Abstract
Recent challenges for sustainable development are linked to large-scale land use transition and its impact on forest-dependent populations. Alternatively, agroforestry practices offer multiple opportunities to farmers to improve farm production and incomes; they also result in productive and protective forests functions. Large cardamom (Amomum subulatum) cultivation with N2-fixing Himalayan alder (Alnus nepalensis) as a shade tree in the Eastern Himalayas is one such alternative agroforestry practice. Performances were analyzed for cardamom agroforestry with N2-fixing alder (alder-cardamom), without alder (forest-cardamom), and with an age series of alder-cardamom between 5 to 40 years. Alder tree association accelerates the cycling of both nitrogen and phosphorus, and more than doubles production and yield. While increasing soil fertility, alder-cardamom agroforestry also conserves soil and water, and sequesters atmospheric carbon. This leads to ecological sustainability in mountain watersheds. It also provides a high aesthetic value and draws upon cultural, recreational and educational values that are harnessed by local communities as non-farming employment opportunities in ecotourism. Ecosystem services provided by cardamom agroforestry contribute to the well being of the upland people and at the same time profit the beneficiaries downstream.
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Sharma, E., Sharma, R., Sharma, G., Rai, S.C., Sharma, P., Chettri, N. (2008). Values and Services of Nitrogen-Fixing Alder Based Cardamom Agroforestry Systems in the Eastern Himalayas. In: Snelder, D.J., Lasco, R.D. (eds) Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services. Advances in Agroforestry, vol 5. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8261-0_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8261-0_18
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