Description
Himalayan Mountains are home to unique agroecosystems harboring unique inter- and intra-species diversity in uncultivated and cultivated lands. The uncultivated lands are largely the rangelands which are ecologically more stable ecosystems than the cultivated lands which are ecologically prone areas. Rangelands, cultivated areas, and livestock in mountain agriculture are in organic linkages with each other, woven into a complex unitary whole, functionally oriented to produce foods and other life-supporting products – such as feed, fiber, fuel, fertilizers, etc. – and provide vital ecological functions. Rangelands in fragile Himalayan mountains serve as a key component of agriculture and the biodiversity conserved in this component nourishes the cultivated land through a constant flow of nutrients. Flourishing with the diversity of vegetation, the rangelands impart ecological stability to the whole food production system. This core component also enhances resilience, complexity, progressive succession, ecosystem efficiency, productivity and eventually sustainability of an agroecosystem. An intensive study of the rangeland-based agroecosystems in the ICH Region attempts to evolve an ecologically sound strategy for the development of sustainable agriculture in fragile mountains by operationalizing sustainability principles, viz, living soil, biodiversity, and cyclic nutrient flows.
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Rangeland-Centered Agroecosystems in Indian Central Himalayas: Operationalizing Ecological Sustainability in Mountain Agriculture
Himalayan Mountains are home to unique agroecosystems harboring unique inter- and intra-species diversity in uncultivated and cultivated lands. The uncultivated lands are largely the rangelands which are ecologically more stable ecosystems than the cultivated lands which are ecologically prone areas. Rangelands, cultivated areas, and livestock in mountain agriculture are in organic linkages with each other, woven into a complex unitary whole, functionally oriented to produce foods and other life-supporting products – such as feed, fiber, fuel, fertilizers, etc. – and provide vital ecological functions. Rangelands in fragile Himalayan mountains serve as a key component of agriculture and the biodiversity conserved in this component nourishes the cultivated land through a constant flow of nutrients. Flourishing with the diversity of vegetation, the rangelands impart ecological stability to the whole food production system. This core component also enhances resilience, complexity, progressive succession, ecosystem efficiency, productivity and eventually sustainability of an agroecosystem. An intensive study of the rangeland-based agroecosystems in the ICH Region attempts to evolve an ecologically sound strategy for the development of sustainable agriculture in fragile mountains by operationalizing sustainability principles, viz, living soil, biodiversity, and cyclic nutrient flows.
