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Jacob, James

Indian Brahmaputra Valley Offers Significant Potential for Cultivation of Rubber Trees under Changed Climate

Abstract Views :181 | PDF Views:85

Authors

Debabrata Ray ¹, M. D. Behera ², James Jacob ³

Affiliations
1 Regional Research Station, Rubber Research Institute of India, Agartala 799 006, IN
2 Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere & Land Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721 302, IN
3 Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam 686 009, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 107, No 3 (2014), Pagination: 461-469

Abstract

In a warming world, species distribution models have become a useful tool for predicting plausible shifts of a species occurrence enforced by climate change. Using maximum entropy (Maxent) model, we analysed present and future distribution patterns of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) in two distinct bio-geographical regions of India: the Western Ghats having a good distribution of rubber plantations at present and the Brahmaputra valley, where rubber trees are recently being cultivated. The model-derived suitable regions of the Western Ghats and Brahmaputra valley provided good conformity with a satellite-derived rubber plantation distribution map. Annual range of temperature and mean temperature in the coldest months, temperature seasonality and rainfall in the warmest quarter would be the major decisive variables in the distribution of this species as revealed by the area under receiver operating curve. Interestingly, we predict that more areas will become suitable for rubber cultivation by the middle of the 21st century in the Brahmaputra valley, while some areas under current cultivation may become partially unsuitable for this species in the Western Ghats. This result can help planners in deriving a comprehensive rubber plantation policy for India considering the existing land-use scenarios.

Keywords

Climate Change, Maximum Entropy, Rubber Plantations, Species Distribution Model.

Full Text

Surface Soil and Subsoil Acidity in Natural and Managed Land-Use Systems in the Humid Tropics of Peninsular India

Abstract Views :186 | PDF Views:87

Authors

K. M. Nair ¹, K. S. Anil Kumar ¹, M. Lalitha ¹, Shivanand ¹, S. C. Ramesh Kumar ¹, S. Srinivas ¹, Arti Koyal ¹, S. Parvathy ¹, K. Sujatha ¹, C. Thamban ², Jeena Mathew ², K. P. Chandran ², Abdul Haris ², V. Krishnakumar ², V. Srinivasan ³, Jessy ⁴, James Jacob ⁴, J. S. Nagaraj ⁵, Maria Violet D’Souza ⁵, Y. Raghuramulu ⁵, R. Hegde ¹, S. K. Singh ¹

Affiliations
1 Regional Centre, ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Hebbal, Bengaluru 560 024, IN
2 ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod 671 124, IN
3 ICAR-Indian Institute of Spices Research, Kozhikode 673 012, IN
4 Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam 686 009, IN
5 Coffee Research Institute, Chikmagalur 577 117, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 116, No 7 (2019), Pagination: 1201-1211

Abstract

Natural forests and managed plantations constitute the largest land-use systems in the humid tropics of southwestern parts of Peninsular India comprising the Western Ghats and coastal plain. Soils therein are naturally acidic and the acidity is enhanced in managed land-use systems through inputs of chemical fertilizers. Plant nutrient deficiencies and mineral toxicities constrain crop production in acid soils. Surface soil and subsoil acidity in forest, coffee, rubber and coconut land-use systems was evaluated. The spatial pattern of surface soil and subsoil acidity pointed to low intensity of acidification in Malnad region of Karnataka, moderate acidity in northern Kerala and strong acidity in southern Kerala. Among the land-use systems studied, soils under natural forests and coffee plantations were only slightly acidic in surface soil and subsoil, whereas rubber- and coconut-growing soils were strongly acidic. Both natural and managed land-use systems, however, had strongly acid reaction in surface soil and subsoil in southern Kerala. Biomass production and crop yield are constrained in strongly acid soil by toxic levels of aluminium (Al) on soil exchange complex (>0.5 cmol (+) kg^–1 soil) and depletion of basic cations of calcium, magnesium and potassium (base saturation less than 50% or Al saturation more than 50%). Surface soil acidity can be ameliorated by incorporating liming materials into surface soils. In case of subsoil acidity gypsum too should be incorporated. Under humid climate partial solubility of gypsum permits movement of calcium into the subsoil layers, wherein calcium replaces the aluminium on exchange complex and sulphate radical precipitates the aluminium by formation of aluminium sulphate.

Keywords

Base Saturation, Humid Tropics, Land-Use Systems, Surface Soil and Subsoil Acidity.

Full Text

References

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Commercial agriculture inside reserve forests – the case of natural rubber cultivation in Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract Views :205 | PDF Views:81

Authors

James Jacob ¹, B. Pradeep ¹

Affiliations
1 Rubber Research Institute of India, Kottayam 686 009, IN

Source

Current Science, Vol 122, No 3 (2022), Pagination: 319-322

Abstract

Satellite-based remote sensing data was used in conjunction with toposheets of forest maps to estimate the extent of natural rubber cultivation existing inside reserve forests and their immediate peripheries in Kanyakumari district. The study revealed that nearly 15% of the total natural rubber cultivated area in the district was inside reserve forests and another 14% was within a radius of 500 m from the forest boundary. Ironically the entire natural rubber cultivated inside the forests and bulk of that existed adjacent to the forests were owned by a public sector undertaking (PSU) of the state government. This PSU was formed in 1984 with the objective of rehabilitating the Sri Lankan Tamil repatriates. There are more such PSU plantations inside and adjacent to forest periphery in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka that were established with equally noble causes, but they put severe pressure on the forests, fragmenting them and blocking wildlife corridors. Incidents of man–wildlife conflicts are not uncommon in these plantations. A serious scientific introspection is needed about the ecological, economic and social sustainability of these commercial PSU plantations developed inside and close to forests and whether they should be now reverted to forests and set a new and bold example for conservation. The current generation of plantation workers who are descendants of Sri Lankan Tamil repatriates should be trained for better jobs elsewhere

Keywords

Ecological conservation, GIS, reserve forests, rubber plantations, satellite data, Western Ghats.

Full Text

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