Ecological restoration of degraded lands with alternate land use systems improves soil functionality in semiarid tropical India

Bibliographic Data

ID21647758
AuthorsHansa Baradwal (Institute of Agriculture Science Bundelkhand University Jhansi India), Avijit Ghosh (0009-0000-8044-7686, Grassland and Silvopasture Management Division ICAR ‐ Indian Grassland and Fodder Researcch Institute Jhansi India, corresponding author), Awanish Kumar (0000-0001-5377-3312, Institute of Agriculture Science Bundelkhand University Jhansi India), Prashant Singh (0000-0002-6536-8688, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute), Prashant Deo Singh (Grassland and Silvopasture Management Division ICAR ‐ Indian Grassland and Fodder Researcch Institute Jhansi India), Manjanagouda S Sannagoudar (0000-0001-6896-535X, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute), Safik Ahamad (Grassland and Silvopasture Management Division ICAR ‐ Indian Grassland and Fodder Researcch Institute Jhansi India), Pramod Jha (0009-0008-6198-3705, Division of Soil Chemistry and Fertility ICAR ‐ Indian Institute of Soil Science Bhopal India), Amit Kumar Singh (0000-0002-1975-561X, Grassland and Silvopasture Management Division ICAR ‐ Indian Grassland and Fodder Researcch Institute Jhansi India), Ranjan Bhattacharyya (0000-0001-6200-2181, Centre for Environment Science and Climate Resilient Agriculture ICAR ‐ Indian Agricultural Research Institute New Delhi India), Madhab Chandra Manna (Department of Soil Science Dr Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University Samastipur India), Sunil Kumar (0000-0002-8442-2272, Grassland and Silvopasture Management Division ICAR ‐ Indian Grassland and Fodder Researcch Institute Jhansi India), Ram Kumar (0000-0003-0045-2595, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute), Ram Vinod Kumar (Grassland and Silvopasture Management Division ICAR ‐ Indian Grassland and Fodder Researcch Institute Jhansi India)
Year2022
Volume33
Issue7
Pages1076-1087
Publication date2022-04-30
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLand Degradation and Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1085-3278 • E-ISSN: 1099-145X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ldr.4225
OpenAlexW4211119118
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited46

To test the applicability of alternate land use systems for improving soil functionality in restored ecologies, soils were sampled from 0–15, 15–30 and 30–45 cm deep layers of Leucaena leucocephala (LL), Hardwickia binata (HB), Emblica officinalis (EO), Azadiracta indic a (AI)‐based silviculture systems; Acacia nilotica ‐based silvipasture systems (AN); and natural grassland (NG). These were compared with samples from fallow land (F). They were evaluated for their carbon management index (CMI), nutrient supply capacity (NSC), soil functionality (SF), ecorestoration efficiency (ERE) and 21‐day cumulative microbial respiration (CO 2 ‐21) to assess their applicability in semiarid India. Soil functionality and functional diversity as impacted by restoration have remained largely overlooked. The LL had ~12, 7 and 11% higher CMI than fallow in sampled soil layers. ERE of LL was ~ 55, 65 and 79% higher than fallow land in sampled soil layers, respectively. However, ERE in surface layer was poorer than subsequent soil layers for all systems. The LL, HB and AN improved NSC and SF by: a) ~ 2.5‐, 2.2‐ and 1.6‐times; and b) 9.3‐, 5.3‐ and 5.1‐times over fallow land in the surface soil layer. A similar trend was observed for SF in lower layers. However, the topsoil layer had >16% mean SF values than subsequent layers. LL, HB and AN systems had ~4.2‐, 2.3‐ and 1.9‐times higher CO 2 ‐21 than fallow land in the top layer. CO 2 ‐21 was positively correlated with NSC and SF but could not predict ERE well. Hence, legume tree‐based restoration tactics might be useful for improving land restoration and soil functionality in semiarid regions

Acacia · Agroforestry · Agronomy · Biology · Leucaena leucocephala · Soil carbon · Soil horizon · Soil water · Topsoil · Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems · Environmental Science · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics · Soil erosion and sediment transport · Ecology · Soil Science

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