AGROFORESTRY MEASURES FOR EFFECTIVE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION G.R.Korwar * and G.

Venkatesh** *Head and Principal Scientist, Resource Management Division ** Scientist (Forestry), Resource Management Division Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture, Hyderabad - 59 INTRODUCTION: Conservation of soil and water is a vital issue throughout the world as it is a threat to agricultural productivity. Soil conservation used to be equated with erosion control. The traditional barrier approach to soil and water conservation( mechanically constructing physical barriers and structures such as bunds and terraces to control runoff) involved excessive economic and labour costs( for both construction and maintenance) and cause irreparable loss of or damage to valuable topsoil. Extension efforts concentrating on such an approach failed. Consequently, the emphasis shifted to using soil cover as a means of controlling erosion. This shift, brought agro forestry into focus because of its potential for providing continuous ground cover and soil fertility maintenance as well as the possible runoff barrier function of woody perennials. Arresting land degradation by conservation of soil and water helps in restoring the productive potential of soil. It calls for improvement in the physical, chemical and biological conditions. The advantage with agro forestry systems is in their ability to bring favorable changes in all the three conditions. Agro forestry system is being popular in many countries to protect the land from various types of degradation. With the growing realization that agro forestry is a practical, low cost alternative for food production as well as for soil and water conservation, forest departments of many countries are integrating agro forestry programmes with conventional silvicultural practices (Swaminathan, 1987). Most agro forestry systems constitute sustainable land use and help to improve soil and water in a number of ways. Some of these beneficial effects are evidence in a number of experiments carried out in different parts of the world (Nair, 1987and Young A, 1989). Through agro forestry, many countries could not only minimize the soil and water loss but also increased the production (GTI, 1995; Mishra and Sarim, 1987; Swaminathan, 1977).

Agro forestry is a collective name for a land use systems and practices where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos etc) are deliberately used on the same land management unit with agricultural crops and or animals, either in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence in which there are both ecological and economical interactions between different components (Kang, 1992). Agro forestry offers both productive (of basic needs), and protective (of the environment) benefits to man (Figure 1.) Among the productive functions, the three Fs (fuel wood, fodder and fruit) are the most important. The service functions include shade, reduction in wind speed, conservation of soil and water, control of erosion and maintenance and improvement of soil fertility.

Fig. 1 Agro forestry as a land use system of farming offers a more viable option as it appears to be more environmentally friendly in maintaining and improving soil fertility status particularly in the third world countries, where poor resources farmers exist. It is a major shift from the tradition land use or farming system often referred to as shifting cultivation found in the topics. Agro forestry is vital for global food security and, helps in prevention or reversal of land degradation through soil and water conservation in the humid tropics (Cooper et al., 1996). The key benefits in terms of natural-resources use are as follows: y y Soil conservation in terms of protection against erosion. Improvement or maintenance of soil fertility.

y y

Water conservation and more productive use of water. Providing environmental functions required for sustainability.

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION Soil conservation basically means a way of keeping everything in place, literally as well as in a more abstract sense of maintaining the functions of the soil in sustaining plant growth. Soil conservation practices involve managing soil erosion and its counterpart process of sedimentation, reducing its negative impacts and exploiting the new opportunities it creates. Young (1989) defined soil conservation as a combination of controlling erosion and maintaining soil fertility. In the past the focus has often been on trying to keep the soil at its place by plot-level activities only. Currently, the attention has switched to landscape level approaches where sedimentation is studied along with erosion, and the role of 'channels' (footpaths, roads and streams) is included as well as the 'filters' that restrict the overland flow of water and/or suspended sediment.

SOME KEY PRINCIPLES FOR SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION (modified from FAO and IIRR, 1995) y The farm household should be the focus of every soil conservation program, as they take the daily decisions that shape the landscape; communal action at local level can be an important entry point for outside 'soil conservation programs'. y Farmers cannot ignore the short-term benefits of the land use decisions they make. Only those production strategies have a chance to be adopted that will provide a reasonable return on the labor and other resources a farmer has to invest. Conservation strategies or technologies that do not meet this criterion are doomed to fail. y Lack of secure land tenure maybe a major cause of low interest of farmer in environmental conservation. Improving tenure security may be the main intervention needed for farmers to adopt reasonable soil conserving technologies. Soil conservation programs have often led to 'pseudo-adoption' if strong social pressure, subsidies or other government incentives (including tenure security) were used to support adoption of practices that required substantial labor and other resource investment.

Loss of soil productivity is often much more important than the loss of the soil itself, as the soil on the move tends to be rich in organic matter and nutrients, relative to the remaining soil.

Loss of soil productivity is not easy to assess, however, because impoverished zones of net erosion may be accompanied by enriched zones of net sedimentation and the farmer may decide to grow different crops in these two environments

In upland systems, plant yields are reduced more by a shortage or excess of soil moisture (especially for tuber crops) or nutrients rather than by soil losses per se. Therefore, there should be more emphasis on rainwater management, particularly water conservation, and integrated nutrient management and less on soil conservation per se. Agronomic process such as tillage and mulching that maintain infiltration rates are more useful than mechanical measures blocking the path of water flowing at the soil surface in preventing erosion and runoff.

Erosion is a consequence of how land and its vegetation are managed, and is not itself the cause of soil degradation. Therefore prevention of land degradation is more important than attempting to develop a cure afterwards.

Erosion is a top-down process, because gravity determines the direction of water flow. Most past (and current ?) soil conservation programs focus(ed) more on land degradation than on the land user (the farm household), and used a top-down approach in 'dissemination' and 'extension' of 'best-bet' practices that were considered to be applicable for a wide range of farm situations. Top down programs tend to focus primarily on the symptoms of erosion through subsidized terracing, promotion of hedgerow intercropping systems or other measures which have had mixed success when introduced by outside agencies.

Soil conservation programs that aim to reduce land degradation problems through treatment of causes, require a long term, bottom-up approach supporting farmers who generally have detailed knowledge of their farm, know a wide range of potential interventions (although they can still learn new ideas from experiences elsewhere) and choose between these interventions on the basis of the resources and pressures on the farm household.

AGROFORESTRY AND SOIL CONSERVATION y Agro forestry is one of the principal biological methods of conservation and assists in maintenance of a soil cover. y y y Agro forestry provides opportunities to link water conservation with soil conservation Agro forestry technologies exist which makes the cultivation of sloping lands sustainable. By combining soil fertility improvement with conservation, agro forestry can maintain or improve crop yield at the same time as controlling erosion. y By combining production with conservation, agro forestry systems increase the acceptability of soil and water conservation.

FUNCTIONS

OF

AGROFORESTRY

SYSTEMS

IN

SOIL

AND

WATER

CONSERVATION. Supplementary use: y y To stabilize earth structure by root systems; To make productive use of the land occupied by conservation works.

Direct use: y y y y y y To increase soil cover, by litter or pruning, and hence reduce rain drop impact; To increase infiltration and hence reduce runoff; To provide partly permeable barriers to check runoff; To increase soil resistance to erosion through maintenance of organic matter; To maintain soil fertility by decay of litter or pruning; To add an element of production to conservation.

IMPORTANCE OF SOIL COVER There are two technical means of achieving soil and water conservation, the barrier approach and the cover approach. The barrier approach is to check runoff and down slope soil removal by means of contour aligned barriers. These may be terraces, ditch-and bank earth structure, grass strips or hedge rows. Barriers either divert runoff into safe channels, such as

grassed waterways, or reduce it by promoting infiltration. Agroforestry can contribute to barrier approach directly, through the use of hedgerows as partly permeable barriers, and indirectly, through the role of trees in stabilizing earth structures and making productive use of the land they occupy. The cover approach is to check raindrop impact and runoff through maintenance of a soil cover formed of living or dead plant material, including herbaceous plants, crop residues, tree litter and prunings throughout the period of erosive rains.. Techniques include cover crops, mulching and minimum tillage. Agroforestry can contribute to soil cover through the use of tree litter and prunings, in combination with the living plant cover. In agroforestry system maintenance of ground cover of 60% or more formed by any combination of living herbaceous plants has a high potential to reduce soil erosion and should be the primary objective in agroforestry system (Solanki and Ram Newaj, 2001). Effective land cover by vegetation is the key to arresting run-off and soil loss. It has been estimated that soil erosion is accelerated to >900 times when tree plantations were clean weeded or the litter was burnt. In semiarid alfisol degraded land, established pasture reduced run-off to 26% and soil loss to 8 % (Pathak, 2000). CONSERVATION TECHNIQUES A risk of accelerated erosion exists on cultivated land from the moment trees, bushes, grass and surface litter are removed. Erosion will be exacerbated by attempting to farm slopes that are too steep, cultivating up-and-down hill, continuous use of the land without any rotation of different crops, inadequate input of organic materials, compaction due to footpaths or heavy machinery used for tillage and removal of harvest products etc. Erosion control depends on good management, which implies establishing sufficient crop cover and selecting appropriate practices to maintain infiltration with or without soil tillage. Thus soil conservation relies strongly on agronomic methods in combination with a realistic soil management whilst mechanical measures play only a supporting role. There are two principal methods for the direct use of trees in soil and water conservation: dense, mixed agro forestry systems and spatial zoned systems. The main agro forestry technologies with a potential to conserve soil and water are 1. Multistory/ strata tree systems(dense, mixed agro forestry systems); 2. Perennial - crop combinations (dense, mixed agro forestry systems); 3. Contour hedgerows ( spatial zoned systems);

4. Soil conservation hedges; 5. Windbreaks and Shelter belts. 1. MULTISTORY/ STRATA TREE SYSTEMS Multistrata systems comprise both forest gardens and home gardens, the former being the main basis for soil and water conservation, because of their greater spatial extent. Multistrata tree gardens (also called analogue forests or agro forests), possess greater species heterogeneity and more closely resemble natural forests. These dense, Multistrata systems control soil erosion not through the canopy but by means of the ground surface cover of herbaceous plants, mulch or litter. In Western Ghats of Kerala, India, erosion on recently cleared forest was 20t ha-1, while on mature cardamom, pepper and mixed home gardens it was reduced to 1-4 t ha-1( Moench, 1991).In Sri Lanka mixed species tree gardens were established to replace uneconomic tea smallholdings on eroded land, not only restoring and conserving the soil but giving considerable economic benefits (Sangakkara, 1991).still more sustainable are home gardens, similar to Multistrata systems except that they are of smaller extent and receive more intensive management. The classic example is the Kandy home garden system of Sri Lanka (Perera and Rajapakse, 1991).

2. PERENNIAL- CROP COMBINATIONS Plantations of perennial tree crops become agro forestry systems either when there is an over story of tress or when two or more woody perennial crops are grown in combination. Perennial crop combinations of tea, coffee, cacao, oil-palm, rubber and pine apple with Gliricidia sepium is common in the tropics. The system is distinct where the crops are grown in orderly rows and replanted in blocks. Agro forestry in the form of perennial - crop combinations offers greater opportunities in conservation of soil and water in sloppy areas. The trees are often called as shade trees but have numerous other functions, those which are soil related (Beer, 1987). y y y y y y Reduction of evaporation from the shaded crop Increased water out put Moderation of extreme soil surface temperature Improvement in soil drainage and aeration by root systems Reduction in evaporation from the soil surface through mulch cover Control of erosion through the mulch cover.

3. CONTOUR HEDGEROW SYSTEM /ALLEY CROPPING Contour hedgerow systems using nitrogen fixing trees/shrubs have been widely promoted to minimize soil erosion, restore soil fertility, and improve crop productivity (Young 1997; Sanchez, 1995 and Garrity, 1996). Hedgerows of trees or shrubs (usually double hedgerows) are grown at intervals of 4- 8 m along the contours (Figure 2). The hedge rows are usually either single, with a within-row spacing of 25 cm between plants, or double, two such rows 25 or 50 cm apart. The strips or alleys between the hedgerows are planted with food crops. The hedgerow trees are regularly pruned to minimize shading of food crops, the pruned biomass can be used as green manure or as mulch in situ, or as fodder. Through time, natural terraces can form at the base of the hedgerow trees, and thereby minimize soil erosion and surface run-off. Terrace formation can be rapid if the soil is ploughed, but slower in no-till or manual tillage systems. Contour hedge row takes less space than other conservation technologies. Agroforestry barriers are quite effective in controlling run-off and soil loss on 4 % slope. The total sediment deposited along hedge rows ( 3 year period ) and 3 rows ( 9-year period) ranged from 184 to 256 t/ha, equivalent to 5-20 mm of soil depth ( Solanki and Ram Newaj, 2001).

Crops planted in alleys

Fig.2

This technique has been recommended as a common feature of extension programs for sustainable agriculture in Asia. The major problem in practice is the large amount of labor needed to prune and maintain woody hedgerows. ICRAF (1996) estimated that the amount of labor required to prune leguminous-tree hedgerows was about 31 days per hectare, or 124 days annual labor for four prunings in the Philippines. There is a need for simpler, less labor intensive but effective contour hedgerow systems. One can state that on flat land hedgerow intercropping is not interesting because of the high level of labor input needed. Some of the suitable species for hedge row system are Leuceana leucocephala, Gliricidia sepium, Senna siamea, Senna spectabilis, Sesbania, etc.

4. SOIL CONSERVATION HEDGES Trees can be planted on physical conservation works (grass strips, bunds, riser and terraces), wherein they play two roles: to stabilize the structure and to make productive use of the land they occupy. Stabilization is through the root system. In this system major groups of components are Multipurpose and /or fruit trees and common agricultural species. Fruit trees are usually planted along the edges of terraces. The following tree species are used for soil and water conservation: Grevillea robusta, Acacia catechu, Acacia modesta, Prosopis juliflora, Alnus nepalensis, Leuceana leucocephala etc.

5. WIND BREAKS AND SHELTER BELTS Wind breaks and shelter belts are two distinctive features of agro forestry systems. Wind breaks are narrow strips of trees, shrubs and grasses planted to protect field, homes, canals and other areas from the wind and blowing sand. Shelter belts, a type of wind break, are long, multiple rows of trees and shrubs, usually along the sea coasts, to protect agricultural fields .There is a long tradition of using windbreaks in semiarid regions of Asia for soil protection against erosion. The ideal design is a steep triangle in cross-section, tall trees in the center and shorter trees or shrubs along the sides, with the least damage prone species on the side of the prevailing winds. Spacing between the wind breaks is determined by the width of the zone over which wind speed is to be reduced. Depending on the degree of effect desired, the necessary distance between wind breaks varies from 10 H and 20 H (Stigter et al., 1989 and Vandenbeldt, 1990).A wide variety of species are used. Casuarinas equisetifolia and Casuarina glauca are

well suited and widely employed in the tropics and subtropical semiarid zone. Prosopis juliflora is tolerant of saline soils and has moderately open canopy. Azadirachta indica is valued for the range of its products. Trees planted on farm boundary or shelter belts in arid climates and sea shores reduced the wind speed and sand drift. The strong network of roots, fall of litter and thick canopy of tree provide effective protection to the soil from erosion by direct impact of rain drops (Pathak, 2000).

6. OTHER TREE BASED CONSERVATION SYSTEMS Contour strips of natural vegetation are a simpler than hedge rows. Bands of 05 - 2.0 m wide are laid out along the contour and simply left unploughed, to be colonized by grasses or weedy shrubs. They have been subjectively observed to revue soil loss as effectively as planted hedgerows. In requiring less labor to establish, they are also more acceptable to farmers (Garrity, 1993).Under eucalyptus in Kerala, India, soil loss varied greatly with the crop management during the cropping period.

CONCLUSIONS Choice of appropriate agro forestry technologies for conservation of soil and water in specific situations is an important factor in the design of such agro forestry systems. Several agro forestry practices have potential for erosion control, and many of them are being used in several countries around the world. For different situations, different types of agro forestry technologies will have to be designed. Best results can be obtained if agro forestry technologies are combined with other relevant land us technologies, even for a single farm, or land management unit, in accordance with the biophysical conditions of the farm, and the farmers production objectives. Agro forestry for soil and water conservation cannot be considered in isolation from other land use approaches and needs.

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