India

Changes in litter decomposition and soil organic carbon in a reforested tropical deciduous cover (India)

Background

Soil organic carbon is built over time by vegetative decomposition. This study explores potential changes in soil organic carbon in India due to changing patterns of vegetation, such as deforestation, agricultural use, and reforestation with novel species compositions and disturbance cycles.

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Afforestation for Reclaiming Degraded Village Common Land: A Case Study

background

In India, population growth and agriculture put a strain on natural resources, often resulting in "wastelands" where the soil is no longer productive - often either affected by either salt or alkilinity. Using soil amendments to restore these lands to productivity can be cost-prohibitive for the small villages that own these lands. Afforestation is one possible method for restoring the health of these in a cost-effective and scalable way. 

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Drivers of Regrowth in South Asia's Human-Impacted Forests

background

This study is an assessment of institutional factors and human drivers that impact forest management and cover change in developing countries, focusing on Nepal and India.

research goals & methods

The study uses United Nations Food & Agriculture Association (UN FAO) forest cover change datasets that begin in 1980 to examine the validity of forest transition theories in a tropical context.

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The Rain–Runoff Response of Tropical Humid Forest Ecosystems to Use and Reforestation in the Western Ghats of India

Background

This study expands on a previous study in the Western Ghats of India (Uttar Kannada, Karnataka State), that suggested a greater occurrence of infiltration-excess and potentially higher streamflow in degraded and reforested areas. Analyzing rainfall–streamflow data, the authors attempt to determine the impacts of different land cover types on stream discharge hydrograph components (viz, total flow, quickflow and delayed flow), the dominant stormflow pathways, and the impact of reforestation efforts on these processes.

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Reforestation of Bauxite Mine Spoils with Eucalyptus tereticornis Sm. Seedlings Inoculated with Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi

background

In the Yercaud hills of the Salem Distict, Tamil Nadu, India, the authors investigated the feasibility of using trees inoculated with beneficial mycorrhizae as an alternative to the traditional and more expensive method of spreading topsoil before planting

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The Role of Revegetation for Rehabilitation of Sodic soils in Semiarid Subtropical Forest, India

background

This study relies on a  case study evaluate the rehabilitation of barren land within a larger forest ecosystem. The article indicates that restoration opportunities exist even with severely degraded land where natural succession does not occur without management practices.

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Nitrogen Dynamics of Actinorhizal Casuarina Forest Stands and its Comparison with Alnus and Leucaena Forests

Background

Nitrogen plays a key role in soil fertility and plant productivity. Therefore, in regions in which deforestation has increasingly led to savannization and desertification, afforestation by fast-growing, n-fixing tree species is preferable. This study examines the characteristics of nitrogen fixing trees. 

Research Goals & Methods

The nitrogen retention rates of three dry tropical forest tree species were measured, by examining rates of N cycling through vegetation, litter and soil pools.

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The Horseradish Tree, Moringa pterygosperma (Moringaceae)— A boon to Arid Lands?

Background

The horseradish tree (Moringa pterygosperma) is being introduced into drought-ridden lands t o augment the local food and fodder supply.This study evaluates the reforestation potential of Moringa in India and Africa. 

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Effect of Adult Density on Regeneration Success of Woody Plants in Natural and Restored Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest Fragments in Puducherry Region, India

Background

This study tested variables contributing to successful regeneration of Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) species in southern India, a forest type that is highly biodiverse but fragmented and commonly designated as “sacred groves”.

Conclusions & Takeaways

The researchers found that whether in longstanding “groves” or in reforested areas, adult tree density more strongly enhances the regeneration of any given species than do other factors such as the species’ dispersal mode or life form (e.g. tree, shrub, or liana).

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Forest Transition Pathways in Asia – Studies from Nepal, India, Thailand, and Cambodia

background

This study draws on data from Nepal, India, Thailand, and Cambodia to examine trajectories of forest-cover change along gradients of deforestation and reforestation.

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