Track 1-1-1: Global Database on Availability, Productivity and Composition of Grasslands, Forests and Protected Areas
Description
One of the pressures of a burgeoning population is need to increase agricultural production through both irrigated agriculture and the development of land that was previously regarded as marginal. About 8.56 m ha land in India is affected by salt. Out of this, about 1.2 m ha land is in Gujarat which is next to Uttar Pradesh (1.295 m ha). Kachchh, the second largest district of the country, has more than 53% of the total geographical area under Ranns (salt-marshy lands). The soil salinity in this region ranges from 3.2 to 32 EC and sodicity from 8.0 to 10.0 pH. The animal husbandry is the major livelihood option of the people of the Banni grassland of this region having an area of about 625 km2. Halophyte grown under the saline ecosystem is the major wild forage source for the animals feed. However, the animals feed mostly on wild forage halophytes grown under the saline ecosystem. Apart from natural salinity, a significant proportion of recently cultivated agricultural land has become saline owing to faulty irrigation practices; this secondary salinization poses direct loss to the crop production. The commercial agriculture now prevalent in the region exploits ground water heavily and encroaches upon grass lands. Heavy grazing pressure on the vegetation including wild halophytes is direct threat to the valuable natural biodiversity of the region. Very meager information on systematic characterization of vegetation in this region is available (Pandya and Sidha, 1987 and GUIDE, 1998). Halophytes have tolerance mechanisms that include ions compartmentalization, and compatible solutes. However, the mechanisms of salt tolerance in these species are not fully understood and not much work is reported in the literature. Halophytes have great potential either for direct agricultural crops uses in saline areas or for the incorporation of their characteristics into existing crop species. They may be useful for grazing or fodder or as ornamental plants and have recently been advocated as a source of oils.
Included in
Characterization and Mapping of Halophyte Vegetation Using GIS and Remote Sensing Technique in Kachchh Plane of Gujarat, India
One of the pressures of a burgeoning population is need to increase agricultural production through both irrigated agriculture and the development of land that was previously regarded as marginal. About 8.56 m ha land in India is affected by salt. Out of this, about 1.2 m ha land is in Gujarat which is next to Uttar Pradesh (1.295 m ha). Kachchh, the second largest district of the country, has more than 53% of the total geographical area under Ranns (salt-marshy lands). The soil salinity in this region ranges from 3.2 to 32 EC and sodicity from 8.0 to 10.0 pH. The animal husbandry is the major livelihood option of the people of the Banni grassland of this region having an area of about 625 km2. Halophyte grown under the saline ecosystem is the major wild forage source for the animals feed. However, the animals feed mostly on wild forage halophytes grown under the saline ecosystem. Apart from natural salinity, a significant proportion of recently cultivated agricultural land has become saline owing to faulty irrigation practices; this secondary salinization poses direct loss to the crop production. The commercial agriculture now prevalent in the region exploits ground water heavily and encroaches upon grass lands. Heavy grazing pressure on the vegetation including wild halophytes is direct threat to the valuable natural biodiversity of the region. Very meager information on systematic characterization of vegetation in this region is available (Pandya and Sidha, 1987 and GUIDE, 1998). Halophytes have tolerance mechanisms that include ions compartmentalization, and compatible solutes. However, the mechanisms of salt tolerance in these species are not fully understood and not much work is reported in the literature. Halophytes have great potential either for direct agricultural crops uses in saline areas or for the incorporation of their characteristics into existing crop species. They may be useful for grazing or fodder or as ornamental plants and have recently been advocated as a source of oils.
