Khejri (Prosopis cineraria L. Druce) based agroforestry systems in the
arid and semi-arid region: supporting ecosystem services
Abstract
Khejri (Prosopis cineraria) based agroforestry systems i.e. traditional
and copied/manipulated from traditional systems were assessed for
ecosystem services. The information on different aspects of Khejri and
its ecosystem services was collected through several documents on the
subject sourced through web and relevant articles of select journals.
The authors also visited the traditional Khejri based agroforestry
fields in the area and made observations on the ecosystem services
provided. The data were collected for provisioning, regulating,
supporting, aesthetic and religious services. The Khejri based
agroforestry systems were found to provide all ecosystem services. In
total, we identified fourteen services provided by Khejri based
agroforestry systems. Khejri-based agri-silvicultural and
Agri-Silvi-horticultural systems provided more services and profits than
sole cropping or other land-use systems in the region. Soil fertility
and organic matter were also more under Khejri based agroforestry system
as compared to other systems. Khejri based agroforestry systems enhanced
the farm income, improved soil fertility, provided nutrition and
resilience under hostile climatic conditions without degradation of land
and other natural resources. Identification of possible ecosystem
services from Khejri based agroforestry systems in our study will
provide an instrument to the policymakers for assessing monetary
outcomes of Khejri based agroforestry systems.