Grassland conservation and restoration in India: a governance crisis

Lahiri, Sutirtha; Roy, Anirban; Fleischman, Forrest

doi:10.1111/rec.13858

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Rates of carbon sequestration in the secondary ecosystems studied here are unstudied, and quantifying this could be valuable as a potential counter-argument to any future reforestation threat, and informative for restoration initiatives in montane grasslands elsewhere. In addition, outreach initiatives are needed to dispel misconceptions that grasslands are degraded forests, which is common in our study region as well as many other parts of the world (Bond et al, 2008;Lahiri et al, 2023)…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Plant diversity in secondary, montane grasslands – a case study of the abandoned plantations of Mariepskop Mountain, South Africa

Swemmer,

Lerm,

Thompson

et al. 2024

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Grasslands are one of the most threatened terrestrial ecosystem types, and montane grasslands of particular conservation concern. Despite high rates of transformation in recent decades, croplands and plantations are being abandoned in parts of many countries, creating an opportunity for conservation of montane grasslands through restoration. We report on the changes in the cover of major vegetation types (indigenous forest, grassland, and plantations) between 1935 and 2022, in an area that was intensively afforested from 1930 to 1960 and abandoned in 2000. Montane grassland at the site declined from over 50% of all landcover to below 15%, but subsequently recovered to 30% within 20 years. Many former plantations developed into secondary grassland with estimated gamma plant species richness of 231 for herbaceous species and 45 for savanna species. These are high values considering the size of the study area (4000 ha), and comparable to estimates from primary grassland sites in the broader region. However, at the scale of 1 m2 sampling quadrats, richness in the secondary grasslands was below that recorded in the last remaining patches of primary grassland at the site (means of 2.6 versus 4.7 for graminoid species, and 1.9 versus 2.9 for forbs). Some of the former Eucalyptus plantations had transformed into novel savannas dominated by fire-tolerant, resprouting trees, and may require more active restoration. Secondary grasslands such as those reported on here could potentially make a significant contribution to the conservation of montane biodiversity over the coming decades, warranting further research (both socio-economic and ecological) on the factors that lead to abandonment and promote the emerge of secondary grasslands of high diversity.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Plant diversity in secondary, montane grasslands – a case study of the abandoned plantations of Mariepskop Mountain, South Africa

Swemmer,

Lerm,

Thompson

et al. 2024

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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“…km, or about 24 percent, of country's total land area (32,87,263 sq. km) 12 and are increasingly threatened by agricultural conversion, tree-based plantation projects, invasive species, re suppression, and mega development projects 13 .Indian grasslands are negatively affected by India's commitment to global goals and the involvement of multiple government bodies in grassland management. This issue is exacerbated by government and non-pro t organisations' strong forest bias.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This issue is exacerbated by government and non-pro t organisations' strong forest bias. Findings fro m lahiri et al, 13 , bring forward that for India to effectively preserve and regenerate grasslands, a more uni ed national policy framework and a strong ecological categorization system are required. Kachchh district situated in Gujarat is characterized by having vast stretches of saline desert, salt marshes and grasslands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maximizing the Ecological Value: Assessing Land Suitability for Sustainable Grassland Management in Asia's largest grassland, western India

Dey,

sharma,

Thakkar

2024

Preprint

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Grasslands are crucial ecosystems that provide numerous ecological services and support biodiversity conservation. Grasslands undergo significant threat from both anthropogenic and natural threats, compromising their ability to maintain biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being. Despite this, grasslands are frequently ignored in sustainable development objectives. An adequate knowledge of how grassland degradation affects ecosystem services is essential for sustainable management and grassland ecological restoration. The Kachchh region in western India harbours unique grassland ecosystem known as the Banni grassland, which had once boosted to be finest grasslands in Asia. However, undesirable anthropogenic interventions have accelerated its degradation. This research paper aims to assess the suitability of different land areas in Banni for sustainable grassland management, considering ecological value as a primary criterion. In the current research, land suitability for grassland management was assessed using a Geographical Information System (GIS) based multi-criteria evolution (MCE) method using satellite data and the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Ground truthing of soil samples was carried out alongside. Slope, Rainfall, infiltration rate, LULC, Geomorphology, soil texture, soil organic carbon, water holding capacity, SAR,CEC, pH, EC, and soil nutrients were among the criteria used. The weights for each criterion were calculated using a pairwise comparison matrix, and scores were allocated to sub-criterions based on field work, expert opinions, and a literature review. The proposed method can be very useful for evaluating the state of the land and can help with the best possible planning for grassland development and conservation. Banni grassland holds the perspective to be developed into a CZO (Critical Zone Observatory) in future and the present study with further inputs holds the promise for furthering the cause for its sustainable management. Overall, this study underscores the importance of assessing land suitability for sustainable grassland management and highlights the potential for maximizing the ecological value of grasslands in western India and beyond.

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“…Grasslands represent a vital ecological component of the Earth's surface, serving as a critical element in the livestock feeding system [1]. In addition, these ecosystems play a critical role in preserving animal and plant biodiversity [2], mitigating soil erosion [3], offering habitats for diverse animal species [4], and exerting influence over the carbon cycle between the Earth's surface and the atmosphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Bale Grazing and Sacrificed Pasture Biomass through the Integration of Sentinel Satellite Images and Machine Learning Techniques

Vahidi,

Shafian,

Thomas

et al. 2023

Remote Sensing

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Quantifying the forage biomass in pastoral systems can be used for enhancing farmers’ decision-making in precision management and optimizing livestock feeding systems. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of integrating Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery with machine learning techniques to estimate the aboveground biomass and forage quality of bale grazing and sacrificed grassland areas in Virginia. The workflow comprised two steps, each addressing specific objectives. Firstly, we analyzed the temporal variation in spectral and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) variables derived from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series images. Subsequently, we evaluated the contribution of these variables with the estimation of grassland biomass using three machine learning algorithms, as follows: support vector regression (SVR), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN). The quantitative assessment of the models demonstrates that the ANN algorithm outperforms the other approaches when estimating pasture biomass. The developed ANN model achieved an R2 of 0.83 and RMSE of 6.68 kg/100 sq. meter. The evaluation of feature importance revealed that VV and VH polarizations play a significant role in the model, indicating the SAR sensor’s ability to perceive changes in plant structure during the growth period. Additionally, the blue, green, and NIR bands were identified as the most influential spectral variables in the model, underscoring the alterations in the spectrum of the pasture over time.

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Grassland conservation and restoration in India: a governance crisis

Cited by 6 publications

References 61 publications

Plant diversity in secondary, montane grasslands – a case study of the abandoned plantations of Mariepskop Mountain, South Africa

Plant diversity in secondary, montane grasslands – a case study of the abandoned plantations of Mariepskop Mountain, South Africa

Maximizing the Ecological Value: Assessing Land Suitability for Sustainable Grassland Management in Asia's largest grassland, western India

Estimation of Bale Grazing and Sacrificed Pasture Biomass through the Integration of Sentinel Satellite Images and Machine Learning Techniques

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