Agroforestry (AF) is an eco-friendly, traditional, and continuously evolving land-use system that integrates long-lived woody plants such as various trees, shrubs, bamboo, grasses, palm trees, etc., with different domestic livestock and locally raised crops. These integrated systems provide distinct environmental advantages to human society while offering additional ecosystem services. One of the essential attributes of AF is its ability to mitigate the harsh impacts of climate change by enhancing carbon (C) storage capacity, such as through biomass accumulation, improved soil health, reduced erosion, and land degradation, thereby increasing the C sequestration (Cseq.) potential of agricultural land. India’s agroforestry systems (AFS) are highly diversified due to the country’s varied tropical climate zones. AFS practices range from basic monoculture systems to more intricate and diverse systems that meet the criteria for improving environmental, economic, and social functions. The total area under India’s AFS is approximately 0.14 million km2. These diverse AFS practices influence carbon sequestration potential and biomass production across India’s various agro-climatic zones. Warm and humid climatic zones, dominant in the southern and northeastern regions of India, exhibit higher total biomass (greater than 200 Mg/ha), while lower total biomass (less than 50 Mg/ha) is observed in central India, the Indo-Gangetic plains, and western India. Similarly, organic content in the soil varies from 12.26 to 170.43 Mg/ha, with the highest in coffee-based agroforestry systems in southern India and the lowest in agrisilviculture systems in western India. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of how the diversity of AFS contributes to carbon storage while balancing the carbon cycle and benefiting society economically by improving livelihoods.

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Carbon Storage and Dynamics in Various Agroforestry Systems in Indian Tropics and Its Socio-environmental Impacts

  • Upasana Mahato,
  • Rakesh Kadaverugu

摘要

Agroforestry (AF) is an eco-friendly, traditional, and continuously evolving land-use system that integrates long-lived woody plants such as various trees, shrubs, bamboo, grasses, palm trees, etc., with different domestic livestock and locally raised crops. These integrated systems provide distinct environmental advantages to human society while offering additional ecosystem services. One of the essential attributes of AF is its ability to mitigate the harsh impacts of climate change by enhancing carbon (C) storage capacity, such as through biomass accumulation, improved soil health, reduced erosion, and land degradation, thereby increasing the C sequestration (Cseq.) potential of agricultural land. India’s agroforestry systems (AFS) are highly diversified due to the country’s varied tropical climate zones. AFS practices range from basic monoculture systems to more intricate and diverse systems that meet the criteria for improving environmental, economic, and social functions. The total area under India’s AFS is approximately 0.14 million km2. These diverse AFS practices influence carbon sequestration potential and biomass production across India’s various agro-climatic zones. Warm and humid climatic zones, dominant in the southern and northeastern regions of India, exhibit higher total biomass (greater than 200 Mg/ha), while lower total biomass (less than 50 Mg/ha) is observed in central India, the Indo-Gangetic plains, and western India. Similarly, organic content in the soil varies from 12.26 to 170.43 Mg/ha, with the highest in coffee-based agroforestry systems in southern India and the lowest in agrisilviculture systems in western India. This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of how the diversity of AFS contributes to carbon storage while balancing the carbon cycle and benefiting society economically by improving livelihoods.