In the arid region of Rajasthan, Prosopis cineraria (Khejri) and Azadirachta indica (Neem) are the major tree species found growing on farmlands. These species are known as lifeline of the desert and have both multiple uses including fuelwood and medicinal values. The accurate mapping of these species is essential for knowing their contribution in green tree cover and carbon storage at district level. Six districts of Rajasthan were selected for mapping agroforestry and these two species. Khejri and Neem trees have been identified with the help of high resolution multispectral LISS IVdata and mapped by applying object oriented classification technique. The agroforestry area under two species was mapped using the Object Based Image Analysis(OBIA) approach. Total agroforestry area was estimated to be 7.99 percent in six districts of Rajasthan. In Pali district,agroforestry accounted for 8.05 percent of the geographical area. Out of the agroforestry area,the Khejri and Neem species accounted for 1.10 and 2.13 percent,respectively.Incase of Ajmer district,the agroforestry area comes out to be 6.90 percent,out of which Khejri and Neem species accounted for 1.83 and 2.55 percent,respectively.It can be concluded that both Prosopis cineraria and Azadirachta indica species have a good contribution to green tree cover vis-à-vis carbon storage in the study districts of Rajasthan.
Tag: Object-oriented classification
Contribution of Populus deltoides based agroforestry systems in atmospheric CO2 reduction in northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
The present study aimed at estimating area under poplar plantations and their contribution in reduction of atmospheric CO2 in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand states. Object-oriented classification technique was applied on high resolution remote sensing data (LISS-IV/ spatial resolution- 5.8 m) for mapping agroforestry/ poplar area in six study districts. Total agroforestry area in six districts was estimated to be 91622.73 ha. Poplar area was found to be the highest in Bijnor district (12840.53 ha) of Uttar Pradesh followed by Haridwar district (8096.25) of Uttarakhand. As % of agroforestry area in district, Haridwar has the highest poplar area (61.2%). Estimated stem, aboveground and total biomass of poplar plantations were found to be the highest in Baghpat district because of high tree density. Muzaffarnagar district has second the highest values of estimated stem, aboveground and total biomass (128.55, 153.89 and 194.80 t ha-1 , respectively). Carbon stock was also found to be the highest in Bijnor district (0.909 million tonnes) followed by Muzaffarnagar district (0.813 million tonnes). About 2.795 million tonnes of C-stock in total biomass was assessed in five selected districts of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In this way, contribution of these districts in atmospheric CO2 absorption was to the tune of 10.257 million tonnes in total biomass of poplar plantations. It was concluded that agroforestry systems in general and poplar based systems in particular have significant contribution in reduction of atmospheric CO2 . Hence, they would certainly play an important role in climate change mitigation at state/ regional level.
Mapping of agroforestry systems and Salix species in Western Himalaya agroclimatic zone of India
IN India, agroforestry has been a tradition and become a way of life and livelihood for centuries. Now it is a modern science inviting deliberate management of trees on farms and surrounding landscape. The growing awareness on the importance and potential of agroforestry has resulted in invaluable proliferation of site-specific case studies. The diagnostic survey and appraisal of agroforestry practices in India revealed that there are innumerable practices in different agro-ecological zones. Agroforestry is land management and farming system that is not only capable of producing food from marginal agricultural land, but also capable of maintaining and improving the quality of environment.