wood technology method

 

                                                    Wood Technology

It is a method to grow plants which is difficult to grow on land especially on infertile, mountainous land. It is a technique in which old bamboos, branches of trees and root wood of trees are used as support to provide a base for germination of plants and their growth . These supports act as a platform of soil to provide nutrition to plants which germinate and grow on them. These pieces of wood are a suitable place for mosses and lichen to grow which retain moisture for a longer duration of time and provide ideal condition for plants to grow.

Old bamboos and trunk of trees have very high nutritional components as slowly and gradually it gets decomposed and mosses thrived on it (Plate: 3.2) retain water for a longer duration of time. Moisture content added with favorable nutrients catapult small plants, mosses and fern to easily thrive on it at some height from ground soil.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PRACTICAL WITH STUDENTS

STUDY OF MIXED FOREST AND ECOSYSTEM 

 Components of a Mixed Forestry System

Land

Mixed forestry is not a system of pots on a balcony or in a greenhouse. It is a system by which land is managed for the benefit of the landowner, environment and long-term welfare of society. While appropriate for all landholdings, this is especially important in the case of hillside plantation where agriculture may lead to rapid loss of soil and monoculture may lead to forest fire as well as soil degradation. If the farmer owns the land, she/he has a vested interest in thinking conservatively, how the land can be maintained over long periods of time. Unfortunately, farmers who rent land may have less interest in the long-term benefits of mixed forestry and may even fear that making improvements will raise the rent or result in the lease being terminated.

1.2.2 Trees

In mixed forestry, particular attention is placed on multiple purpose trees or perennial shrubs. The most important of these trees are the hard wood timber and fruit bearing because of their ability to provide food, fodder, shelter and oxygen. The roles of trees on the small farm may include the following:

(i) Sources of fruits, nuts, edible leaves, and other food (ii) Sources of construction material, posts, lumber, branches for use as wattle (a fabrication of poles interwoven with slender branches etc.) and thatching (iii) Sources of non-edible materials including sap, resins, tannins, insecticides (iv) Source of fuel (v) Beautification (vi) Shade (vii) Soil conservation, especially on hill sides (viii) Improvement of soil fertility.

In order to plan for the use of trees in mixed forestry systems, considerable knowledge of their properties is necessary. Desirable information for each species includes its benefits, adaptability to local conditions (climate, soil, and stresses), the size and form of the canopy and root system, and suitability for various mixed forestry practices. 

Some of the most common uses of trees in mixed forestry systems are as following:

(i) Individual trees in home gardens, around houses, paths, and public places (ii) Dispersed trees in cropland and pastures (iii) Rows of trees with crops between (alley cropping) (iv) Strips of vegetation along contours or waterways (v) Living fences and borderlines, boundaries (vi) Windbreaks (vii) Improved fallows (viii) Terraces on hills (ix) Small earthworks (ix) Erosion control on hillsides, gullies, channels and water recharging.

Note that any tree can be used; however, in actual practice, very large trees are not key components of most mixed forestry systems. Non fruit trees and any crop plant can be used in mixed forestry systems. The choice of trees in designing such systems should be based on those trees already produced in a particular region either for marketing, feeding animals, or for domestic consumption, or that have great promise for production in the region. In keeping with the philosophy of mixed forestry, however, other values to be considered in crop selection include proper nutrition, self-sufficiency and soil protection. Thus, selection of trees and crops requires a judgment based on knowledge of the trees &crops, adaptations, production uses, as well as family needs, opportunities for barter, and markets.

1.2.3 Non-trees

These are the crop plants can be used in mixed forestry systems. The choice of crop plants in designing such systems should be based on those crops already produced in a particular region either for marketing, feeding animals, or for home consumption, or that have great promise for production in the region. In keeping with the philosophy of mixed forestry, however, other values to be considered in crop selection include proper nutrition, self-sufficiency and soil protection. Thus, selection of crops requires a judgment based on knowledge of the crops, adaptations, and production uses, as well as family needs, opportunities for markets. Any farm animal can be used in mixed forestry systems. The choice of animal will be based on the value the farmer places on animal-derived benefits including income, food, labor, non-food products, use of crop residues, and manure.

1.3 Steps to Start a Mixed Forestry System

Decision-Making Process:

1. Decide whether mixed forestry systems are appropriate:

·         Describe family and community needs.

• List the needs that could be met with a mixed forestry system.
• List the potential benefits, and their relative importance, of a mixed forestry system in the region in question.

• Find the limiting constraints in agriculture, including markets and marketing.
• Consider whether the people of the region are willing or capable of adopting a system.
• Then decide if it is worth the effort to develop one.

2. Design a system:

• Select the area.
• Characterize its strengths and weaknesses with respect to existing soil, water, and crops.
• Select the trees, shrubs, or grasses to be used (consider similar local plants).
• Characterize the minimum space requirements, water and nutrient needs, and shade tolerance of the desired plants &crops.

3. If the system is temporary:

• Plan the features of soil erosion control, earthworks, and gully maintenance first.
• Plan spacing of fruit trees according to final spacing requirements.
• Plan a succession of annual or short-lived perennials, selecting the most shade tolerant crops for the final years of intercropping.

4. If the system is permanent:

•        Plan the proportion of the permanent fruit and lumber trees on the basis of relative importance to the farmer.

•        Plan the spacing of long-term trees on the basis of final space requirements times 0.5.

•        Plan succession of annual and perennial understory crops, including crops for soil protection and enrichment.

•        As large permanent trees grow, adjust planting plan to place shade tolerant crops in most shady areas.

5. With both temporary and permanent systems:

•        Always keep the ground covered, using various crops-to protect soil from sun and erosion.

•        Try the system on a small scale first and measure the inputs and outputs of the system.

•        Evaluate whether the benefits expected have been achieved.

1.4 Key Traits of a Mixed Forestry System

Mixed forestry practices are intentional combinations of trees with crops and fodder grass which involve intensive management of the interactions between the components as an integrated ecosystem. These four key characteristics - Intentional, Intensive, Interactive and Integrated - are the essence of mixed forestry and are what distinguish it from other farming or forestry practices. To be called mixed forestry, a land use practice must satisfy all of the following four criteria:

                                        

Intentional: Combinations of trees, crops and fodder grasses are intentionally designed and managed as a whole unit, rather than as individual elements which may occur in close proximity but are controlled separately.

Intensive: Mixed forestry practices are intensively managed to maintain their productive and protective functions, and often involve annual operations such as plantation, cultivation, fertilization and irrigation.

Interactive: Mixed forestry management seeks to actively manipulate the biological and physical interactions between the tree, crop and animal components. The goal is to enhance diversity of tree, the production of more than o­ne harvestable component at a time, while also providing conservation benefits such as water harvesting and recharging, water pollution control and wildlife habitat.

Integrated: The tree, crop and animal components are structurally and functionally combined into a single, integrated management unit. Integration may be horizontal or vertical, and above- or below-ground.

1.5 Benefits

Mixed forestry systems can be advantageous over conventional agricultural, forestry and forest production methods. They can offer increased productivity, economic benefits, and more diversity in the ecological goods and services provided.

·        Production house of fresh oxygen and store house of carbon.

·        Groundwater recharges and stream rejuvenation.

·        Reducing poverty through increased production of wood and other tree products for home consumption and sale.

·        Contributing to food security by restoring the soil fertility for food crops.

·        Cleaner water through reduced nutrient and soil runoff.

·        Countering global warming and the risk of hunger by increasing the number of drought-resistant trees and the subsequent production of fruits, nuts and edible oils.

·        Reducing deforestation and pressure on woodlands by providing farm-grown fuel wood.

·        Reducing or eliminating the need for toxic chemicals (insecticides, herbicides, etc.)

·        Through more diverse farm outputs, improved human nutrition.

·        In situations where people have limited access to mainstream medicines, providing growing space for medicinal plants.

·        Increased crop stability.

·        Multifunctional site use i.e. crop production and animal grazing.

·        Typically more drought resistant.

·        Stabilizes depleted soils from erosion.

Mixed forestry practices may also realize a number of other associated goals, such as: Carbon sequestration, odor, dust, and noise reduction, green space and visual aesthetics and enhancement or maintenance of wildlife habitat.

Adaptation to Climate Change, Livelihood & Food Security

There is some evidence that, especially in recent years, people especially in mountains are turning to mixed forestry as a mean to adapt to the impacts of climate change (forest fire, global warming etc.). A study from the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) found from a survey of over 700 households in East Africa that at least 50 percent of those households had begun planting trees on their farms in a change from their practices 10 years ago. The trees ameliorate the effects of climate change by helping to stabilize erosion, improving water and soil quality and providing yields of fruit, tea, coffee, oil, fodder and medicinal products in addition to their usual harvest. Mixed forestry was one of the most widely adopted adaptation strategies in the study, along with the use of improved crop varieties and intercropping.

1.7 Applications

Mixed forestry represents a wide diversity in application and in practice. One listing includes over 50 distinct uses. The 50 or so applications can be roughly classified under a few broad headings. There are visual similarities between practices in different categories. This is expected as categorization is based around the problems addressed (countering winds, high rainfall, harmful insects, etc.) and the overall economic constraints and objectives (labor and other inputs costs, yield requirements, etc).

• Parklands
• Shade systems
• Crop-over-tree systems
• Alley cropping
• Strip cropping
• Fauna-based systems
• Boundary systems
• Agro forests

Parklands:

Parklands are visually defined by the presence of trees widely scattered over a large agricultural plot or pasture. The trees are usually of a single species with clear regional favorites. Among the beaks and benefits, the trees offer shade to grazing animals, protect crops against strong wind bursts, provide tree pruning for firewood, and are a roost for insect or rodent-eating birds.

Shade systems:

With shade applications, crops are purposely raised under tree canopies and within the resulting shady environment. For most uses, the understory crops are shade tolerant or the over story trees have fairly open canopies. A conspicuous example is shade-grown coffee. This practice reduces weeding costs and improves the quality and taste of the coffee. Just because plants are grown under shade does not necessarily translate into lost or reduced yields. This is because the efficiency of photosynthesis drops off with increasing light intensity, and the rate of photosynthesis hardly increases once the light intensity is over about one tenth that of direct overhead sun. This means that plants under trees can still grow well even though they get less light. By having more than one level of vegetation, it is possible to get more photosynthesis, and overall yields, than with a single canopy layer.

Crop-over-tree systems:

Not commonly encountered, crop-over-tree systems employ woody perennials in the role of a cover crop. For this, small shrubs or trees pruned to near ground level are utilized. The purpose, as with any cover crop, is to increase in-soil nutrients and/or to reduce soil erosion.

Alley cropping:

Alley cropping or hedgerow intercropping is an agro forestry practice in which perennial, preferably leguminous trees or shrubs are grown simultaneously with an arable crop. The trees, managed as hedgerows, are grown in wide rows and the crop is planted in the inter space or 'alley' between the tree rows. During the cropping phase the trees are pruned and the pruning used as green manure or mulch on the crop to improve the organic matter status of the soil and to provide nutrients, particularly nitrogen, to the crop. The hedgerows are allowed to grow freely to shade the inter-rows when there are no crops. Alley cropping retains the basic restorative attributes of the bush fallow through nutrient recycling, fertility regeneration and weeds suppression and combines these with arable cropping so that all processes occur concurrently on the same land, allowing the farmer to crop the land for an extended period.

Strip cropping:

Strip cropping is similar to alley cropping in that trees alternate with crops. The difference is that, with alley cropping, the trees are in single row. With strip cropping, the trees or shrubs are planted in wide strip. The purpose can be, as with alley cropping, to provide nutrients, in leaf form, to the crop. With strip cropping, the trees can have a purely productive role, providing fruits, nuts, etc. while, at the same time, protecting nearby crops from erosion and harmful winds.

                                                Fauna-based systems:

There are situations where trees benefit fauna. The most common examples are the silvopasture where cattle, goats, or sheep browse on grasses grown under trees. In hot climates, the animals are less stressed and put on weight faster when grazing in a cooler, shaded environment. Other variations have these animals directly eating the leaves of trees or shrubs. There are similar systems for other types of fauna. Deer and hogs gain when living and feeding in a forest ecosystem, especially when the tree forage suits their dietary needs. Another variation, aquaforestry, is where trees shade fish ponds. In many cases, the fish eat the leaves or fruit from 

EDUCATIONAL TOUR OF JOURNALISM   STUDENTS OF H.N.B .U SRINAGAR GARHWAL 

Environmental Educational Training With Rural Himalayan Women

                                     MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY 

It is important to recognize that the collaboration with mountain communities is essential for the effectiveness of any environmental mountain restoration program. It is only by involving and supporting them that an endeavour of this magnitude can be successfully achieved and prove to be long-term sustainable. It is also important to note that generally it has not been the grass-root mountain communities that have caused the majority of the environmental degradation that has taken place throughout mountain regions worldwide. It has always been in the interest of these communities to protect the natural resources, which supported their livelihoods.

Mountain communities are the natural stewards of the water sources and so many crucial ecological. Therefore they should be encouraged and supported for their services in regenerating and protecting the environment. Without the recognition of the vital part that they play in being the natural caretakers of the mountain forests, they will be forced by poverty to either degrade these resources even further or to migrate. However if these communities are supported, they can provide the very important service of regenerating, safeguarding and preserving the natural ecologies.

When searching through the traditional methods that the mountain communities have applied to preserve the environment, we came across the tradition of Sacred Groves. This method has been effective in the past and is still so in present times, in safeguarding environments. It is an ancient conservation method that many mountain communities are familiar with. Hence it could be very useful in helping to regenerate and preserve mountain forests.

However because so much of the natural mountain resources have been depleted, now also the daily necessities of the local rural communities threatens them and exacerbates the problem.  Therefore the methods that we are proposing have been created specifically to fit with the requirements and traditions of the different social groups throughout mountain regions worldwide.

MIXED FORESTRY

                                                              

                                    Mixed Forestry

It is the practice of forestry for raising trees and fodder grass with scattered fodder trees, fruit trees and fuel wood trees on suitable wastelands, Panchayat lands and common land of village. Mixed forestry means an intensive land management system that optimizes the benefits from biological interactions created when trees, plants, herbs and shrubs are deliberately combined to enrich biodiversity. It embraces a land use land management system that optimizes the benefits from the biological interactions created when variety of  trees management system in which trees or shrubs are grown on a patch of  land/mountain or pastureland. It combines shrubs and trees in agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy, and sustainable land-use systems.

Scientific base for mixed forestry comes from ecology, via agro ecology. From this perspective, mixed forestry is one of the three principal land-use science and other two are agriculture and forestry. Mixed forestry has a lot in common with agro forestry. Both have two or more plant species (such as nitrogen-fixing plants) in close interaction both provide multiple outputs, as a consequence, higher overall yields and, because a single application or input is shared, costs are reduced

JAGAT SINGH JANGJI WITH STUDENTS IN MIXED FOREST
http://www.activeremedy.org/news-posts/meeting-the-indian-man-of-the-trees/