Waterlogged wasteland treatment through agro-forestry: A review

India covers 147.75 mha degraded area, whereas 6.41 mha area confined to waterlogging problem in Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala, Rajasthan and few other states. The transpiration principle of plants is used in bio-drainage treatment to reclaim such problematic areas sustainably. Evergreen broad leaved species recorded high transpiration rate and contribute highly in reclamation of waterlogged saline soils. Short rotation fast growing tree species like Salix, Eucalypt, Acacia, Albizia, Terminalia, Prosopis, Populuswere the suitable species for such areas. Agri-silviculture, agri-horti- silviculture, silvi-pasture, multipurpose woodlots, strip plantation and boundary plantations were widely used for reclamation of saline-waterlogged conditions of India. In agri-silviculture system, Eucalypt based agroforestry systems are widely used for reclamation of waterlogged areas as compared to other woody plant based systems. 0.84–0.86 m total drawdown of ground water in 3 years Eucalypt tree species. The vertical and horizontal root spreading of tree species is one important character for capturing and transpiration of excess water from waterlogged area. From the present investigation, longest root system was recorded from Prosopis cineraria (20-60 m) species

Forestry to Support Increased Agricultural Production: Focus on Employment Generation and Rural Development

India possesses several advantages due to its varied ecological range and agro-climates to cultivate several important and diverse commercial food commodities ranging from cereals, fruits and spices to medicinal plants. The country has abundance of human resource comprising skilled, educated, technical and scientific manpower on one hand and unskilled manpower on the other. Forests- and agriculture-based industries are a major source of employment in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors all over the country. This article has presented a brief overview of the potential of forest and agriculture in generating employment, providing livelihood and environmental services, sequestration of green house gases, carbon trading, rehabilitation of degraded lands, production of fuel wood, etc. There are clear linkages and synergies between agricultural production and sustainable forest management. If the sustainability of the agriculture and forests can be assured, food security and employment generation would go in long-term perpetuity.Community/Rural/Urban Development, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Prospects of biodrainage to mitigate problems of waterlogging and soil salinity in context of India - A review

Major parts of agricultural lands in arid and semi-arid regions of India are affected by soil salinity and waterlogging in canal command area and outside. Waterlogging is caused by a rising water table and poor drainage conditions.  Stress due to waterlogging and salinity are serious to plants in all stages from seed germination to active growth and maturity. Unmanaged affected agricultural lands turn into low productive marshlands in the long run. Physical provision of surface or sub-surface drainage structures can rescue in such a situation. Yet, high skill and investment are required in the installation and maintenance of such structures. Alternatively, biodrainage method has been evolved as an effective method recently world over. In biodrainage, plants are raised over a larger area, which can transpire and remove an enormous amount of water from the soil. Plants having adequate adaptive traits and tolerance mechanisms are desirable to mitigate waterlogging and salinity. Biodrainage is suitable in rainfed and irrigated conditions. Planting of right plant species in optimum population and geometry decides the efficiency of biodrainage. Further, combining biodrainage with the conventional drainage can improve land and water productivity. Eucalyptus is the most suitable tree species for biodrainage as it has well performed in versatile environments. It possesses appreciable tolerance to salinity, sodicity and waterlogged conditions of the soil.  Fast-growing with a straight trunk, deep rooting ability, low shading effect and high transpiration capacity are promising characteristics of this tree.  Prominent woody species like Acacia nilotica, Dalbergia sissoo, Hardwickia binata can also be grown for high profit

Antidepressant and skeletal muscle relaxant effects of the aqueous extract of the Prosopis cineraria

O extrato aquoso de folhas de Prosopis cineraria (AEPC) é utilizado, tradicionalmente, para o tratamento de várias disfunções do SNC. O propósito desse estudo foi avaliar o extrato quanto às atividades antidepressiva e relaxante muscular esquelética. O efeito antidepressivo do extrato foi avaliado usando o teste do nado forçado (FST). Registraram-se os períodos de imobilidade dos camundongos controle e dos tratados. O efeito antidepressivo do composto testado foi comparado com a imipramina ((15 mg/kg. p.o). A propriedade relaxante muscular foi estudada usando o cilindro giratório e o tempo total de queda para os grupos padrão e controle foram registrados. A triagem fitoquímica revelou a presença de saponinas, flavonoides, alcaloides, glicosídeos, taninos e compostos fenólicos. O extrato da folha em doses de 200 mg/kg diminui significativamente a duração do tempo de imobilidade no FST. A eficácia do extrato testado foi comparável àquela da imipramina. Nossos resultados sugeriram que o extrato aquoso das folhas da Prosopis cineraria exerce efeito semelhante ao antidepressivo.The aqueous leaves extract of Prosopis cineraria (AEPC) is used traditionally for the treatment of various CNS disorder. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extract for antidepressant and skeletal muscle relaxant activity. The antidepressant effect of the extract was evaluated using Forced swim test (FST). The immobility periods of control and treated mice were recorded. The antidepressant-like effect of tested compound was compared to that of imipramine (15 mg/kg. p.o). Muscle relaxant property was studied using rotarod apparatus and total fall off time for standard and control group was recorded. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, glycosides, tannins and phenolic compounds. The leaf extract at doses of 200 mg/kg significantly decreased the duration of immobility time in FST. The efficacy of tested extract was found to be comparable to that of imipramine. Our results suggested that the aqueous extract of Prosopis cineraria leaves exerts antidepressant-like effect

Organic Matter Dynamics in Soils Regenerating from Degraded Abandoned Rubber Plantation in Orogun Area of the Rainforest Zone of Southern Nigeria

The area of secondary forest (SF) regenerating from degraded abandoned rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantation is increasing in the rainforest zone of south southern Nigeria; however, the build-up of soil organic matter following abandonment is not well understood. This study examined the build-up of soil organic matter in a mature forest and three secondary forest fields aged 1, 5 and 10 years of age following the abandonment of degraded rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) plantation in Orogun in a part of the rainforest zone of south southern Nigeria. This is in order to ascertain the rate of build-up of organic matter in the soil during the course of forest regeneration from degraded abandoned rubber plantation (Hevea brasiliensis). There was a progressive increase in organic matter content of the soil with increasing age of the secondary forest. Organic matter increase was more rapid in the topsoil (0-10cm) than the subsoil (10-30cm): the level of organic matter in the topsoil reached 92.94% of the level of organic matter in the mature forest topsoil by the tenth year and 84.62% of the level of organic matter in the mature forest subsoil by the tenth year. The concentration of organic matter in the topsoil is higher than the subsoil. Reviews of the reported trends in soil organic matter build up during forest establishment after agricultural use show no common trend. This study showed a great variation in soil organic matter build up even within the same locality.Keywords: Organic matter, Rubber plantation, Degraded, Orogun, South Southern Nigeria, Secondary forest

Total Nitrogen and Available Phosphorus Dynamics in Soils Regenerating from Degraded Abandoned Rubber Plantation in Orogun Area of the Rainforest Zone of Southern Nigeria

Total nitrogen and available phosphorus concentration of soils in three secondary forest fields aged 1, 5 and 10 years of age regenerating from degraded abandoned rubber plantation (Hevea brasiliensis) and a mature forest in the west African Rainforest belt in southern Nigeria were investigated in order to determine the trend of change in the properties of soil in secondary forest during the course of forest restoration from degraded deserted rubber plantation (Hevea brasiliensis). There was a continuous increase in the concentration of total nitrogen in the soil (both topsoil and subsoil). The concentrations of total nitrogen and available phosphorus in the topsoil are higher than the subsoil. The concentration of available phosphorus during the first five years of secondary forest regeneration increased, after which their values declined by the tenth year in both the topsoil and the subsoil. Should this trend of decline in the concentration of phosphorus continue phosphorus may become a limiting factor to plant growth the older the secondary forests become.Keywords: Total nitrogen, Available phosphorus, Rubber plantation, Degraded, Orogun, Southern Nigeria

Landscape Dynamics in Relation to Slope and Elevation in Garo Hills of Meghalaya, India using Geospatial Technology

Garo hills region of northeast India is severely affected by sheet erosion mainly because of the age old tradition of shifting cultivation in the fragile hill slopes aided by other anthropogenic activities Slope and elevation are important parameters that provide varieties of topographical feature for ecological patches Vegetation is one of the major factors controlling soil erosion while most soil erosion occurrences are due to the removal of vegetation and topsoil Change matrix result indicates dynamic character of landscape The present study is conducted to examine the landscape dynamics to relate vegetation cover with slope and elevation in three Garo hills districts of Meghalaya using temporal remote sensing data of 2001 and 2010 It is revealed that there is decrease in open forest during the study period while areas under dense forest and non-forest increased This increased forest areas are confined in the high slopes which are inaccessibl

Leguminosas leñosas de rápido crecimiento como cultivos energéticos en el Suroeste de la Península Ibérica

Este estudio pretende evaluar las posibilidades del empleo de leguminosas leñosas de rápido crecimiento como cultivos destinados a la producción de biomasa como fuente de energía. El ensayo consistió en el cultivo de 14 especies / procedencias de los géneros Leucaena (L. leucocephala, L. salvadorensis, L. diversifolia, L. collinsi), Prosopis (P. alba y P. julyflora), Sesbania (S. sesban), Chamaecytisus (C. proliferus var palmensis) y Retama (R. monosperma). Las plantas fueron producidas a partir de semillas e inoculadas con bacterias del género Rhizobium. Tras una fase de vivero fueron transplantadas en dos parcelas de ensayo sometidas a dos regímenes de riego. Durante el cultivo se monitorizó el crecimiento (altura, diámetro y peso). La producción anual de biomasa se evaluó durante 3 años consecutivos bajo tres sistemas de aprovechamiento: cortas anuales o a los 2, y 3 años. Todas las especies y variedades salvo Leucaena salvadorensis y Sesbania sesban mostraron una buena adaptación edafo-climática a las características de la zona de estudio (Huelva). La variación en las tasas de crecimiento entre especies fue muy grande desde las 0.3 toneladas de materia seca leñosa por hectárea y año (Retama monosperma, Prosopis julyflora) hasta las 25-35 t/ha y año (Luecaena leucocephala). Todas las especies soportaron bien las cortas anuales menos Chamaecytisus proliferus que se mostró muy sensible a la corta del primer año sobretodo en la parcela más regada._____________________________________We cultivate 14 species / provenances of genera Leucaena (L. leucocephala, L. salvadorensis, L. diversifolia, L. collinsi), Prosopis (P. alba and P. julyflora), Sesbania (S. sesban), Chamaecytisus (C. proliferus var palmensis) and Retama (R. monosperma). The plants were produced from seeds and inoculated with specific bacteria of the genus Rhizobium. After a nursery phase, seedling were planted in two experimental plots subjected to two water regimes. Annual biomass production was evaluated under three management systems: annual biannual and three annual clear-cutting All the species and varieties except Leucaena salvadorensis and Sesbania sesban showed a good edafo-climatic adaptation to the characteristics of the study area (Huelva). Variation in growth rates among species was high, from the 0.3 t of woody dry matter per hectare and year (Retama monosperma, Prosopis juliflora) until 25-35 t ha-1 year-1 (Leucaena leucocephala). All the species supported annual cutting with a vigorous re-sprouts except Chamaecytisus proliferus that was very susceptible especially in the most irrigated plots