The Thar Desert,Sindh,Pakistan is characterized by low productivity.Besides,economy is based on agriculture,livestock and mining,nevertheless,livestock graze freely on public and private land.The aim of this research ...The Thar Desert,Sindh,Pakistan is characterized by low productivity.Besides,economy is based on agriculture,livestock and mining,nevertheless,livestock graze freely on public and private land.The aim of this research was to determine biomass production and to evaluate the effects of continuous and seasonal grazing on protected and unprotected plots.A 45 ha protected rangeland area of Hurrabad in the Umerkot Thar desert was selected and divided into three blocks of 15 ha each.Blocks of the same size were also established in unprotected area.The data for vegetation biomass,canopy cover,forage nutrients and weight gain of animals in two seasons(spring and summer)was collected from both protected and unprotected sites.The results showed that biomass significantly increased in summer in both sites.However,the biomass values in protected sites were significantly higher.Similarly,the vegetation cover also seemed to increase in summer in both protected(90.7%±0.29%)and unprotected sites(39.2%±0.09%).The foliar concentrations of all nutrients varied significantly with season.The average final live-weight gain for does on the protected grazing sites during the 42-day period in spring and the 96 days after the monsoon was almost double that of does grazing on the unprotected site during 2016 and 2017(P<0.05).The study concludes that the protection of grazing lands during certain periods can lead to better production of vegetation and livestock and improve range conditions.展开更多
Thar coalfield is a new coalfield in Pakistan with estimated lignite resource of more than 175 billion tons. Resource planning is an essential part of the strategic plan for optimal and economical exploitation of Thar...Thar coalfield is a new coalfield in Pakistan with estimated lignite resource of more than 175 billion tons. Resource planning is an essential part of the strategic plan for optimal and economical exploitation of Thar lignite. Main objective of the present research is to assess Thar coalfield as a single deposit and identify the areas suitable for surface mining, underground mining and waste dump at Thar coalfield. The cumulative stripping ratio distribution map has been developed for Thar coalfield, covering an area of 1691.04 km2 around 12 exploratory blocks. Lithological data of 693 drill holes have been used to calculate the cumulative stripping ratio in every borehole, which varies from 3.7 m：m to 88.1 m：m with an average value of 12.85 m：m. Cumulative stripping ratio is divided into six ranges, viz： 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-15, 15-20 and 〉20 m：m. Contours are digitized around all boreholes showing various ranges of stripping ratios. From the cumulative stripping ratio distribution map, it is concluded that 665.72 km2 area, which constitutes 39.37% of the total assessed area, is suitable for surface mining and 989.82 km2 area, constituting 58.53%, is appropriate for underground mining and outside waste dumps. Whereas, 2.1% area is no coal zone, only suitable for outside waste dumping. The developed map of cumulative stripping ratio distribution may be used as a guide map for the preparation of mining master plan for Thar coalfield.展开更多
Establishment of ornamental and aesthetic plants in hot, arid conditions of India is difficult due to the prevailing climatic, edaphic and biotic factors. Effect of turfgrass on the growth of ornamental plants in hot ...Establishment of ornamental and aesthetic plants in hot, arid conditions of India is difficult due to the prevailing climatic, edaphic and biotic factors. Effect of turfgrass on the growth of ornamental plants in hot arid conditions has not been studied so far anywhere in the world. A study was conducted on the campus of Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur, India to assess the performance of a few ornamental plant spe- cies in combination with turfgrass and without turfgrass with respect to different soil tilling intervals. Growth of plants was better with turfgrass than without turfgrass. We suggest adopting a soil tilling interval of 30 days to achieve optimum growth of ornamental plant species in terms of height and crown diameter. Our results can help reduce labor costs and achieving better landscapes in fewer days in hot urban conditions of Indian sub continent.展开更多
基金financial support of the rangeland monitoring trials in the Thar Desertsupport of The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), CRP Livestock and the Livestock and Climate Initiative of the OneCGIAR
文摘The Thar Desert,Sindh,Pakistan is characterized by low productivity.Besides,economy is based on agriculture,livestock and mining,nevertheless,livestock graze freely on public and private land.The aim of this research was to determine biomass production and to evaluate the effects of continuous and seasonal grazing on protected and unprotected plots.A 45 ha protected rangeland area of Hurrabad in the Umerkot Thar desert was selected and divided into three blocks of 15 ha each.Blocks of the same size were also established in unprotected area.The data for vegetation biomass,canopy cover,forage nutrients and weight gain of animals in two seasons(spring and summer)was collected from both protected and unprotected sites.The results showed that biomass significantly increased in summer in both sites.However,the biomass values in protected sites were significantly higher.Similarly,the vegetation cover also seemed to increase in summer in both protected(90.7%±0.29%)and unprotected sites(39.2%±0.09%).The foliar concentrations of all nutrients varied significantly with season.The average final live-weight gain for does on the protected grazing sites during the 42-day period in spring and the 96 days after the monsoon was almost double that of does grazing on the unprotected site during 2016 and 2017(P<0.05).The study concludes that the protection of grazing lands during certain periods can lead to better production of vegetation and livestock and improve range conditions.
文摘Thar coalfield is a new coalfield in Pakistan with estimated lignite resource of more than 175 billion tons. Resource planning is an essential part of the strategic plan for optimal and economical exploitation of Thar lignite. Main objective of the present research is to assess Thar coalfield as a single deposit and identify the areas suitable for surface mining, underground mining and waste dump at Thar coalfield. The cumulative stripping ratio distribution map has been developed for Thar coalfield, covering an area of 1691.04 km2 around 12 exploratory blocks. Lithological data of 693 drill holes have been used to calculate the cumulative stripping ratio in every borehole, which varies from 3.7 m：m to 88.1 m：m with an average value of 12.85 m：m. Cumulative stripping ratio is divided into six ranges, viz： 4-6, 6-8, 8-10, 10-15, 15-20 and 〉20 m：m. Contours are digitized around all boreholes showing various ranges of stripping ratios. From the cumulative stripping ratio distribution map, it is concluded that 665.72 km2 area, which constitutes 39.37% of the total assessed area, is suitable for surface mining and 989.82 km2 area, constituting 58.53%, is appropriate for underground mining and outside waste dumps. Whereas, 2.1% area is no coal zone, only suitable for outside waste dumping. The developed map of cumulative stripping ratio distribution may be used as a guide map for the preparation of mining master plan for Thar coalfield.
文摘Establishment of ornamental and aesthetic plants in hot, arid conditions of India is difficult due to the prevailing climatic, edaphic and biotic factors. Effect of turfgrass on the growth of ornamental plants in hot arid conditions has not been studied so far anywhere in the world. A study was conducted on the campus of Arid Forest Research Institute, Jodhpur, India to assess the performance of a few ornamental plant spe- cies in combination with turfgrass and without turfgrass with respect to different soil tilling intervals. Growth of plants was better with turfgrass than without turfgrass. We suggest adopting a soil tilling interval of 30 days to achieve optimum growth of ornamental plant species in terms of height and crown diameter. Our results can help reduce labor costs and achieving better landscapes in fewer days in hot urban conditions of Indian sub continent.
