Traditional agrodiversity management: A case study of central himalayan village ecosystem |
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Authors: | Abhishek Chandra P Pardha Saradhi R K Maikhuri K G Saxena K S Rao |
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Affiliation: | (1) School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 110067, India;(2) G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development, Garhwal Unit, P. Box 92, Srinagar (Garhwal), 246174, India;(3) Center for Inter-disciplinary Studies of Mountain and Hill Environment, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India; |
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Abstract: | Environmental, biological, socio-cultural and economic status variation existing in the Central Himalaya have led to the evolution
of diverse and unique traditional agroecosystems, crop species and livestock, which facilitate the traditional mountain farming
societies to sustain themselves. Indigenous agroecosystems are highly site specific and differ from place to place, as they
have evolved along divergent lines. For maintenance of traditional agrodiversity management the farmers of the Central Himalaya
have evolved various types of crop rotations in consonance with the varied environmental conditions and agronomic requirements.
In irrigated flat lands two crops are harvested in a year with negligible fallow period but in rainfed conditions if a cropping
sequence is presumed to be starting after winter fallow phase then four major cropping seasons can be identified namely first
kharif season (first crop season), first rabi season (second crop season), second kharif season (third crop season) and second
rabi season (fourth crop season). Highest crop diversity is present in kharif season in comparison to rabi season. Traditionally
the fields are left fallow after harvest of the second kharif season crop. Important characteristics of agrodiversity management
are the use of bullocks for draught power, human energy as labour, crop residues as animal feed and animal waste mixed with
forest litter as organic input to restore soil fertility levels. Women provide most of the human labour except for ploughing
and threshing grain. The present study deals with assessment of traditional agrodiversity management such as (i) crop diversity,
(ii) realized yield under the traditional practices and (iii) assess the differences of realized yields under sole and mixed
cropping systems. It indicated that crop rotation is an important feature of the Central Himalayan village ecosystem which
helps to continue the diversity of species grown, as are the distribution of crops in the growing period and the management
of soil fertility. The cropping diversity existing and the sequences practiced by the traditional farmers seems to have achieved
high degree of specialization and thus even when the yield/biomass variations are about 60%, the farmers continue to practice
these sequences as they need to maintain diversity and synergistic relationships of crops in addition to manage the food and
labour requirements for crop husbandry. Crop yields are generally higher in irrigated systems than rainfed systems and in
sole cropping as compared with mixed cropping. However, gross biological and economic yields are higher in mixed cropping
than sole cropping systems. |
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Keywords: | Traditional agricultural practices Himalayas Rainfed Management |
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