Severe decline in large farmland trees in India over the past decade

Martin Brandt (), Dimitri Gominski (), Florian Reiner (), Ankit Kariryaa, Venkanna Babu Guthula, Philippe Ciais, Xiaoye Tong, Wenmin Zhang, Dhanapal Govindarajulu, Daniel Ortiz-Gonzalo and Rasmus Fensholt
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Martin Brandt: University of Copenhagen
Dimitri Gominski: University of Copenhagen
Florian Reiner: University of Copenhagen
Ankit Kariryaa: University of Copenhagen
Venkanna Babu Guthula: University of Copenhagen
Philippe Ciais: CEA/CNRS/UVSQ/Université Paris Saclay
Xiaoye Tong: University of Copenhagen
Wenmin Zhang: University of Copenhagen
Dhanapal Govindarajulu: University of Manchester
Daniel Ortiz-Gonzalo: University of Copenhagen
Rasmus Fensholt: University of Copenhagen

Nature Sustainability, 2024, vol. 7, issue 7, 860-868

Abstract: Abstract Agroforestry practices that include the integration of multifunctional trees within agricultural lands can generate multiple socioecological benefits, in addition to being a natural climate solution due to the associated carbon sequestration potential. Such agroforestry trees represent a vital part of India’s landscapes. However, despite their importance, a current lack of robust monitoring mechanisms has contributed to an insufficient grasp of their distribution in relation to management practices, as well as their vulnerability to climate change and diseases. Here we map 0.6 billion farmland trees, excluding block plantations, in India and track them over the past decade. We show that around 11 ± 2% of the large trees (about 96 m2 crown size) mapped in 2010/2011 had disappeared by 2018. Moreover, during the period 2018–2022, more than 5 million large farmland trees (about 67 m2 crown size) have vanished, due partly to altered cultivation practices, where trees within fields are perceived as detrimental to crop yields. These observations are particularly unsettling given the current emphasis on agroforestry as a pivotal natural climate solution, playing a crucial role in both climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies, in addition to being important for supporting agricultural livelihoods and improving biodiversity.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41893-024-01356-0

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