Abstract
Abstract Agroforestry is an alternative land use practice that holds promise for societal benefits and the attainment of ecosystem sustainability. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the tree diversity, carbon sequestration, soil carbon pool, oxygen production and rice productivity under traditional agroforestry systems at different elevations in the Garhwal Himalayan region of India. Tree diversity, carbon sequestration and oxygen production were quantified by field measurements (using 0.04 ha quadrats) and subsequent calculations. Rice productivity was assessed using grain yield, straw yield and biological yield, while soil properties were analyzed in the laboratory using standard methods. Results of the study showed that tree diversity was higher at the 1200–1600 m elevation and had a maximum Shannon Diversity Index (1.29) and Simpson Diversity Index (0.69). The 1600–2000 m elevation stored more carbon (34.43 Mg ha −1 ) and total oxygen production (91.79 Mg ha −1 ). Among the agroforestry trees, Quercus leucotrichophora , Melia azedarach and Prunus cerasoides showed the highest carbon storage and total oxygen production. Elevation and soil depth were found to affect the soil properties. The agroforestry systems had higher soil organic carbon and lower bulk density than sole cropping systems. Compared to the agroforestry system, the monoculture produced more rice ( Oryza sativa ). The study shows that traditional agroforestry is a valuable tool for carbon sequestration and soil improvement, albeit with potential compromises in crop productivity. It emphasises the need for tailored management approaches to harness the ecological and environmental benefits of agroforestry in the Himalayas. This study draws attention to the potential of traditional agroforestry in the Garhwal Himalaya for carbon sequestration, climate change mitigation and soil quality improvement which provides a reference for striking a balance between the ecological advantages of agroforestry and the socio-economic considerations of local communities. However, it also underlines the importance of considering trade-offs between environmental benefits and crop yields when implementing such agroforestry systems. Graphical Abstract
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record; open copy licensed cc-by. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Tree diversity peaked at 1200–1600 m.
Verbatim
e0“tree diversity was higher at the 1200–1600 m elevation and had a maximum Shannon Diversity Index (1.29) and Simpson Diversity Index (0.69)”
t0“Tree diversity”
Claim · model-written summary
Carbon storage was higher at 1600–2000 m.
Verbatim
e0“The 1600–2000 m elevation stored more carbon (34.43 Mg ha −1 ) and total oxygen production (91.79 Mg ha −1 )”
t0“Tree diversity”
Claim · model-written summary
Total oxygen production was 91.79 Mg ha −1 at 1600–2000 m.
Verbatim
e0“The 1600–2000 m elevation stored more carbon (34.43 Mg ha −1 ) and total oxygen production (91.79 Mg ha −1 )”
t0“Tree diversity”
Claim · model-written summary
Quercus leucotrichophora had among the highest carbon storage and oxygen production.
- Taxon
- Quercus leucotrichophora
.jpg?width=60)
Quercus leucotrichophorae0 - Outcome
- carbon storage and total oxygen productione0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e0“Quercus leucotrichophora , Melia azedarach and Prunus cerasoides showed the highest carbon storage and total oxygen production”
Claim · model-written summary
Melia azedarach had among the highest carbon storage and oxygen production.
- Taxon
- Melia azedarach
Melia azedarache0 - Outcome
- carbon storage and total oxygen productione0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Quercus leucotrichophora , Melia azedarach and Prunus cerasoides showed the highest carbon storage and total oxygen production”
Claim · model-written summary
Prunus cerasoides had among the highest carbon storage and oxygen production.
- Taxon
- Prunus cerasoides
Prunus cerasoidese0 - Outcome
- carbon storage and total oxygen productione0
- Direction
- higheste0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Quercus leucotrichophora , Melia azedarach and Prunus cerasoides showed the highest carbon storage and total oxygen production”
Claim · model-written summary
Agroforestry soils had higher organic carbon and lower bulk density than sole cropping.
- Taxon
- Oryza sativa L.
Oryza sativat0 - Treatment
- agroforestry systemse0
- Outcome
- soil organic carbon and lower bulk densitye0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- sole cropping systemse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The agroforestry systems had higher soil organic carbon and lower bulk density than sole cropping systems”
t0“Oryza sativa L.”
Claim · model-written summary
Monoculture produced more rice than agroforestry.
- Taxon
- Oryza sativaOryza sativae0
- Treatment
- monoculturee0
- Outcome
- ricee0
- Direction
- moree0
- Comparator
- agroforestry systeme0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Compared to the agroforestry system, the monoculture produced more rice ( Oryza sativa )”
The same questions in other papers
rotation · organism · Oryza sativa (rice)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 3 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
1 paper more in this group
See all 5 papers →intercropping · soil: chemistry · Oryza sativa (rice)Results agree
3 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.