing demand for land resources from the industrial sector calls for improved resource efficiency. The production strategies are changing from input intensive to integrated resource management strategies. The shift is towards adopting the precision farming technologies like addressing the site specific variability and crop needs. Remote sensing technology coupled with GIS has been recognized as reliable tool in agriculture to guide application of fertilizer, pesticides and other farm inputs. With precision farming, technologies such as grid soil sampling, remote sensing, on- the-go sensing, and electronic yield monitoring help farmers gather very detailed information about the heterogeneous makeup of a farm field. Site specific applications means application of required input only where it is required rather than entire fields or adjusting application rates accordingly. This chapter discussed the input management based on the time of intervention - Input management prior to crop sowing, in season crop management and end of the season.

Keywords : Management zones, soil variability and Remote Sensing

1.0 Overview

Natural resources sustain life and are critical for economic development of nations. In developing countries like India where more than half the population is rural, economic development is inextricably linked with agricultural development. In these countries, the food and livelihoods security of the poor are critically associated with access to the services provided by the natural resources - land, soil, water, biodiversity and climate resources. The natural resources are finite, and with increasing population, economic growth, urbanization, and demands for food and other agricultural commodities, these are being increasingly strained. As a result, the productive capacity of the natural resource base is shrinking and deteriorating. Sustaining the productive capacity of natural resources for future generations, while meeting the food and other demands of the growing populations, is the major development challenge of the twenty first century.

In India, during the last forty years the net sown area under agriculture has remained nearly constant at 141 million ha. In the same period, the population has more than doubled (from 541 million in 1970 to 1186 million in 2010) and per capita income grew by more than 3.5 times (from Rs 14824 in 1970 to Rs 53331 in 2010). As available land resources for agriculture are finite, increases in agricultural production to meet the growing demands of the population have to come from intensification of agriculture on the same lands. As a result, the quality of soils on these lands is gradually deteriorating both at the farm and ecosystem levels. The major threats to soil quality come from loss of organic carbon, erosion, nutrient imbalance, compaction, salinization, water-logging, decline in soil bio-diversity, urbanization, and contamination with heavy metals. More than 100 million ha of the total cultivated land of 141 million ha is stated to be under some form of soil degradation.

Similarly, utilizable fresh water resources of India are finite at about 1123 billion cubic meters (BSM), of which about 690 BCM are from surface water resources and 433 BCM are from groundwater. This supply is shared among multiple uses: human and animal consumption, agriculture, urban uses, industry and for provision of environmental services. The total water demand in 2010 is estimated at 710 BCM and is projected to increase to 1180 BCM by 2050. Several parts of India are already facing severe water shortages as a result of the growing demand for water. The quality of water resources is also impacted by agricultural intensification and development, and is increasingly a matter of concern. By the year 2050, when population is expected to stabilize, the shortages will only intensify. The country as whole can be on the verge of becoming a water scarce country, with nearly all the presently estimated utilizable water resources being put to use.

Biodiversity natural resources refer to the abundance of different species and ecosystems in nature. These resources are the primary sources of present and future productive agriculture and human well being, as they provide the basic resources for use in breeding crops and livestock, soil formation and structure, soil fertility, nutrient cycling and the provision of water services. India is among the 12 mega diversity regions of the world. It is known to have more than 18,000 species of higher plants including, 160 major and minor crop species and 325 of their wild relatives. Increasing pressure from human population growth, agricultural intensification, urbanization, pollution and degradation of land, soil and water resources are having a negative impact on the plant, animal and microbial biodiversity resources of the country and their productivity.

Abstract: This chapter reports variations in organic C, total N and P, mineral N and P, and exchangeable K, Ca and Mg, and microbial biomass C in soils in relation to leaf litter and root biomass (0 to 10, 10 to 20 and 20 to 30cm) at two canopy positions viz. under canopy and between canopy of homegarden trees i.e. coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.), and clove (Eugenia cariophyllata Thunb) and nutmeg (Myristica fragrans Houtt. Nees) spice trees. It also deals with seasonal variations in pool sizes of mineral N (NH4+-N and NO₃--N), and net N mineralization rate (0-15 cm) in relation to rainfall and temperature under the homegarden trees, and examines how high rainfall (incessant rainfall) influences water filled pore space (WFPS), net nitrification and net ammonification rates, pool sizes of NH4+-N and NO₃--N and microbial biomass C in the soils and conserves nutrients in humid tropical climate. The chapter also describes how high rainfall makes phosphorus available in high regime of iron in the soils; and perennial cover crop like Pueraria separately and together with phosphorus increases soil N mineralization. Organic C, total N, total P, exchangeable NH₄+, NO_3- , exchangeable K, Ca and Mg are higher in the under canopy and between canopy positions of all the homegarden trees than that in open. Rate of mineralization is the highest during the post-wet season and the lowest during the dry season (February to April) under all homegarden trees. High rainfall during the wet season, however, reduces the rate of nitrification under all the trees.

Abstract: North East India has a fragile inaccessible terrain with a sloping topography wherein agroforestry being diversified in nature, has the capability to eliminate the ill effects of land degradation through intensification in land use. Shifting cultivation widely practiced by the aboriginals is mainly instrumental in carrying out deforestation as well as land degradation but many indigenous  land use systems present in practice since time immemorial are proven considering an approach to achieve eco-sustainability. A number of agroforestry systems such as  agrihortisilviculture, multistoried  homegradens, silvipastoral and agroaquaculture etc are dominantly present in the region.The information on soil fertility improvement by agroforestry systems is documented herein. Organic matter build-up was appreciably high in soils of agroforestry. Similar to soils under shifting cultivation, a low humification of soil humus was noted in soils of uplands without any forest cover but a reverse trend leading to high rate of humification could be initiated in soils under agroforestry systems. Moreover, decline in soil acidity, rise in water holding capacity and augmentation in nutrient  availability were noted in soils under agroforestry systems.

Abstract: This chapter reports soil and nutrient loss due to water erosion from five major land uses, i.e. vegetable fields, coconut plantation, arecanut plantation, home garden and moist evergreen forest on the undulating topography of the island. Soil loss under the land uses was quantified using replicated runoff plots. Vegetative methods, i e Gliricidia hedgerow + crop, hedgerow + mulch + crop, hedgerow + mulch + crop + grass barrier, for vegetable field under till conditions, and Pueraria cover crop (coconut + Pueraria phaseoloides  cover crop) for coconut plantation were tested to know their potential to arrest soil erosion in the respective system. Soil loss from the vegetable field under No till conditions, coconut plantation, arecanut plantation, home garden and forest was 3.8, 12.4, 10.6, 8.4 and 2.3 tonnes/ha, respectively. Soil working in vegetable fields (till + crop treatment) provoked soil loss to124 tonnes / ha. Erodibility was the lowest (0.06) in the forest and highest (0.26) in the vegetable field under till condition.  Among the nutrients, the highest loss, across the treatments, occurred for nitrogen and lowest for phosphorus. The hedgerow alone in vegetable fields reduced the soil loss substantially (66 %). However, it together with mulch and grass barrier reduced the soil loss nearly equal to that found in the forest. Like wise, Pueraria cover crop (19 years old) brought down the soil loss under the coconut plantation equal to that in the forest. These observations suggest that Gliricidia hedgerows for vegetable cultivation and cover crop for coconut plantation may be good vegetative methods for soil erosion control in the island.

Abstract: Agroforestry, is a sustainable land use system being practiced since long time through out the country. A diverse climatic, edaphic, and environmental conditions prevailing in the country has made it possible to practice different kinds of agroforestry systems. Karnataka state has four major agro-ecological regions and coffee agroforests are prevalent in the region of Western Ghats of Karnataka, which has tropical climate. With in Karnataka, Kodagu district has highest area under coffee agroforests with a total area of 1,00,079 hectares and is the largest producer of coffee in the country. The area under coffee agroforests is increasing at the cost of natural forested landscapes, which is considered as a looming threat to biological diversity. But, at the same time there are arguments that these coffee agroforests also supports high level of biological diversity. There are very few studies to justify this argument. With this background the present study is an attempt to enumerate the biological diversity of coffee based agroforests of Kodagu.

Agroforestry systems essentially involve a perennial component and provide cover to the soil through litter fall and tree canopy, which contribute to the conservation of soil and water resources in arid and semi-arid areas. Moreover, arid and semi-arid areas are exposed to extensive soil erosion by wind and water, respectively.  Planting of trees on erosion control structures as windbreaks, boundary plantations and tree-based systems are some of the potential ways for conserving natural resources (Singh, 2003).  Agroforestry and soil conservation have major role to play in the context of global climate change likely to occur from extremes of weather events and erratic rainfall behaviour.
 
    •    Provide  permanent vegetative cover to the soil or land surface and thus substantially control erosion caused by both runoff and wind.

    •    Improve soil quality through increased soil organic matter addition from litter fall and root turnover; and  improved  environment for soil microbe and earthworm activity. 

Abstract: Trees are known to reduce growth and yield of crops under their canopy in agroforestry systems through competitive interaction. This chapter describes the mechanism of competitive interaction between Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) and Leucaena leucocephala (Lam) De Wit in an alley cropping system. To know the mechanism of competitive interaction in agroforestry, three competition situations are created: crop + Leucaena shrub neighbour, crop + L. hedge neighbour and sole crop. In this study competitive interaction is studied in an alley cropping system having two alley width sizes i.e. 4m and 8m. Sunlight at ground, soil organic C and total N are measured in all the competition treatments at different distances from shrub and hedge neighbors. Sunlight is not reduced in crop + hedge treatment like that in sole crop treatment. Sunlight is reduced in crop + shrub treatment (36 to 82%), being the highest in 4m alley and the lowest in 8m alley size. Soil organic C is high but total N is low in crop + hedge and crop + shrub neighbour than in sole crop treatment. Comparing the two competitive treatments (crop + hedge and crop + shrub neighbour) it is observed that growth rate (42 to 55%) and crop yield (71 to 72%) are reduced greater due to aboveground than belowground competition. Belowground competition is 3.6 times greater in 4m than in 8m alley, suggesting that spacing is an important factor, which regulates tree/crop competition so does the crop yield reduction in an agroforestry system.