Rehabilitation And Restoration Of Degraded Land Through Agroforestry: Mitigation Approaches And Future Prospects In India

Abstract

Land degradation, driven by both natural and human activities, has a significant impact on forest land, resulting in losses in productivity, ecosystem functionality, and biodiversity. In India, it has become a pressing issue due to the growing population and excessive exploitation of natural resources. This phenomenon depletes soil quality, reduces agricultural and forest productivity, and poses a threat to biodiversity. Approximately 147.75 million hectares of Indian land are degraded, with contributing factors including water erosion (93.68 million hectares), acidification (16.03 million hectares), waterlogging (14.29 million hectares), wind erosion (9.48 million hectares), salinity (5.89 million hectares), and other causes such as ice caps and arid mountains (8.38 million hectares).Land degradation also exacerbates climate change. Soil erosion and deforestation are key outcomes of land degradation, reducing carbon sequestration and increasing greenhouse gas emissions through agricultural land expansion. Strategies like afforestation and reforestation are effective in combating deforestation and addressing land degradation. Agroforestry, in particular, plays a transformative role in mitigating land degradation by improving soil fertility, reducing erosion, and addressing salinity, alkalinity, and desertification. Agroforestry systems integrate diverse plant species, enhancing both ecological and socioeconomic conditions. Practices such as using Multi-Purpose Tree Species (MPTs), relay cropping, terracing, contour cultivation, strip cropping, and alley cropping offer sustainable solutions for low-resource farmers while restoring and improving land productivity. These methods contribute to stabilizing ecosystems, promoting biodiversity, and enhancing livelihoods.For agroforestry to effectively mitigate land degradation, active participation from farmers and local communities is crucial during planning, development, and implementation. By leveraging agroforestry’s potential, sustainable land management can be achieved, addressing environmental and socio-economic challenges while supporting long-term agricultural productivity and ecosystem resilience.