Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

EFFECT OF ANR (ACCELERATED NATURAL REGENERATION) TREATMENTS ON SOIL ORGANIC CONTENT IN MIXED SAL FORESTS OF ORISSA

Peerzada Ishtiyak, Mohan Reddy, Ashok Singha and Qadri Javid Ahmad

Abstract

Soil Organic Carbon is one of the most important components that delineate the productivity of a terrestrial ecosystem. Assisted or Accelerated Natural Regeneration (ANR) interventions leads to overall improvement in geomorphology of forests but the effect of such intervention on soil organic content has not been documented appropriately. ANR interventions of Cleaning, Gap Plantation and Soil Moisture Conservation were done in the study sites of mixed sal forests of Orissa, India. This paper discusses the impact of different ANR interventions on the soil organic content in sal coppice and mixed deciduous forests under different conditions of degradation. A quasi experimental research design has been followed for assessing the impact of ANR interventions on soil organic content for which data was collected from the Orissa Forestry Sector Development Project sites (OFSDP).