Structure and Production Function of Traditional Extensive Agroforestry Systems and Scope of Intensive Agroforestry in Thar Desert
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Authors
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J.C. Tewari
Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur-
342 003
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M.D. Bohra
Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur-
342 003
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L.N. Harsh
Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur-
342 003
Keywords:
Thar desert, land utilization, Calligonum - Haloxylon -Leptadenia zone, Ziziphus - Capparis zone, Calotropies - Calligonum - Clerodendrum zone, Prosopis -Ziziphus - Capparis zone, Salvadora - Prosopis – Capparis zone, Prosopis - Tecomella zone, Prosopis zAbstract
Thar desert accounts for 89.6 per cent of total hot arid regions of India. Around 67 per cent area of Thar desert falls in west and north-west Rajasthan. It is environmentally and economically one of the most disadvantaged regions of India. The diverse traditional extensive agroforestry systems in this part of Thar desert are evolved through interactions of many environmental, biological, social, economic and cultural factors and have adapted very well to specific sites and climate. The most striking feature of these traditional agroforestry systems is their plasticity as they are interchangable in time and space as per the environmental fluctuations. In this paper structure and production function of traditional extensive agroforestry systems of Thar desert region of western Rajasthan and scope of intensive agroforestry are discussed. Effect of woody component on crops/grasses and vice-versa and nature of interactions are also emphasised.
