ABSTRACT
Agroforestry is the most dynamic and sustainable land use practice comprising woody perennial trees in combination with agricultural crops that has enormous benefits for the environment as well as for the farmers. A study was undertaken to assess the diversity of trees and soil organic carbon (SOC) status under agroforestry system in the farmlands of selected villages of Raebareli district, Uttar Pradesh. The main woody perennial tree under agroforestry systems in the study site are Eucalyptus spp., Mangifera indica, Emblica officinalis, Dalbergia sissoo, Acacia nilotica, Madhuca 52 indica and Ziziphus mauritiana having importance value index of 83.54, 39.38, 25.95, 20.70, 18.72, 16.04 and 11.25 respectively. SOC under selected agroforestry trees (Eucalyptus spp. and Emblica officinalis) was estimated by standardized Walkley and Black method. The results indicated that SOC content decreased with an increase in soil depth. The percent decrease in SOC from the surface (0–15 cm) to subsurface soil (15–30 cm) was 23.7% in sole wheat system as compared to 13.6%, 14.5%, 13.0%, and 14.3% in sole Eucalyptus, sole Aonla, Eucalyptus-wheat, and Aonla-wheat systems, respectively. Further, it was evident from the study that SOC in the surface soil (0–5 cm) under Eucalyptus-wheat system was 9.4% higher as compared to sole forestry system (Eucalyptus), while it was 24.7% higher as compared to sole agriculture system (wheat). Similarly, under Aonla-wheat system, it was 6.7% higher as compared to sole forestry system (Eucalyptus), while it was 28.1% higher as compared to sole agriculture system (wheat). The findings of this study indicate that farmers are showing interest in adopting agroforestry than mono-cropping system, which has a significant impact on SOC content and that can lead to increased carbon sequestration and improved soil quality.
