Introduction of Dendrocalamus stocksii (Munro.) in the Northwestern Himalayan foothills for sustainable production and resource conservation

The present study evaluates the growth performance and resource conservation attributes of Dendrocalamus stocksii introduced in the Himalayan foothills, India in 2012. The growth and biomass production after seven years were comparable with the growth performance of species in its native region in the Western Ghats. Maximum culm weight of 7.9 kg was recorded in the fifth year. The litterfall reached 8.70 Mg ha–1 in 2019. The basal portion up to 2.25 m was entirely solid after the fifth year of harvesting, which offers a good market potential and a substitute to Dendrocalamus strictus. Studies revealed that about one-third of the ischolar_main number and ischolar_main biomass was observed in 0–10 cm soil layer, whereas about 74% of total ischolar_main number and about 79% of total ischolar_main biomass was recorded in the 0–30 cm soil layer. The dense shallow ischolar_main system can help prevent soil erosion and make the species suitable for the sites having indurate pan at varying depths. Soil hydraulic conductivity and aggregate stability showed marked improvement after six years. Overall, the species can be recommended for large-scale cultivation in the Himalayan foothills