Researchers have revealed that India may have lost close to 5.8 million full-grown trees in agricultural lands from 2019 to 2022.
About
Agroforest trees in India are remnant trees from forests cleared for agricultural use, offering shade, soil fertilization, and other benefits to the land.
Agroforestry is the practice of retaining large trees in and along croplands.
Trees such as mahua, coconut, sangria, neem, babul, shisha, jamun, vegetable hummingbird, karaoke, and jackfruit in farmlands provide fruits, fuelwood, sap, medicine, mulch, fiber, fodder, and wood for animal and human use.
Benefits of Agroforestry
Agroforestry systems act as carbon sinks, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Trees can provide shade, windbreaks, and microclimate regulation, which benefit crops by reducing stress from extreme weather conditions.
Tree roots absorb excess water during heavy rains, reducing flooding, while also improving groundwater recharge.
It provides a range of non-timber forest products such as fruits, nuts, and medicinal plants, which can contribute to food security and income generation.
Reasons for loss of Agroforest trees
The conversion of diverse agroforestry systems to monoculture agriculture, such as paddy fields, results in the removal of large trees.
Farmers perceive that the benefits provided by trees in agroforestry systems do not outweigh the costs or effort required to maintain them.
This perception leads to the deliberate removal of trees to make farming practices more convenient or profitable.
In regions where water availability is a limiting factor for agriculture, farmers remove trees to establish bore wells or irrigation systems to access additional water sources.
Tree mortality due to natural disturbances such as wildfires, fungal infections, insect infestations, and droughts is a natural part of ecosystem dynamics.
Agroforestry in India
The area under agroforestry in India covers about 8.65% of India’s total geographical area.
About 56% of India is covered by farmland and 20% by forest.
The highest concentration is in the states of Uttar Pradesh (1.86 million ha), followed by Maharashtra (1.61 million ha), Rajasthan (1.55 million ha) and Andhra Pradesh (1.17 million ha).
The Sub-Mission on Agroforestry (Har Medh Par Ped) Scheme was launched in 2016-17 to encourage tree plantation on farmland along with crops/ cropping systems to help the farmers get additional income and make their farming systems more climate resilient and adaptive.
Way Ahead
India’s tree cover has notably expanded in recent years, but it’s crucial to recognize that our reporting only accounts for gross losses, without distinguishing tree gains separately.
A certain loss rate is natural, and the cutting of trees is also part of agroforestry management systems, not every lost tree is related to climatic disturbances or human appropriation.
Moreover, mature trees in fields are often removed, with newer trees cultivated in separate block plantations, generally possessing lower ecological significance.
