Social Forestry and Agro-forestry
Social Forestry
Definition: It is the practice of forestry on lands outside the conventional forest
area for the benefit of the rural and urban communities. It supplies food,
fodder, fuel, furniture, recreation and protection to agriculture. Therefore it
satisfies the economic and cultural needs of the community. Social forestry is
also described as forestry for the people, by the people and of the people.
Objectives
·
Increasing the
total forest cover is the broader objective
·
To meet the
social needs of the community like food, fodder fuel etc.
·
To provide
gainful employment opportunities to the rural people
·
To develop rural
industry
·
To provide soil
and water conservation
·
To improve
aesthetic value of an area and to meet the recreational needs of the population
Components
1. Farm forestry: It is the practice of forestry n farms in the form of raising rows of
trees on the bunds or boundaries of field and individual trees in private
agricultural land as well as creation of windbreaks which are protective
vegetal screens created around a farm or an orchard b raising one or two lines
of trees fairly close with shrubs in between.
2. Extension Forestry: it is the practice of forestry in areas devoid of
tree growth and other vegetation and situated in places away from the conventional
forest areas with the objective of increasing the area under tree growth. In
farm forestry the ownership of land is usually with private individual while in
extension forestry it is with the community.
·
Mixed
forestry: It is for raising fodder grass
with scattered fodder trees, fruit trees and fuel wood trees on suitable
wastelands, panchayat lands and village commons.
·
Shelter
belts: Shelter belts is defined as a
belt of trees and/or shrubs maintained for the purpose of shelter from wind,
sun, snow drift etc. They are generally more extensive than the windbreaks
covering an area larger than a single farm.
·
Linear strip
plantation: these are plantations of
fast growing species on linear strips of land on the side of roads, canals,
railway lines etc.
3. Recreational Forestry: It is the practice of forestry with the object of
raising flowering trees and shrubs mainly to serve as recreation forests for
the urban and rural population. The main objectives are not to produce timber,
fuel and grass but to raise ornamental trees and shrubs to meet the
recreational needs of the people. It improves the aesthetic value of the
surroundings.
Suitable tree species for social forestry
- Siras : Albizzia lebbek,
- Shisham : Dalbergia sisso,
- Jamun : Sysyglum cumini
- Neem : Azadirachta indica
- Senji : Moringa oleifera
- Ber : Zizyphus mauritiana
- Imli : Tamarindus indica
Drainage
Water logging is the main problem which may be due to
heavy and continuous rainfall and faulty irrigation practices
Adverse Effects
·
Poor or no
oxygen supply to plants
·
Accumulation of
toxic substances like hydrogen gases, H2S, CO2, CH4 etc.
·
Leaching of
nutrients and denitrification
·
Inability of
plant to absorb water and nutrients due to lack of oxygen
·
Anaearobic respiration
leads to more ethanol production which are inurious to roots of crop plants.
Sensitive crops: Ex. Tobacco, Tomato, Pearl Millet,
Cotton, Chillies, Pulses etc.
Agricultural Drainages:
Drainage is the removal of excess water known as
superfluous water or gravitational water from the surface or below the surface
of farm land so as to create favourable soil conditions for plant growth. It is
estimated that the water logged areas in India
Types of Drainage systems
Surface drainage system
a). Random Ditch system: Low spots in fields often
accumulate runoff from adjoining higher areas and stand ponded for several days
or weeks after a heavy rain. Surface water from ponded areas may be removed by
random field ditches.
Great
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