Impact of agriculture intensification on forest degradation and tree carbon stock; promoting multi‐criteria optimization for restoration in Central India

Abstract

Forest conservation entails both halting destruction and protecting the state of the forest's vegetation. Monitoring forest cover and restoring degraded forests are critical ecological aspects for India's forestry sector's long‐term growth. Cropland expansion and intensification are the primary approaches for increasing agricultural productivity in response to increased biomass demand, but they are also major drivers of biodiversity loss. We evaluated the ecosystem carbon (C) stock and sequestration potential for dry deciduous forests while assessing the drivers of forest degradation in Central India to advance scientific knowledge and minimize the anthropogenic C emissions from prevalent agriculture intensification in the region. A multi‐criteria optimization approach was used to identify the priority areas forrestoration and quantify the magnitude of drivers of biodiversity loss in the region by investigating the links between forest carbon stock, agriculture intensification, and altering forest structure at various degrees of forest disturbance. The total existing carbon stock of trees in study area during March 2020, was 199.12 Mg C ha−1. Overall carbon stock of these forests showed a significant correlation with disturbance levels (r = 0.50). Changes in vegetation especially to intensive agriculture practices have resulted in loss of carbon stocks and will cause large‐scale forest decline if not addressed immediately. Considering the rapid loss of forests in situation where India has to fulfill Nationally Determined Contributions to UNFCCC, Forest Landscape Restoration becomes priority and needs specialized efforts with enhanced funding to reduce and halt loss of forests.

Land degradation and development in India: Status quo, challenges and opportunities

“…31.63% of total vegetation biomass in comparison to reference forest, and this reduction was positively correlated with standing stock, basal area, and plant diversity. A second study also found significant positive correlation between disturbance levels and overall carbon stock in dry deciduous forest of central India (Shukla et al, 2022).…”

“…They report that disturbed forest lost 31.63% of total vegetation biomass in comparison to reference forest, and this reduction was positively correlated with standing stock, basal area, and plant diversity. A second study also found significant positive correlation between disturbance levels and overall carbon stock in dry deciduous forest of central India (Shukla et al, 2022). Researchers argue this rapid loss of forests needs priority for reduction and reversal by appropriate site‐specific restoration.…”

“…The studies in this special issue found that agroforestry improves soil outcomes while also providing socio‐economic benefits by supplementing income of farmers (Karki et al, 2022; Nienkerke & Patt, 2022). The articles on forests quantify various soil‐based ecosystem services (Kumar, Roy, et al, 2022; Pandey et al, 2023) and report that forest degradation reduces these services (Shukla et al, 2022; Thakrey et al, 2022). In the case of soil salinization, also, studies tested different methods to reduce salinization in different local conditions (Jha et al, 2022; Meena et al, 2022; Neha et al, 2022).…”