Factors associated with agrobiodiversity conservation: A case study on conservation of rice varieties in Barak valley, Assam, India

Agrobiodiversity contributes to food security, increase productivity, economic returns and provides social, cultural and ecological functions. The present study aims to investigate the factors associated with agrobiodiversity conservation, with respect to the rice varieties in the Barak valley of Assam, India. Barak valley has high ecological and genetic diversity, and is one of the important regions of NE India in terms of agricultural productivity. More than 80% of the people of the Valley depend upon agricultural activities for their livelihood. Fieldwork included semi-structured interviews, visit to crop field (inventory) and survey to households to register seed exchange network, socio-economic characteristics and other factors influencing agrobiodiversity conservation. We used correlation analysis to know the association of various factors. Thirty six rice varieties were found to be traditionally conserved. Indegee refers to the number informants inform someone’s name when asked about their shareholders. For example, one informant name was informed by five people when asked to list the name of seed givers or receivers, then the informant would have an indegree of five. It was found that Farmers who had higher indegree conserved more traditional varieties than those farmers who had less indegree. It can be hypothesized that conservation of traditional varieties is related with various co-relating factors. Our findings will surely contribute to the conservation of genetic resources. Establishment of seed bank and application of vermicompost technique are suggested to check genetic erosion and fulfill the inadequacy of organic fertilizers

Climate Smart Agriculture, need for 21st century to achieve socioeconomic and climate resilience agriculture in India: A geospatial perspective

Climate change is now widely recognized as the major environmental threatoccurring mainly due to increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and causing theextinction of biodiversity and enhances disruptions to ecosystems. Climate change risks arefound to be very significant and would have a profound impact on the livelihoods of millionsof poor people in India. In the present study, we have analyzed datasets of agricultureGreenhouse gases (GHGs) emission (1990-2016), poverty, anthropogenic biomes, agriculturecrop production scenario (2008-2017), seasonal soil moisture status present (2006-2015) anddeficit (compared with 20 years’ time periods), present (1970-2000) annual mean, future(2050) precipitation and temperature scenario of India and investigated the spatial pattern andrelationship incorporating in remote sensing and GIS for the better comprehension of theimpact of climate changes on the socio-economic dimension of the people. The total GHGsemissions (CO2 equivalent) from agriculture in India were showing the increasing trend(approximately 1% annually) whereas the increasing trend has decreased notably in the lastfive years. The states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Punjab, and Tamil Naduand Andhra Pradesh of India were found producing higher GHGs emissions from agriculture.The present soil moisture and the deficit during the Kharif, Rabi, and Zaid seasonsvary geographically whereas soil moisture deficit during the Kharif season was found verysignificant over most of the districts of Ganga and Brahmaputra basin. The present meanannual temperature and precipitation patterns were found very significant in arid and semiaridregions which are known as the farmer’s suicide hotspot and are predicted to threatenmore in the future (2050). The evaluation highlights the need for synergic approaches such asclimate-smart agriculture (CSA) to address the impact of climate change in food productionand farmers’ livelihood. Such an investigation gives a solid understanding of a paradigm shiftin the adaptation of CSA an approach in prevailing new climate change reality at country orregional levels for achieving socio-economic and climate resilience agriculture in India

Conserving wildlife wealth of Patharia Hills Reserve Forest, Assam, India: A critical analysis

Wildlife plays an important role in maintaining the balance of various natural processes of the earth. It contributes to food security, economical growth, pollination, seed dispersal for forest regeneration. The present study was carried out at Patharia Hills Reserve Forest (RF) of southern Assam (India) with the aim to study the wildlife distribution, species trend over time and various threats to them. Semi-structure interview and secondary literature were used during the study; 83 species of mammals were found to inhabit RF. Unfortunately, the wildlife of the RF are facing numerous threats, largely due to clearing of forest, encroachment, collection of timber and non-timber forest products, habitat loss and fragmentation. People are of the opinion that the RF is their common property which they can exploit as their wish. The study revealed the wildlife distribution and the various threats, which is the basic challenge for the conservation. Multi-action approaches for the benefit of villagers as well as wildlife are suggested. Elevating the status of the RF may be a vital solution to protect the RF in a better way

Conservation status of some endangered mammals in Barak Valley, Northeast India

From the ancient time, the Northeast part of India is rich in biodiversity because of its diverse topographic, climatic features. Different varieties of mammalian, avian, and herpetofauna are endemic to this region. Unfortunately, life of this diverse flora and fauna is in jeopardy due to serious anthropogenic pressure. Once a large number of globally important species sustained in the Barak Valley. However, with the increasing population and subsequent demand on natural resources and developing activities, many of the species are no more found in the valley. If the conservation action is not initiated, the remaining species will also vanish with time. This article highlights the distribution and conservation problems of four endangered species in the Barak Valley of Assam, India and recommended conservation tactics

GIS-based assessment of land-agroforestry potentiality of Jharkhand State, India

Scaling-up agroforestry areas in various forms is a scientific path towards achieving various sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially improving livelihood, reducing poverty, conserving environment and biodiversity, and transforming climate change. In this study, the effort was made to investigate the land potentiality for agroforestry at the district level in Jharkhand State, India by applying geographic information system (GIS) modeling technology using climate (temperature and precipitation), topography (slope and elevation), ecology (percent tree cover and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI)), and social economics (poverty rate and tribal dominance) factors. The results revealed that six districts of Jharkhand State had agroforestry potential greater than 60.00%. The highest agroforestry suitability was found in Simdega District (78.20%), followed by Pakur (76.25%), West Singhbhum (72.70%), Dumka (68.84%), Sahibganj (64.63%), and Godda (63.43%) districts. Additionally, we identified 513 out of 32,620 villages of Jharkhand State potentially suitable (agroforestry suitability ≥80.00%) for agroforestry with the objective of life improvement among marginalized society. Under the outside forest area, 8.58% of the total geographical land of Jharkhand State was wasteland, much of which was found suitable for agroforestry practices. The agroforestry setups in those wastelands can absorb 637 ​t carbon annually in long run and can provide direct economic benefits to the locals besides additional income for carbon emission reduction. This study concluded that Jharkhand State has plenty of high potential land for agroforestry, and adoption of agroforestry at the village level must be given high priority. This study could guide the nodal authorities to prepare appropriate strategies for scaling the tree cover in agroforestry systems in village-level landscape planning which needs policy attention and investment for achieving 9 out of the 17 SDGs