Restoration of degraded lands for carbon stock enhancement and climate change mitigation: the case of Rebu watershed, Woliso Woreda, Southwest Shoa, Ethiopia

This study was conducted to estimate carbon stock enhancement and climate change mitigation potential of restoration effort in Rebu Watershed, Woliso Woreda, Ethiopia. Two restored lands of thirteen years old were randomly selected from two kebeles. Biomass and soil data were collected systematically from nested plots. Mensuration of woody species, soil, and grass/litter samples was collected from the subplots of the nested plots. A total of 72 composite soil samples were collected. The results showed the positive impact of restoration activity on enhancing biomass and soil organic carbon stocks. The restored land ecosystem had shown higher carbon stock of (138.51 ± 27.34 t/ha) than the adjacent unrestored land ecosystem (101.43 ± 21.25 t/ha), which confirmed the potential of restoration in enhancing the carbon stock and mitigating climate change. Hence, the restored land use type has been stored about 8.37 t/ha of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in biomasses. The restored land use type has mitigated climate change (absorb CO2) by 7.7 times than the adjacent unrestored land use type in this study. The significant values in restored land use types were due to the enhanced vegetation and land cover, which contributed to the biomass and soil organic carbon accumulation. Moreover, the lower values in unrestored land use type were due to the continuous degradation and disturbance from livestock and human beings. Therefore, the result of this study showed that protecting the degraded lands from any disturbance could enhance the carbon stocks of the ecosystem and mitigate the carbon emission rate.

Cartographic analysis of the distribution of degraded lands (on the example of the Рoltava region)

Cartographic analysis can be considered as one of the means of the land monitoringsystem, in particular, by the distribution of degradation processes. The work is proposed to createfor regions of cartogram of total distribution of degraded agricultural land and cartograms offraction of agricultural lands that have undergone water and wind erosion, acidification, salinization,with indispensable drawing on these cartograms of the river network scheme. The zoning of the Poltava region is presented and analyzed in terms of the total distribution ofdegraded agricultural land, as well as separately by the particles of water, wind erosion,acidification, salinization.According to the relative distribution of degraded agricultural lands (without taking intoaccount the overlap of various types of degradation) within the Poltava region, there are 2 groups ofdistricts of increased land degradation: 1) northern (covers 7 districts – Pyriatyn, Chornukhy, Lubny,Lokhvytsia, Myrhorod, Hadiach, Zinkiv) and 2) southeastern (covers 3 districts – Kobeliaky, NoviSanzhary and Mashivka).Water erosion is inherent in districts with significant difference in heights and largest forestcover. This is primarily Dykanka, Zinkiv, Reshetylivka districts (watershed between rivers of Psel andVorskla), Lokhvytsia and Chornukhy districts (watershed between rivers of Sula and Udai) and theChutove district (watershed between rivers of Vorskla and Orel). Wind erosion covers predominantlynorthwestern, north and southeastern districts – Pyriatyn, Chornukhy, Hrebinka, Lokhvytsia,Hadiach, Mashivka, Novi Sanzhary.Cartograms of distribution of degraded land are supplemented by the river network on them.The method of their creation is described. The cartographic method is substantiated by theinterconnection of the districts of increased acidification of soils with basins of the rivers Udai andVorskla, and the districts of minimum acidification of soils – with the basin of the river Khorol.Salinization of soils of the Poltava region should be associated, obviously not with superficial,and with groundwater. In the future, it is recommended to use for a cartographic analysis of thedistribution of degraded lands additionally maps of groundwater hydroisogyps.

Restoring Soil Fertility on Degraded Lands to Meet Food, Fuel, and Climate Security Needs via Perennialization

A continuously growing pressure to increase food, fiber, and fuel production to meet worldwide demand and achieve zero hunger has put severe pressure on soil resources. Abandoned, degraded, and marginal lands with significant agricultural constraints—many still used for agricultural production—result from inappropriately intensive management, insufficient attention to soil conservation, and climate change. Continued use for agricultural production will often require ever more external inputs such as fertilizers and herbicides, further exacerbating soil degradation and impeding nutrient recycling and retention. Growing evidence suggests that degraded lands have a large potential for restoration, perhaps most effectively via perennial cropping systems that can simultaneously provide additional ecosystem services. Here we synthesize the advantages of and potentials for using perennial vegetation to restore soil fertility on degraded croplands, by summarizing the principal mechanisms underpinning soil carbon stabilization and nitrogen and phosphorus availability and retention. We illustrate restoration potentials with example systems that deliver climate mitigation (cellulosic bioenergy), animal production (intensive rotational grazing), and biodiversity conservation (natural ecological succession). Perennialization has substantial promise for restoring fertility to degraded croplands, helping to meet future food security needs.

Effects of degraded lands restoration on soils physicochemical properties and adaptability of planted woody species in southwestern Niger

In the Sahel, exacerbated soils degradation is an ecological indicator of ecosystem vulnerability. This study examines the effects of restoration of degraded lands on soils physicochemical properties and adaptability of planted woody species over a period of 4-6 years. It is based on: 1) Physicochemical analyses of soils (granulometry, calcimetry, and organic matter) carried out on 102 samples taken in the upper 10 centimeters of the soil profile of the rehabilitated and control sites, 2) measures carried out for the dimensioning of anti-erosion structures, 3) dendrometric measurements on woody species planting in 20 plots each with a rectangular shape 60 m × 30 m as well as characterization of the structure of their root systems. Physicochemical analyses show an improvement in soil quality and structure thanks to the erosion control measures. The degradation of anti-erosion structures, inferred from the rate of siltation of micro-basins, the subsidence of the bulges, the formation, and extension of the breaches, is strongly influenced by the topography, precipitation, and sandy texture of the soils. The restoration activities have led to the reconstitution of vegetation cover on degraded soils. Based on dendrometric characteristics, height class structure, and root systems architecture, significant differences were observed between woody species planted in anti-erosive structures. Eucalyptus camaldulensis groups of with a tracer root system and high density, have the highest structural parameters resulting from the adaptation of this species on Sahelian degraded lands.

Grass-Legume Seeding: A Sustainable Approach Towards Reclamation of Coalmine Degraded Lands in India

Most of the ecosystem services undergo significant degradation during coal mining activities with negative impacts on ecology, biodiversity and local people’s livelihoods. The cumulative effect of such large scale environmental changes is reflected in rising pollution load, earth’s temperatures and deforestation. There is no eloquence to it that coal is and will continue to be the primary fossil fuel in global energy production, there is a need to embrace sustainability as a key aspect throughout all phases of mining. The cheapest, easiest and eco-friendly approach to accelerate the trajectory of ecological restoration towards a reference state is the introduction of versatile and pioneering plant life forms like grasses and legumes. These species works on basic scientific principles based on ecological theories and incorporating them in post-mined landscapes provides multitudinous environmental benefits coupled with economic and social development. Keeping this in mind the chapter aims to emphasize the importance of grass-legume seeding during ecological restoration of mine degraded lands concerned with the concepts of sustainability.