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AgroForestry System, An option for Climate Change

by Kushal Naharki | 25-07-2018 04:30




Agroforestry is a sustainable land-use system and practice where woody perennials(trees,shrubs) are deliberately planted on the same land unit with agricultural crops & or animals either in spatial arrangement or temporal  sequence. It combines agriculture (both crops & animal production) with forestry on the same piece of land either simultaneously or sequentially. Agroforestry system consists of bush fallow and shifting cultivation, Taungya, Shade trees, fodder trees, shelter belts and hedge rows and alley cropping.

A long term change in the earth's climate or of a region of earth. Global warming leads to climate change .Global warming refers to increase in Earth?s average surface temperature due to rising levels of greenhouse gases (the gases which traps heat ,make up less then 1% atmosphere eg.C02,CH etc). Some gases act like blanket trapping heat ,these gases are called ?greenhouse gases .This effect known as Natural Greenhouse Effect. Human activities increased the emission of greenhouse gases in the Earth surface called ?Enhanced Greenhouse Effect and this is the causing the Earth to heat up,or global warming. These greenhouse gases trap the solar radiation and can cause the Earth average temperature increase. Major greenhouse Gases are Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, Ozone, etc.

Developing countries are most vulnerable to burnt the climate change.the global concentrations are not effective to stop the increasing atmospherics GHG?s and these are the primary drivers of the climate change.The local climate and the terrestrial ecosystem will change,threatening the biotic and human livelihoods. The developing countries are faced with the urgent needs for the development,to improve the food security, reduce the poverty, provide an adequate standard of living for growing  population.

A method of adapting agriculture to climate change, agro forestry systems have been shown to increase on-farm production resilience to climate variability by buffering crops from the effects of temperature and precipitation variation as well as strong winds associated with storms.  In coffee agro forestry systems, crops grown under heavy shade (60-80%) were kept 2-3?C cooler during the hottest times of the day than crops under light shading (10-30%) and lost 41% less water through soil evaporation and 32% less water through plant transpiration. Windbreaks planted in citrus groves have been shown to reduce wind speeds by 80-95%, reducing wind damage up to two times the distance of windbreak height. Agroforestry systems also tend to have increased crop diversity within the agro forestry systems. There are other naturally occurring co-benefits that occur in agroforestry systems including enhanced nutrient cycling, integrated pest management, and increased resistance to diseases, which will additionally protect farm production. The agroforestry system has the higher carbon sequestration potential on the long term not because of it has the high carbon density but because a lots of the land potentially used for the agroforestry.

A number of improved farming practices can increase the sustainability of farming systems contribute to reducing farmers vulnerability to climate variability while sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.We have a good idea how these practices affect C stocks in the agroecosystem.

Agroforestry systems are more important opportunities provides for the creating the synergies between action undertaken for creating the connections action taken for the mitigation and activities undertaken for the adaptation.Climatic variability is well buffered by the agroforestry  because of the permanent tree cover and varied ecological niches. Resilience or covering after or disturbance(eg:extreme weather events,or market failure)in well performed by the diversified temporal and spatial management options.

We must act from our level to fight against climate change. Lets Act Together :):):)