Soil Conservation and Ecosystem Stability: Natural Resource Management through Agroforestry in Northwestern Himalayan Region

An overview of potential multipurpose agroforestry tree species, Syzygium cuminii (L.) Skeels in India

“…Jamun tree species is widely used in traditional agroforestry systems in India. Fresh ripe fruits of Jamun are juicy, almost odourless with a pleasant, slightly bitter, astringent taste usually eaten (Das and Das, 2005;Swami et al, 2012;Dangwal et al, 2014;Kashyap et al, 2014). The nutrient value of Jamun fruits is given in table 1.…”

“…Jamun fruits are not only widely consumed as regular food supplement to diet but also add variety to diets, improve palatability and provide essential vitamins, minerals, proteins and calories (Choudhary et al, 2012). Fodder: Their leaves commonly use as fodder (Das and Das, 2005;Yadav and Bisht, 2013;Kashyap et al, 2014); flowers are rich in nectar and yield high-quality honey. Fuelwood: It is a fast-growing tree, which provides excellent firewood and charcoal.…”

“…Wood is durable in water, resistant to termites, and although difficult to work, it saws and machines well and is used for construction, boat building, commercial tea and chest plywood, agricultural implements, tool handles, cart wheels, well curbs and troughs, sleepers, furniture and as props for shafts and galleries in mines. It is also used for building bridges and for making musical instruments, especially guitars (Das and Das, 2005;Orwa et al, 2009;Kashyap et al, 2014). Bark of Jamun has served in tanning and yields a brown dye that has been used in colouring fishnets.…”

“…Jamun is one fruit tree component of agri-horticulture system reported by Choudhary et al (2012) in Rajouri District of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashyap et al (2014) reported that Jamun is an important fruit tree component of traditional fruit based agroforestry systems, India. However, species has such a tremendous potential for upliftment of small land holding farmers of the salt affected waterlogged areas, it is not used widely in commercial agroforestry systems.…”

Dynamics of carbon storage and status of standing vegetation in temperate coniferous forest ecosystem of north western Himalaya India

“…With a land contribution of 65% in the entire region, the Western Himalayas are temperate evergreen forests with continual litter fall throughout the year, offering a home to a variety of natural resources (Kashyap et al 2014 ). The rate of carbon sequestration in temperate forests of the central Himalaya has been calculated on an annual basis (Jina et al 2008 ), with all types of vegetation storing carbon and having the ability to mitigate climate change (Sharma et al 2011 ).…”