Crop Production and Carbon Sequestration Potential of Grewia oppositifolia -Based Traditional Agroforestry Systems in Indian Himalayan Region

Naveen Tariyal, Arvind Bijalwan, Sumit Chaudhary, Bhupendra Singh, Chatar Singh Dhanai, Sumit Tewari, Munesh Kumar, Sandeep Kumar, Marina M. S. Cabral Pinto and Tarun Kumar Thakur
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Naveen Tariyal: College of Forestry, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri 249199, India
Arvind Bijalwan: College of Forestry, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri 249199, India
Sumit Chaudhary: College of Forestry, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri 249199, India
Bhupendra Singh: College of Forestry, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri 249199, India
Chatar Singh Dhanai: College of Forestry, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri 249199, India
Sumit Tewari: Forest Research Institute, Dehradun 248006, India
Munesh Kumar: Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal 249161, India
Sandeep Kumar: College of Forestry, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Uttarakhand University of Horticulture and Forestry, Ranichauri 249199, India
Marina M. S. Cabral Pinto: GeoBioTec Research Centre, Department of Geosciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
Tarun Kumar Thakur: Department of Environmental Science, Indira Gandhi National Tribal University, Amarkantak 484887, India

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 6, 1-15

Abstract: Bhimal ( Grewia oppositifolia ) is the most important agroforestry tree species used for fodder, fuel and fiber in the Himalayan region. In the present study, G. oppositifolia -based traditional agroforestry systems were selected for the estimation of carbon stock and the production potential of barnyard millet ( Echinochloa frumentacea ) and finger millet ( Eleusine coracana ), with two elevational ranges, i.e., 1000–1400 and 1400–1800 m amsl, in Garhwal Himalaya, India. The results of the investigation showed a decline in the growth and yield attributes of both the millet crops under the G. oppositifolia -based agroforestry system at both elevations as compared to their respective control sites (sole crops). Among the elevations, the total number of tillers per plant (2.70 and 2.48), the number of active tillers per plant (2.18 and 2.25), panicle length (17.63 cm and 6.95 cm), 1000-seed weight (5.49 g and 4.33 g), grain yield (10.77 q ha −1 and 11.35 q ha −1 ), straw yield (37.43 q ha −1 and 30.15 q ha −1 ), biological yield (48.21 q ha −1 and 41.51 q ha −1 ) and the harvest index (22.53% and 27.78%) were recorded as higher in the lower elevation in both E. frumentacea and E. coracana, respectively, while plant population per m 2 (18.64 and 25.26, respectively) was recorded as higher in the upper elevation. Plant height for E. frumentacea (180.40 cm) was also observed to be higher in the upper elevation, while for E. coracana (98.04 cm), it was recorded as higher in the lower elevation. Tree carbon stock was reported negatively with an increase in altitude. The maximum amount of sequestered carbon in the tree biomass for G. oppositifolia was 23.29 Mg ha −1 at the lower elevation and 18.09 Mg ha −1 at the upper elevation. Total carbon stock in the tree biomass was reported to be the highest (15.15 Mg ha −1 ) in the 10–20 cm diameter class, followed by 20–30 cm (6.99 Mg ha −1 ), >30 cm (2.75 Mg ha −1 ) and the lowest (2.32 Mg ha −1 ) in the <10 cm diameter class. The results show that the yield of E. frumentacea and E. coracana was not reduced so severely under the G. oppositifolia system; however, keeping in mind the other benefits of this multipurpose tree, i.e., carbon sequestration and socioecological relevance, farmers can get benefit from adopting these crops under G . oppositifolia -based agroforestry systems.

Keywords: millet; intercropping; elevation; crop productivity; biomass; carbon stock (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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