Track 2-6-2: Forests, Agroforestry and Wildlife towards Integrated, Productive Landscapes
Description
Farming systems are considered to be most important upcoming enterprises to reduce soil erosion and land degradation besides provide timber, fruits, nutritious fodder for live stock population in the poor soil areas (Roy et.al., 2000). Horticulture based farming systems have been recommended as alternate land use systems for sustainable agriculture in semi arid ecosystem for efficient soil plant management and soil fertility management. Studies on micro flora and micro fauna under farming system are required to increase the farming system productivity. Higher species diversity of soil arthropods was observed in grassland system closely followed by the silvipasture systems when compared to areas having no vegetation in central India. Abundance, diversity and species richness decreased along the gradient, with the agricultural site presenting an impoverished community. Diversity descriptors were positively and significantly correlated with habitat diversity, measured on the basis of the proportion of the different soil-use types present at each land-use unit (Sousa et.al., 2004). The influence of three spatially hierarchical factors like local depth of the soil, ground cover type on the soil samples (bare ground, grass tufts, dead trees lying on the ground), dimensions of the grass tufts sampled (size and shape), significantly affected the morphospecies richness and/or density of the soil macrofauna. The type of ground cover had the strongest influence, affecting the total richness and density of the soil macro fauna and of almost all the groups represented. In the present study efforts were made to know the impact of guinea grass Panicum maximum, Congo signal grass Brachiaria ruziziensis and a legume Stylosanthes hamata on thephysico-chemical properties of mango and sapota based hortipasture systems.
Included in
Impact of Guinea Grass, Congo Signal and Stylosanthes hamata on Soil Physico-Chemical Properties and Beneficial Micro Fauna in Mango and Sapota Plantations
Farming systems are considered to be most important upcoming enterprises to reduce soil erosion and land degradation besides provide timber, fruits, nutritious fodder for live stock population in the poor soil areas (Roy et.al., 2000). Horticulture based farming systems have been recommended as alternate land use systems for sustainable agriculture in semi arid ecosystem for efficient soil plant management and soil fertility management. Studies on micro flora and micro fauna under farming system are required to increase the farming system productivity. Higher species diversity of soil arthropods was observed in grassland system closely followed by the silvipasture systems when compared to areas having no vegetation in central India. Abundance, diversity and species richness decreased along the gradient, with the agricultural site presenting an impoverished community. Diversity descriptors were positively and significantly correlated with habitat diversity, measured on the basis of the proportion of the different soil-use types present at each land-use unit (Sousa et.al., 2004). The influence of three spatially hierarchical factors like local depth of the soil, ground cover type on the soil samples (bare ground, grass tufts, dead trees lying on the ground), dimensions of the grass tufts sampled (size and shape), significantly affected the morphospecies richness and/or density of the soil macrofauna. The type of ground cover had the strongest influence, affecting the total richness and density of the soil macro fauna and of almost all the groups represented. In the present study efforts were made to know the impact of guinea grass Panicum maximum, Congo signal grass Brachiaria ruziziensis and a legume Stylosanthes hamata on thephysico-chemical properties of mango and sapota based hortipasture systems.
