- Mixed forest block was established in 3.89 ha area with 3.05 ha area under natural forest and 0.84 ha area under planned land use. The average slope of the micro-watershed was 38%. The area under micro watershed was utilized for plantation of forest tree species viz. Acacia auriculiformis, Michelia oblonga and Symingtonia populnea for timber and fuel purpose. Among these species, maximum plant height was attained by Symingtonia populnea (27.60 m) and lowest by Michelia oblonga (19.60 m).
- Silvi-pastoral system was established on 2.94 ha area in forest land of which 2.05 ha was under forest and 0.90 ha under planned land use of silvipastoral system. The average slope of the area was 32.18%. The top portion of the micro-watershed was utilized for broom grass to fulfill the requirement of fodder for the animals during lean period and to get broom sticks as well as fuel woods in the form of stick. An area of 0.74 ha was planted with broom which recorded green fodder of 35.50 t out of which 4.625 t green leaves were used for cow and goat from November to February. Eleven goats (4 adult males, 3 adult females, 3 male kids and 1 female kid) were maintained in this system. The goats were allowed to graze for 3 hours per day and green fodder @ 3 kg per adult along with 250 g of concentrates per adult were given. Poultry (300 broilers) chicks were also reared in two cycles as subsidiary source of income. The lower half portion of the watershed had been planted with fodder trees species of Symingtonia populnea, Bauhinia purpurea and Ficus spp, Schima wallichii, Indigofera indica and wild cherry to provide green leaf fodder to the goats during lean period which was observed to be 2.68 t green leaf fodder from all the tree species.
- Agro-pastoral system was in 0.64 ha area having an average slope of 32.42% with forest land 0.06 ha and planned land used area of 0.58 ha. Terracing enhanced surface area by 28.2 %, resulting in 0.49 ha area of terraced land and 0.33 ha terrace risers. The terrace area was utilized for growing cereals, oilseeds, spices and vegetables. About 75% of the area was brought under 200% cropping intensity which resulted into production of 1.99 t rice equivalent yield (REY) excluding guinea grass from the system. In an integrated approach, crops and livestock income revealed that maximum income realized from cow milk which was 65.76 % of the total income of the system. The crop component contributed only 34.24 %.
- There natural forest block was in 1.03 ha area with 0.08 ha under forest and 0.95 ha under planned land use. The average slope is 45.87%. The watershed area was dominated by common weed flora viz., Fumaria parvifolia, Ciprus irri, Eupatorium adenophorum, Arundinella bengallensis, Solanum khasianum, and Ageratum ssp. Two tree species were commonly grown in the natural forest in the watershed. The growth and development attributes of tree species revealed that Pinus kesyia attained more plant height and other developmental attributes as compared to Schima wallichii. The plant spread was also highest with Pinus kesyia.
- The area of timber-based farming system was on 0.52 ha in which 0.02 ha was under forest and 0.50 ha under planned land use. The average slope was 41.35%. The planned land use system was covered by tree species of Michelia champaka and Michelia oblonga. The growth performance of planted trees and their developmental attributes shown in Table –13 showed better growth and development of Michelia champaka by registering plant height of 16.15 m and plant spread of 5.06 x 5.44 (m) in (N – S) x (E – W) direction while, Michelia oblonga could attain plant height of 15.53 m with plant spread of 5.44 x 5.77 (m).
Natural Resource Management - Farming System Research
- Dairy based farming system was evaluated on a micro watershed of 1.39 ha area including 0.45 ha forest land. The area under planned land use was 0.94 ha, of which 0.22 ha terrace area was under annual fodder crops and remaining under broom and guinea grass. The average slope of the watershed was 32%. The bottom 1-10 terraces were utilized for production of annual fodders, maize + cowpea – cowpea and maize – cowpea cropping sequence. The riser area was utilized for the production of guinea grass. Four milch cows along with their calves were maintained in the system. Fodder crops/ grasses grown in the micro-watershed, produced sufficient fodder for the whole year for the dairy animals. A total of 37.50 t green fodder production from the watershed of which maximum green fodder of 15.06 t recorded from broom leaves followed by mixed grass (13.58 t). The milk yield obtained from the system was 8,462 litre. Besides milk, 35 tonnes of FYM was produced from cow dung, urine, crop residues, and weed biomass in the system.