Carbon Sequestration during Restoration of Degraded Hills by Rainwater Harvesting and Afforestation in Rajasthan, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36808/if/2017/v143i3/113624Keywords:
Carbon Storage, Dry Humid Region, Plant Habit, Sequestration Rate.Abstract
Carbon storage in both soils and vegetations was assessed after six years of restoration work in degraded hills involving rainwater harvesting (RWH), afforestation and regeneration. There were seventy-five 700 m2 plots laid in <10%, 10-20% and >20% slopes of a degraded hills with different RWH treatments like Contour trench (CT), Gradonie (GD), Box trench (BT), V-ditch (VD) and a control without RWH. Conducing environmental conditions and soil resource availability under RWH influenced carbon sequestration in both plants and soils. After 65 months of restoration highest amount of carbon accumulated in trees, shrubs and bamboo was in <10% slope, herbaceous vegetation in 10-20% slope and soils in >20% slope. Effects of RWH was indicated by enhanced carbon by 20.8-46.0% in tree, 73.3-96.4% in shrubs, 75.0-109.2% in bamboo, 15.9-70.5% in herbaceous vegetation and 10.1-18.7% in soil compared with control. Amount of carbon sequestered during restoration in plants and soils was 4.18 and 29.90 tons (t) ha in >20% slope to 8.81 and 21.1 t ha-1 in <10% slope, respectively. Effects of RWH enhanced standing biomass carbon by 50.6% in GD to 72.3% in VD, and soil carbon by 13.9% in GD to 23.2% in CT plots over control. Rate carbon sequestration in standing biomass and soils were highest in <10% and >20% slope, respectively. Lowest rate was in control for both plants and soils. The rate was highest in VD plots (1.28 t ha-1 y-1 ) for standing carbon and CT plots (5.24 t ha-1 y-1 ) for soil carbon. Conservation of soil and water through RWH and afforestation enhanced per cent soil and SOC and thus carbon stock positively and at higher rate. Thus restoration of degraded hills applying RWH and afforestation appeared beneficial in sequestering carbon and can be adopted under mitigation option of climate change.References
Afzal M. and Akhtar A.M. (2013). Factors affecting carbon sequestration in trees. J. Agric. Res., 51(1): 61-69.
Alexandrovskiy A. (2007). Rates of soil-forming processes in three main models of pedogenesis. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Geológicas, 24(2): 283-292.
Batjes N.H. (1996). Total carbon and nitrogen in the soils of the world. Eur. J. Soil Sci., 47: 151–163.
Brown S. (1997). Estimating biomass and biomass change of tropical forests: a primer. FAO Forestry Paper 134, Rome, Italy.
Bruce J.P., Frome M., Haites E., Joanne H., Lal R. and Faustian K. (1999). Carbon sequestration in soils. J. Soil Water Cons., 54: 382-389.
Cairns M.A., Brown S., Helmer E.H. and Baumgardner G.A. (1997). Root biomass allocation in the world's upland forests. Oecologia, 111: 111.
Cao K.-F., Yang S.-J., Zhang Y.-J. and Brodribb T.J. (2012). The maximum height of grasses is determined by roots. Ecology Letter, (2012) DOI: 20121/j.1461-0248.2012.01783.x
Champion H.G. and Seth S.K. (1968). A revised survey of the forest types of India. The Manager of Publications, New Delhi, India. p 470.
De Deyn G.B., Quirk H., Yi Z., Oakley S., Ostle N. and Bardgett R.D. (2009). Vegetation composition promotes carbon and nitrogen storage in model grassland communities of contrasting soil fertility. J. Ecol., 97: 864-875.
Douglass D.C. and Bockheim J.G. (2006). Soil-forming rates and processes on Quaternary moraines near Lago Buenos Aires, Argentina. Quaternary Res., 65: 293-307.
English N.B., Weltzin J.F., Fravolini A., Thomas L. and Williams D.G. (2005). The influence of soil texture and vegetation on soil moisture under rainout shelters in a semi-desert grassland. J. Arid Environ., 63: 324-343.
Farage P., Ardö J., Olsson L., Rienzi E., Ball A. and Pretty J. (2007). The potential for soil carbon sequestration in three tropical dryland farming systems of Africa and Latin America: A modelling approach. Soil & Tillage Res., 94: 457-472.
Farage P., Pretty J. and Ball A. (2003). Biophysical aspects of carbon sequestration in dry lands. University of Essex, London, U.K.
Fornara D.A. and Tilman D. (2009). Ecological mechanisms associated with the positive diversity–productivity relationship in an N-limited grassland. Ecology, 90: 408-418.
Fu X., Wang J., Wang H. and Zhao M. (2015). Response of the fine root production, phenology, and turnover rate of six shrub species from a subtropical forest to a soil moisture gradient and shading. Plant and Soil, DOI: 10.1007/s11104-015-2686-z.
Grainger S., Dagneaux E., Meunier F. and Paquot M. (2009). Supra note 25, at 363; UNEP, UNCCD, and UNDD, Climate change in the African dry lands: options and opportunities for adaptation and mitigation, 38p.
Herrman S.M. and Hutchinson C.F. (2005). The changing context of desertification debate. J. Arid Environment, 63(3): 538-555.
Howden S.M., Soussana J.-F., Tubiello F.N., Chhetri N., Dunlop N. and Meike H. (2007). Adapting agriculture to climate change. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 104: 19691-19696.
IPCC (2014). Fifth Assessment Report, Mitigation. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Technical Summary, at 12 (2014).
Jackson M.L. (1973). Soil chemical analysis, Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd, New Delhi, India. p 497.
Jackson P.C., Meinzer F.C., Tamante M.B., Goldstein G., Franco A., Rundel P.W., Caldas L., Igler E. and Causin F. (1999). Partitioning of soil water among tree species in a Brazilian Cerrado ecosystem. Tree Physiology, 19: 717—724
Kitajima K., Anderson K.E. and Allen M.F. (2010). Effect of soil temperature and soil water content on fine root turnover in a California mixed conifer ecosystem. J. Geophysics Res., G04032.
Kleinhenz V. (1998). Water management and mineral nutrition of bamboo. In: D. J. Midmore (ed.): Bamboo for Shoots and Timber Proceedings of a Workshop held at Hamilton, Brisbane on October 24-25, 1997.
Knapp K., Fay P.A., Blair J.M., Collins S.L., Smith M.D., Carlisle J.D., Harper C.W., Danner B.T., Lett M.S. and McCarron J.K. (2002). Rainfall variability, carbon cycling, and plant species diversity in a mesic grassland. Science, 298: 2202–2205.
Kumar S., Datta R., Sinha S., Kojima T., Katoh S. and Mohan M. (2001). Carbon stock, afforestation and acidic deposition: An analysis of interrelation with reference to arid areas. Water Air and Soil Pollution, 130: 1127-1132.
Lal R. (2001). Potential of desertification control to sequester carbon and mitigate greenhouse effect. Climatic Change, 51: 35-72.
Ludwig J.A., Wilcox B.P., Breshears D.D., Tongway D.J. and Imeson A.C. (2005). Vegetation patches and runoff-erosion as interacting ecohydrological processes in semiarid landscapes. Ecology, 86: 288-297.
Mahdavi Kh., Choupanian A., Gheytouri M. and Mahdavi M. (2012). Effect of physiographic factors on Soil Carbon Sequestration in Kermanshah (Iran). Int. J. Forest, Soil and Erosion, 2(4): 159-162. n)
McIntyre D.S. and Loveday J. (1974). Bulk density. In: Loveday, J. (ed) Methods of Analysis for Irrigated Soils. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux Technical Commmunication, No 54, Farnham Royal, England.
Mohammad A.G. (2011). The impact of land reclamation on natural vegetation. Heron University Res. J., 5: 77-91.
Nowak D. and Crane D.E. (2001). Carbon Storage and Sequestration by Urban Trees in the USA. USDA Forest Service. Syracuse. 2001.
Phillips J.D., Turkington A.V. and Marion D.A. (2008). Weathering and vegetation effects in early stages of soil formation. Catena, 72: 21-28.
Rastetter E.B., Kwiatkowski B.L., le-Dizes S. and Hobbie J.E. (2004). The role of down-slope water and nutrient fluxes in the response of Arctic hill slopes to climate change. Biogeochemistry, 69: 37-62.
Roxburgh S.H., Wood S.W., Mackey B.G., Woldendorp G. and Gibbons P. (2006). Assessing the carbon sequestration potential of managed forests: a case study from temperate Australia. J. Applied Ecol., 43: 1149-1159.
Sehgal J.L. (1990). Soil resource mapping of India and its applications for land use planning. Nat Bureau of Soil Sur Pub No. 25, pp 7-9
Shrestha R.K. and Lal R. (2006). Ecosystem carbon budgeting and soil carbon sequestration in reclaimed mine soil. Environment International, 32: 781-796.
Singh G. (2012). Enhancing growth and biomass production of plantation and associated vegetation through rainwater harvesting in degraded hills in southern Rajasthan. New Forests, 43: 349-364.
Singh G., Mishra D., Singh K. and Parmar R. (2013a). Effects of rainwater harvesting on plant growth, soil water dynamics and herbaceous biomass during rehabilitation of degraded hills in Rajasthan, India. Forest Ecology and Management, 310: 612-622.
Singh G., Rani A., Bala N., Upadhyaya S., Baloch S.R. and Limba N.K. (2010). Resource availability through rainwater harvesting influenced vegetation diversity and herbage yield in southern Aravalli hills of India. Frontiers of Agric. China, 4(2): 145-158.
Singh G., Rathod T.R., Komara S.S. and Limba N.K. (2013b). Rainwater harvest influences habitat heterogeneity, nutrient build up and herbage biomass production in Aravalli hills Rajasthan, India. Trop Ecol., 54: 73-88.
Singh, G., Singh B. and Rathod T.R. (2004). Impact of soil water availability on carbon sequestration in tree biomass and soil in arid region of India. Indian Forester, 130(11): 1319-1329.
Skinner R.H., Sanderson M.A., Tracy B.F. and Dell C.J. (2006). Above- and belowground productivity and soil carbon dynamics of pasture mixtures. Agron. J., 98: 320-326
UNEP (2009). The role of ecosystem management in climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Issues Paper prepared for the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, June 2009. [http://www.preventionweb.net/files/9685_UNE Pissuespaperonecosysmgmt CCADRR.pdf. Accessed on 8th October 2015].
Venkateswarlu J. (2009). Ecological farming in natural resource management Lecture notes for Summer School, CRIDA, Hyderabad, pp 299-310
Walkley A. And Black I.A. (1934). An examination of the Degtiareff method for determining soil organic matter and proposed modification of the chromic acid titration method. Soil Sci., 63:29-38.
Wohlfahrt G., Anderson-Dunn M., Bahn M., Balzarolo M. (2008). Biotic, abiotic and management controls on the net ecosystem CO2 exchange of European mountain grasslands. Ecosystems, 11: 1338-1351.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Unless otherwise stated, copyright or similar rights in all materials presented on the site, including graphical images, are owned by Indian Forester.
