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Not AvailableLand degradation due to soil erosion is a global problem,especially on cultivated hill slopes. Economically important aromatic grasses can protect degraded hill slopes more effectively than field crops,but little information is available on their performance.This study quantifies runoff,sediment yield,enrichment ratios of soil and nutrients, and sediment-associated organic carbon and nutrients losses under three aromatic grass species:citronella (Cymbopogon nardus), lemon(Cymbopogon flexuosus), and palmarosa (Cymbopogon martini), compared with a traditional field crop, finger millet(Eleusine coracana) grown at three land slopes(4%,8%,and 12%).It was observed that the degree of slope and type of grass both significantly influenced runoff generation. Runoff and sediment yield(SY) were significantly higher at 12% slope than at 8% and 4% slopes. Relation between rainfall and runoff were significant for all the grass species(p < 0.05). Palmarosa,lemon,and citronella grass reduced the SY by 10,54,and 60%,respectively,over finger millet. SY was also significantly related to rainfall for all the treatments(p < 0.05). The threshold runoff values to produce SY were higher for aromatic grasses compared to finger millet. Enrichment of clay,silt,sand,soil organic carbon(SOC),available nitrogen(N),phosphorus(P) and potassium (K)in the sediment were not significantly different between slopes but differed significantly between aromatic grasses and finger millet. Sediment associated nutrient load varied inversely with SY mainly because of the nutrient dissolution effect of high runoff volume. Annual loss of SOC and nutrients varied from 84.7–156.8 kg ha-1 y-1 for SOC,4.38–9.18 kg ha-1 y-1 for available N,0.35–0.75 kg ha-1 y-1 for available P,and 2.22–5.22 kg ha-1 y-1 for available K,with the lowest values for citronella and highest for finger millet. The study found that the aromatic grasses have greater environmental conservation values than finger millet on steep degraded land.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableTropical agroforestry has an enormous potential to sequester carbon while simultaneously producing agricultural yields and tree products. The amount of soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestered is influenced by the type of the agroforestry system established, the soil and climatic conditions, and management. In this regionalscale study, we utilized a chronosequence approach to investigate how SOC stocks changed when the original forests are converted to agriculture, and then subsequently to four different agroforestry systems (AFSs): home garden, coffee, coconut and mango. In total we established 224 plots in 56 plot clusters across 4 climate zones in southern India. Each plot cluster consisted of four plots: a natural forest reference, an agriculture reference and two of the same AFS types of two ages (30–60 years and > 60 years). The conversion of forest to agriculture resulted in a large loss the original SOC stock (50–61 %) in the top meter of soil depending on the climate zone. The establishment of home garden and coffee AFSs on agriculture land caused SOC stocks to rebound to near forest levels, while in mango and coconut AFSs the SOC stock increased only slightly above the agriculture SOC stock. The most important variable regulating SOC stocks and its changes was tree basal area, possibly indicative of organic matter inputs. Furthermore, climatic variables such as temperature and precipitation, and soil variables such as clay fraction and soil pH were likewise all important regulators of SOC and SOC stock changes. Lastly, we found a strong correlation between tree species diversity in home garden and coffee AFSs and SOC stocks, highlighting possibilities to increase carbon stocks by proper tree species assemblies.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableTwo contour hedgerow (Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala) systems with and without miniature trenches were evaluated as conservation measures in the shifting cultivated degraded Eastern Ghats Highlands of Odisha, India. Staggered planting of hedgerows at 0.5 9 0.5 m spacing in two parallel lines with miniature trenches (0.3 m width and 0.3 m depth) in between two lines were laid out across 5 and 10 % slopes. The treatment Gliricidia ? miniature trench (G?MT) reduced runoff by 23.3–32.5 %, soil loss by 49.5–52.7 %, loss of soil organic carbon (SOC), N, P, and K by 44.1–47.6, 61.5–62.2, 54.8–58.1, and 53.1–56.3 %, respectively, over no conservation treatment (control), whereas the same for the treatment Leucaena ? miniature trench (L?MT) was 18.6–18.9, 42.4–43.7, 30.9–40.2, 41.9–56.3, 47.3–47.9, and 38.5–47.8 %, respectively, over control. Within 0–20 cm soil profile, G?MT sequestered 1.62 Mg ha-1 year-1year-1 SOC, of which 0.93 Mg ha-1 was sequestered due to soil reclamation and 0.69 Mg ha-1year-1 was retained due to the barrier effect, whereas L?MT sequestered 1.21 Mg h.-1year-1 SOC. The trench treatments with Gliricidia and Leucaena hedgerows were 3.8–4.7 and 3.7–5.3 % more efficient to stock SOC within 40 cm soil profile than no trench treatment. The decrease of SOC stock by 40–102 kg ha-1year-1in the control plots from the initial level indicated the ongoing erosion process in unprotected lands. The findings will help to promote hedgerow based agroforestry for resource conservation and improved SOC sequestration in sloping lands.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableReducing run-off and soil loss are important determinants for maintaining productivity and sustainability on sloping agriculture lands. To control water induced soil erosion, a field study was conducted during 2010–2014 to assess the impact of hedge row intercropping on soil erosion, nutrient dynamics, soil moisture and yield of finger millet (Eleusine coracana L.) on 5 and 10% land slope in combination with conservation treatments. The treatment Gliricidia ? Trench planting (G ? TP) reduced run-off by 29%, soil loss by 45–48%, and loss of soil organic carbon (SOC), N, P and K by 42–47, 62–65, 54–58 and 51–56%, respectively over control. Similarly for Leucaena ? Trench planting (L ? TP), the values were 17–19, 27–40, 28–37, 42–50, 39–49, and 37–46%, respectively, over control. Reduced run-off in the G ? TP treatment increased soil moisture storage by 11–29%. Intensive pruning of Gliricidia plants for 5 years yielded greater fresh leaf biomass (12–17 Mg ha-1 year-1), whereas Leucaena yielded only 4–5 Mg ha-1 year-1. The SOC, N, P and K conservation efficiencies of G ? TP were 42–47, 62–64, 54–58 and 51–56% on 5 and 10% land slope, respectively. Gliricidia hedge row intercropping showed promise for improving the conservation potential of the system by maintaining high productivity. Results of this study will act as a technical reference for the adoption of the Gliricidia based hedge row technology for increasing intercrop productivity as well as conserving soil resources in the Eastern Ghats sloping agriculture lands.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableTwo contour hedgerow (Gliricidia sepium and Leucaena leucocephala) systems with and without miniature trenches were evaluated as conservation measures in the shifting cultivated degraded Eastern Ghats Highlands of Odisha, India. Staggered planting of hedgerows at 0.5 9 0.5 m spacing in two parallel lines with miniature trenches (0.3 m width and 0.3 m depth) in between two lines were laid out across 5 and 10 % slopes. The treatment Gliricidia + miniature trench (G+MT) reduced runoff by 23.3–32.5 %, soil loss by 49.5–52.7 %, loss of soil organic carbon (SOC), N, P, and K by 44.1–47.6, 61.5–62.2, 54.8–58.1, and 53.1–56.3 %, espectively, over no conservation treatment (control), whereas the same for the treatment Leucaena +miniature trench (L+MT) was 18.6–18.9, 42.4–43.7, 30.9–40.2, 41.9–56.3, 47.3–47.9, and 38.5–47.8 %, respectively, over control. Within 0–20 cm soil profile, G?MT sequestered 1.62 Mg ha-1 year-1 SOC, of which 0.93 Mg ha-1 year-1 was sequestered due to soil reclamation and 0.69 Mg ha-1 year-1 was retained due to the barrier effect, whereas L?MT sequestered 1.21 Mg ha-1 year-1 SOC. The trench treatments with Gliricidia and Leucaena hedgerows were 3.8–4.7 and 3.7–5.3 % more efficient to stock SOC within 40 cm soil profile than no trench treatment. The decrease of SOC stock by 40–102 kg ha-1 year-1 in the control plots from the initial level indicated the ongoing erosion process in unprotected lands. The findings will help to promote hedgerow based agroforestry for resource conservation and improved SOC sequestration in sloping lands.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableThe burgeoning population demands additional resources to meet the growing needs in terms of food, fodder, fiber, fuel, fruit and water. Each year an additional 0.25 billion metric tons of grain (21% higher) must be produced to feed the increased population (PBIO 100 Lectures Notes, 1999). Globally, 80% of agriculture is rainfed and contributes 60% to -1 world’s food basket. Current productivity of rainfed agriculture is low (<1 t ha ) and to be increased for sustainable agricultural productivity to achieve second green revaluation. Over 120 M ha land area has been declared degraded (Maji, 2007; NRAA, 2011) in India. Holistic development of the rain-fed areas is one of the prime concerns of the Government of India. About 60% of total arable land (142 M ha) in the country are rain-fed, characterized by fragile and marginal land with low productivity, low income, low employment and high incidence of poverty. Development of watershed/catchment is one of the most trusted and eco-friendly approaches to manage rainwater and other natural resources, which has paid rich dividends in the rain-fed areas and is capable of addressing many natural, social and environmental intricacies (Samra, 1998; Wani et al., 2002, 2003a, b; Rockstorm et al., 2007). Management of natural resources at the catchment/watershed scale produce multiple benefits interms of increasing food production, improving livelihoods, protecting environment, addressing gender and equity issues along with biodiversity concerns (Sharma, 2002; Wani et al., 2003a, b; Joshi et al., 2005; Ahluwalia, 2005; Rockstorm et al., 2007) and is also recommended as the best option to upgrade rain-fed agriculture to meet the growing food demand globally (Rockstormet al., 2007). Water and soil resources are finite, non-renewable over the human lifetime frame, and prone to degradation through misuse and management (Lal, 2000). Scarcity of water for agricultural and domestic purpose remains a major problem and has led to low crop productivity and environmental degradation. Decline in per capita agricultural production has seriously affected food security and livelihoods of people. There is a considerable potential to bridge the yield gap between the actual and the potential yield through adoption of improved resource management technologies (Singh et al., 2001). Several studies have highlighted that appropriate rainwater management and utilization results in enhanced agricultural productivity (Samra, 1997; Wani et al., 2003a, b; Joshi et al., 2005). The challenge before the Indian agriculture, therefore, is to transform rainfed farming into more PAGE - 1 IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF INTEGRATED WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT sustainable and productive systems through efficient use of natural resources through the integrated resource management following the concept of participatory integrated watershed management. Rainfed areas currently constitute 63 % of the net sown area in the Eastern Region of India and supporting 20% of livestock and 28% of human population of the country. The region has a predominance of tribal (54 tribal communities) constituting about 30 % of the total population of 37.9 M (Chauhan, 1998). It’s also observed that around 62.5% of the total geographical area of Eastern Region is degraded exclusively by water induced soil erosion which in conjunction with salt-affected and acid soils works out to be 73.9%. Data on soil -1 -1 loss tolerance limits indicate that the tolerance (T) value varies between 7.5 and 12.5 t ha yr across the region. Indiscriminate deforestation and practice of Jhum cultivation lead to accelerated erosion for which proper conservation measures are need to be adopted especially on very steep slopes. The Government of India (GOI) adopted watershed management as a strategy to address the sustainable agricultural productivity in the rain-fed areas for the last three decades. Further, GOI has adopted a watershed management as a national policy since 2003 (Joshi et al., 2004). The prominent national programmes implemented in the Eastern region are NWDPRA, IWDP, RVP/FPRs, WDPSCA, NAP and DPAP. With the launch of massive watershed development programmes in the country during 1990’s, all the previous programmes were converged to develop e different areas by adopting a participatory watershed management approach. The maximum area has been treated under IWDP (43.9 lakhs ha) followed by DPAP (25.9 lakh ha), NWDPRA(13.7 lakh ha) and other programmes (13.6 lakhs ha) since inception. Similarly, the maximum expenditure has been made under NAP (`708.88 crores) followed by NWDPRA (`547.11 crores) (Sharda et al., 2008 & 2010). A model watershed in the tribal dominated areas of Odisha was implemented by CSWCRTI, Research Centre, Sunabaeda, Koraput under the MMA, NWDPRA, sponsored by the MoA, GOI, New Delhi. Koraput district (110) is one among the top one-third districts (167) based on high Rainfed Areas Prioritization Index (RAPI) by the NRAA (2012). A comprehensive assessment of LPG watershed was taken up to assess the bio-physical and socioeconomic impacts of various interventions in the watershed. The overall goal of this case study is to get insights into watershed management programs as an implementer and to identify the key components for augmenting the progress and impact on tribes in the rainfed areas. l To assess the impact of watershed development activities on land degradation, rainwater availability and its productivity, crop productivity and livelihoods in the tribal dominated micro watershed. l To assess the socioeconomic impact of the watershed interventions. To identify the gaps/constraints for effective planning and implementation of activities in the watershed for the harnessing full potential of rainfed ecosystems.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableContinual, historical, and accurate information about the land use/land cover (LULC) changes of the earth’s surface is extremely important for sustainable management of natural resources. In this study, historical topographic sheets, IRS P6 LISS-III, and LANDSAT TM images were used to provide recent and historical LULC conditions of the EasternGhats Highlands of east India. The supervised classification results were further improved by employing image enhancement and visual interpretation. Ratio Vegetation Index with fuzzy-based possibilistic c-means classification approach has improved the classification accuracy of the shifting cultivated area. Post-classification comparisons of the classified images indicated that the major change consisted of barren land and forestland changing into agricultural land and scrubland. Between 1931 and 2008, forest cover was decreased from 52.7% to 29.6% of total area. There was an increase in the scrub area from 874 (10.4%) to 1269 km2 (15.2%), and agricultural land from 978 (11.7%) to 2864 km2 (34.2%) during the same period. The rate of deforestation was found to be 0.65 km2 per year for reserve forest and 24.50 km2 per year for mixed forest. The shifting cultivated area in the district was 308.7 km2 during 2004, and that has been reduced since then and now is stabilized to 186.4 km2 area. Among this 186.4 km2 area, nearly half is covered by abandoned shifting cultivation. The decadal rate of decrease of shifting cultivated area is 0.15% per year. The shifting cultivated areas were mainly distributed at elevations 580–810 and 810–907 m and slopes 20–30 and 30–40%. Southeast and south facing slopes were preferred for shifting cultivation. Based on the identified causes of the change in shifting cultivation, policy recommendations for their better management were made.Not Availabl

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JournalContinual, historical, and accurate information about the land use/land cover (LULC) changes of the earth’s surface is extremely important for sustainable management of natural resources. In this study, historical topographic sheets, IRS P6 LISS-III, and LANDSAT TM images were used to provide recent and historical LULC conditions of the EasternGhats Highlands of east India. The supervised classification results were further improved by employing image enhancement and visual interpretation. Ratio Vegetation Index with fuzzy-based possibilistic c-means classification approach has improved the classification accuracy of the shifting cultivated area. Post-classification comparisons of the classified images indicated that the major change consisted of barren land and forestland changing into agricultural land and scrubland. Between 1931 and 2008, forest cover was decreased from 52.7% to 29.6% of total area. There was an increase in the scrub area from 874 (10.4%) to 1269 km2 (15.2%), and agricultural land from 978 (11.7%) to 2864 km2 (34.2%) during the same period. The rate of deforestation was found to be 0.65 km2 per year for reserve forest and 24.50 km2 per year for mixed forest. The shifting cultivated area in the district was 308.7 km2 during 2004, and that has been reduced since then and now is stabilized to 186.4 km2 area. Among this 186.4 km2 area, nearly half is covered by abandoned shifting cultivation. The decadal rate of decrease of shifting cultivated area is 0.15% per year. The shifting cultivated areas were mainly distributed at elevations 580–810 and 810–907 m and slopes 20–30 and 30–40%. Southeast and south facing slopes were preferred for shifting cultivation. Based on the identified causes of the change in shifting cultivation, policy recommendations for their better management were made.Not Availabl

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Not AvailableSoil and water conservation along with crop productivity improvement is indispensable for sustainable development of rainfed areas. Integration of suitable fruit trees within the cropping system can reduce risk allied with rainfed farming. The system of raising multi-height plant species with agricultural crops known as multitier agroforestry system was assessed (2007–2010) for resource conservation and production potential in rainfed conditions of Eastern Ghats region in India. Thirty experimental plots, each of 18 9 12 m dimension with 2 % slope having different multitier agroforestry treatments were assessed for soil erosion, nutrient loss and crop yield. Results revealed that multitier plantation of drumstick (Moringa oleifera)withGliricidia sepium hedgerow and ginger (Zingiber officinale): pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) (8:2) intercropping enumerated minimum mean runoff (8.26 %) and soil loss (3.45 Mg ha-1) This treatment saved 74 % more soil organic carbon, 64 % more phosphorus and 66 % more potassium, respectively than broadcasted finger millet cultivation (traditional farmers’ practice). An increase of 24–27 % drumstick fruit yield was observed in Gliricidia hedgerow based multitier agroforestry systems over non-Gliricidia systems. The findings will contribute as a technical reference for the promotion of hedgerow based multitier agroforestry for resource conservation and fertility restoration of sloping lands.Not Availabl