Effects of rainwater harvesting on herbage diversity and productivity in degraded Aravalli hills in western India

Over-exploitation and rural growth have severely damaged native vegetations of Aravalli hills in Rajasthan, India. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different restoration practices （i.e., rainwater harvesting （RWH） and planting of tree seedlings） on improve- ment in soil water and nutrients and growth and biomass of herbaceous vegetation. Contour trench （CT）, Gradonie （G）, Box trench （BT）, V-ditch （VD） and a control were imposed on 75 plots （each of 700 m 2 ） in natural slope gradient defined as 10%, 10% 20% and 20% slopes in 2005. Each plot had three micro-sites of 1-m 2 at up （USP）, middle （MSP） and lower （LSP） part of the plot for observation in 2008. The existed gradient （due to soil texture and topographic features） of soil pH, EC, SOC, NH 4 - N, NO 3 -N and PO 4 -P in June 2005 between 20% to 10% slopes were decreased in 2008 after applying RWH techniques. Such improvement in soil status promoted vegetation growth and biomass in higher slope gra- dients. Soil water, species diversity and herbage biomass increased from USP to LSP, and RWH techniques had positive role in improving SOC, nutrients, vegetation population, evenness and growth at MSP. Despite of lowest SWC, regular rain and greater soil water usage enhanced green and dry herbage biomasses in 10% 20% and 20% slopes, compared with 10% slope. The highest diversity in CT treatment was related to herbage biomass, which was enhanced further by highest concentrations of SOC and PO 4 -P. Further, CT treatment was found to be the best treat- ment in minimizing biomass variance in different slopes. Conclusively, soil texture and topographic features controlled soil water and nutrients availability. Rainwater harvesting techniques increased soil water storage and nutrient retention and also enhanced vegetation status and biomass by minimizing the effects of hillslopes. Thus depending upon the site conditions, suitable RWH technique could be adopted to increase herb- age biomass while rehabilitating the degraded hills.

Environmental Taxes and Agriculture in the European Union and the Netherlands

This paper analyzes the introduction of environmental taxes in the EU and Netherlands and their effects on agriculture, with a special focus on the background of the introduction of environmental tax systems, their design concepts and effects on agriculture, the effects of fertilizer taxes in promoting sustainable agriculture, policy packages between environmental tax and environmental agreements, effects on globalization and global competitiveness, and conversion to renewable energy based on biomass resources.

Changes in fine root biomass of Picea abies forests:predicting the potential impacts of climate change

Aims the impact of global warming on belowground processes,espe-cially on fine root production,is poorly understood in comparison with its aboveground counterpart.Methods Here,we compiled 227 measurements to assess the influence of temperature and precipitation on fine root biomass of Norway spruce(Picea abies[L.]Karst)forest ecosystems in the Eurasia boreal region.Important Findings We found that fine root biomass decreased significantly with lati-tudes.there was a biomass increase of 0.63 Mg ha−1 and 0.32 Mg ha−1 for fine roots<2 and<1 mm in diameter,respectively,with 1°C increase of mean annual temperature.there was an increase of 0.5 and 0.1 Mg ha−1 per 100 mm year−1 precipitation for the two size classes of fine roots.If the adaption of root production can match the pace of global warming and water is not a limiting factor for plant growth,fine root biomass would be expected to increase by 40-140%in response to the predicted increase in tem-perature(3-10°C)over the next century.Our analyses highlighted the strongly positive influences of temperature and precipitation on belowground function,suggesting that predicted future climate change could substantially enhance belowground biomass in the boreal region where the greatest warming is anticipated.this potential increase of belowground biomass,coupled with aboveground biomass,may provide a better understanding of climate-ecosystem feedbacks.