Values and Services of Nitrogen-Fixing Alder Based Cardamom Agroforestry Systems in the Eastern Himalayas - Smallholder Tree Growing for Rural Development and Environmental Services - page 377

18.1 Introduction

The conversion of forests into other forms of land use has been the general trend
in mountainous areas. Such changes in land-use have been conspicuous in recent
decades in the Himalayan region (Rai et al. 1994). Forest-dominated watersheds
have been converted into agrarian watersheds. This type of conversion was
induced by an increasing population pressure and the limitations of productive
agricultural land (Rai and Sharma 1998). The goal of forested watershed manage-
ment is the rational utilization of land and water resources, with minimal distur-
bance to natural resources (Sundriyal et al. 1994). Land management in catchment
areas of mountainous regions like the Himalayas essentially relates to the ecosystem
services provided by these areas to upland and lowland people. Such ecosystem serv-
ices specifically involve the conservation of soil and water, the protection of land
from soil quality deterioration, and the conservation of water for drinking and
other farm uses. Maintenance of these services is of great importance in achieving
sustainable and optimum productivity of land use systems (Sharma et al. 1992).
Soil on steep slopes with upland farming systems low in tree cover, such as those
associated with more intensive agricultural practices is vulnerable to erosion and
fertility reduction (Rai and Sharma 1995). The recent challenges in the field of
sustainable development are linked to the degradation resulting from large-scale
land use, and meeting the growing demand for food. The majority of the population
who depend on forest and tree resources for their subsistence have become vulnerable.
In such a situation, agroforestry offers multiple opportunities to farmers while also
improving farm production and income, and providing productive and protective
forest functions.
This chapter discusses a traditional practice of agroforestry with multiple oppor-
tunities to farmers in areas subject to land-use change, i.e., large cardamom cultiva-
tion with N 2 -fixing alder. The practice has been a boon for the mountain populations
in the Eastern Himalayas by providing economic benefits, ecological sustainability
and ecosystem services (Sharma et al. 2000). Likewise, it has proven to contribute
to integrated natural resource management, i.e., a management approach aimed at
increasing agricultural production in a sustainable manner (Izac and Sanchez 2001;
Lambin and Geist 2003).

18.2 Study Area and Alder-Cardamom Agroforestry

The Eastern Himalayas is spread over a wide spectrum of ecological zones and has
a diverse socio-economic potential. It harbours three of the world's 34 biodiversity
hotspots, with an array of unique plants and animals. The five major farming sys-
tems operative in the region are: (1) pastoralism, (2) agro-pastoralism, (3) mixed
farming systems, (4) shifting cultivation and (5) commercial cash crop cultivation
(see Photo 18.1; Sharma and Kerkhoff 2004).