Agro-Forestry
Agroforestry refers to growing trees together with other agricultural crops and animals, with benefits to plants, animals, people, and the environment. It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy, and sustainable land-use systems.
The use of trees for soil conservation and sand dune stabilization has been achieving good results. These practices involve establishment of woodlots, protective hedges and live fences around homesteads and home gardens. Both food and non-food species of trees, including fodder tree species and trees for fuel wood and construction material, can be used. An agro-forestry system has the potential to fight the aberrations due to climate change.
The selection of appropriate agro-forestry systems is usually based on existing practices, climate, soil conditions, the level of soil erosion, livestock population, availability of pastures, household food supply and nutrition, and fuel wood requirements. Features of the areas to be taken care of include the increasing land degradation and decreasing carrying capacity of the land, increasing aridity, increasing temperature and strong winds.
The suggested measures are as follows:
 |
Homestead gardens and orchards: This system involves the establishment of small orchards or the scattered planting of individual fruit trees in the home garden, inter-planted with various vegetables. Fruit species that can tolerate hot and arid climate of Rajasthan are Lasura/Lasora (indian cherry), Indian plum and vann/khabbar. |
 |
Shelterbelts: Also known as windbreak, a shelterbelt is a plantation made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in a manner to provide shelter from wind and protect soil from erosion. It help in increasing the soil moisture and also provides a safe barrier from farm animals. |
 |
Hedges and live fences: Trespassing is a huge problem in lowlands and it is advisable to establish protective hedges and live fences around the homesteads, especially against livestock kept within the village. |
 |
Fodder banks/trees on contour strips in cultivated area: This system is more applicable to the areas where grazing resources are poor. In arid and semi-arid lands, leaves and edible twigs of trees and shrubs can constitute well over 50 percent of the biomass production. Even in regions of higher rainfall where grass supplies the major portion of soil organic matter eaten by ruminants, tree leaves and fruits can form an important constituent of the diet, particularly for small ruminants. These trees could be planted in rows inter-cropped with herbaceous annual or perennial fodder crops. |
 |
Sand dune stabilization via trees and shrubs plantation: Planting suitable vegetation on sand dune surface results in decreasing surface wind speed, prevention of scouring action and improvement of soil conditions, which ultimately lead to improved micro-climatic condition of the area. Common dune grasses: a) marram grass b) lyme grass. Common shrubs: a) Phog b) Jharber c) desert gourd. |