Wetland-Based Agroforestry Systems: Balancing Between Carbon Sink and Source
Wetlands of India, estimated to be 58.2 million ha, are important repositories of aquatic biodiversity. The diverse ecoclimatic regimes extant in the country resulted in a variety of wetland systems ranging from high altitude cold desert wetland to hot an
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A. Arunachalam, D. Balasubramanian, K. Arunachalam, J. C. Dagar, and B. Mohan Kumar
Abstract
Wetlands of India, estimated to be 58.2 million ha, are important repositories of aquatic biodiversity. The diverse ecoclimatic regimes extant in the country resulted in a variety of wetland systems ranging from high altitude cold desert wetland to hot and humid wetlands in coastal zones with its diverse flora and fauna. These ecosystems provide immense services and commodities to humanity. Wetlands perform numerous valuable functions such as recycle nutrients, purify water, attenuate floods, maintain stream flow, recharge ground water, and also serve in providing livelihood to local people in terms of fish, drinking water, fodder, fuel, and environmental services. With rapidly expanding human population, wetlands of India are threatened and facing severe anthropogenic pressures. There is obviously much ground to be covered in our conservation efforts of wetlands. Various agencies at local and government level need to join hands in making these viable, functional, and sustainable. Being diversified farming systems, agroforestry opportunities are abundant in rehabilitation of wetland systems. The nutrientrich riparian zone provides a suitable site for harnessing the ecosystem services of tree-based farming in the flood plains and in the ecologically fragile hilly region. Ecologically, wetland use as a component in agroforestry may be more acceptable in areas which are facing frequent/ seasonal or permanently flooding. It is envisaged that wetland agroforestry can alleviate poverty by making substantial contribution toward local economy in terms of fish and agricultural production.
A. Arunachalam (&) D. Balasubramanian J. C. Dagar B. Mohan Kumar Division of Natural Resource Management, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Krishi Anusandhan Bhawan II, Pusa, New Delhi, 110012, India e-mail: [email protected] K. Arunachalam School of Environment and Natural Resources, Doon University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248001, India J. C. Dagar et al. (eds.), Agroforestry Systems in India: Livelihood Security & Ecosystem Services, Advances in Agroforestry 10, DOI: 10.1007/978-81-322-1662-9_10, Springer India 2014
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Introduction A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem (Wikipedia- State of Florida, DoEP 2011). Primarily, the factor that distinguishes wetlands from other land forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation that is adapted to its unique soil conditions, which are hydric and support aquatic plants (Butler 2010). Wetlands include lands that are permanently or temporally flooded and many different habitats such as ponds, marshes, swamps, bogs, fans, and peat lands. The water found in wetlands can be salt water, fresh water, or brackish. Wetlands function as ‘ecotones’, transitions between different habitats, and have characteristics of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Thus, th
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