Selection of suitable trees for Wetland Agroforestry

Wetlands, including swamps and waterlogged soils, amount to several hectares in India. Long underutilized, they could be made productive by adopting various AF practices, such as aquaforestry etc.

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Selection of trees for arid agro-forestry

The arid regions of India cover an area of 317,090 km2and lies a 240-290 latitude and 700-760 longitude. The region is spread over seven states, viz., Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Harayana, Maharashtra, Karanataka and Andhra Pradesh, the north-western part of the country constituting almost 90% of the total arid zone area.

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Selection of Suitable Trees

Trees play the important and most dominant roles in Agroforestry systems. Basically, the trees ideal to be incorporated in various agroforestry systems are called the multipurpose tree spaces. (MPTs). The terms multipurpose (MPT) refers to all woody perennials that are purposefully grown so as to provide more than one significant to the production and/or service functions (shelter shade, land sustainability) of the landuse system they implement. Better emphasis is given which are indigenous in nature and have the capability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. Selection and management of MPT's lies the success of any agroforestry system. The nitrogen fixing tree species (NFT's) besides their `N' fixing ability provide protein rich foliage which can be used for fodder and green manuring. More than 640 tree species are known to fix nitrogen. Most trees used in agroforestry grow relatively quickly, whilst many also fix nitrogen i.e. many MPT's are fast growing nitrogen fixing tree species (FGNFT's). In addition , Nitrogen fixing trees have the following uses:

i. The important genera are acacia, dalbargia, provide high quality timber,
ii. Protein rich leaves and pods make many NFT's excellent forage for animal.
E.g. A. Senegal , L. leucocepehala
iii. Many NFT's provide excellent green manures, and add phosphorous and potash to the soil e.g.Sesbania grandiflora.
iv. Many NFT's are planted for erosion control, for water shed protection, wind breaks, living fences, ornamentals and for production of timber products such as tannins, gums, and medicines.

While selecting Nitrogen fixing trees, following points must be considered:

  1. Rapid growth rate

  2. Nitrogen fixing ability]

  3. Coppicing ability

  4. Multiple utility

  5. Ability to survive in any type of soil.

  6. Easy to propagate.

In case of arid zones, the tree spaces are selected while considering following points:

  1. Deep root system to draw water from deeper soil profile.

  2. Leaf shading in summer to conserve moisture

  3. Water binding mechanism

  4. Other zerothytic characteristics like wax coating hairiness, sunken and covered stomata on leaves to minimize the loss of water through transpiration.

  5. The crop should have tolerance to salinity and saline water and alkalinity.

Following Tree and Grass Species are recommended for various dessert regions:

Type of Region

Tree species

Shallow soils

Acacia tortilis, Azadirecta indica Albizia lebbek, Zizyphus, mauritiana, Eucalyptus terminals

Sandy plains

Acacia tortilis, Prosopis juliflora, Cassia siamea, Leucaena leucocephala

Sand stones rocky sides

Cassia auriculate, Acacia senegal, Boswellia serrata

Saline areas

Salvadora oleoides, Salvadora persica, Tamarix auriculata.

Shifting sand dunes

Acacia tortilis, Prosopis juliflora, Dichrostachys glomerata, Albezia lebbek

Ag.
Technologies
(Agro Forestry)