Improving management practices in grasslands used especially for animal grazing can enhance the capacity of soils as carbon sinks, and help countries reach their climate goals, according to this new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Soils contribute to the achievement of the UN …
Current paradigms generally assume that increased plant nitrogen (N) should enhance herbivore performance by relieving protein limitation, increasing herbivorous insect populations. We show, in contrast to this scenario, that host plant N enrichment and high-protein artificial diets decreased the size and viability of Oedaleus asiaticus, a dominant locust of north …
The livelihoods of poor livestock keepers in India primarily depend on the productivity of edible biomass available from common property resources (CPRs) like village commons, the roadsides, along railway tracts, canals, bunds etc. A pro-poor livestock development programme should focus on rejuvenating these resources through enabling policy measures and appropriate …
This FAO publication analyses and presents how climate change affects or will likely affect wild animals and their habitats. It focuses on tropical terrestrial wildlife and its habitats, but other fauna, ecosystems and geographical regions are covered as well. This publication examines the likely consequences of climate change for wildlife, …
Both earthworms and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are important ecosystem engineers co-occurring in temperate grasslands. However, their combined impacts during grassland establishment are poorly understood and have never been studied. We used large mesocosms to study the effects of different functional groups of earthworms (i.e., vertically burrowing anecics vs. horizontally …
A Task Force on Conservation of Bustards Species in India was constituted by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India to look into the issues of conservation of Bustard and Florican species in India and to prepare Action Plan for the conservation of Bustard species. The Task Force, …
The goal of preserving nature is often in conflict with economic development and the aspirations of the rural poor. Nowhere is this more striking than in native grasslands, which have been extensively converted until a mere fraction of their original extent remains. This is not surprising; grasslands flourish in places …
A draft national recovery plan for the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard (GIB) and the endangered Lesser Florican has been submitted to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) by a task force constituted for the purpose. The draft is expected to be finalised in a month’s time and will …
In many countries, degraded ecosystems represent immense opportunity for both biodiversity restoration and human health. When properly designed, the restoration of ecosystems is a proven, safe and immediately available means to protect biodiversity and the vital benefits it provides. Restored ecosystems can improve resilience of both ecosystems and societies, and …
Both climate warming and atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition are predicted to affect soil N cycling in terrestrial biomes over the next century. However, the interactive effects of warming and N deposition on soil N mineralization in temperate grasslands are poorly understood. A field manipulation experiment was conducted to examine the …
The Forest Department of Kerala has just completed the first-ever ornithological survey for the Malabar region recording 341 species of birds. The survey is one of a kind notable for its sheer depth and span, more comprehensive than all such surveys undertaken so far in India. Hopefully, the five-member team …
It is well demonstrated that the responses of plants to elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration are species-specific and dependent on environmental conditions. We investigated the responses of a subshrub legume species, Caragana microphylla Lam., to elevated CO2 and nitrogen (N) addition using open-top chambers in a semiarid temperate grassland in northern …
Agartala: India will engage 100,000 educated youths to execute an ambitious Green India Mission (GIM) which seeks to increase the country’s forest cover to 33 percent from 20 percent within 10 years, says a top forest official. P.J. Dilip Kumar, director general of India’s forest department, says that in order …
Pastoralism is an ancient form of self-provisioning that is still in wide use today throughout the world. While many pastoral regions are the focus of current desertification studies, the long history of sustainability evidenced by these cultures is of great interest. Numerous studies suggesting a general trend of desertification intimate …
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has changed the definition of carbon credit, with its new finding of green grass as the potential area. Until now, carbon credit was allowed to be claimed from industrial units reducing emission of major polluting gases — SO2, CO2, CO …
Savannas worldwide are vital for both socioeconomic and biodiversity values. In these ecosystems, management decisions are based on the perception that wildlife and livestock compete for food, yet there are virtually no experimental data to support this assumption. We examined the effects of wild African ungulates on cattle performance, food …
Leaked EU draft texts confirm expectations that the 27-member bloc is likely to seek to 'green' farm subsidy payments after 2013 by adding new rules on protecting the environment. Controversially, though, the drafts also reveal new plans to allow some countries to re-allocate more direct payments to the production of …
The Bangalore Development Authority’s move to plant saplings in a 300-acre grassland at Hesaraghatta in Bangalore North Taluk, the last patch of verdant landscape that’s home to a variety of wildlife, has ruffled the feathers of nature lovers, wildlife experts and photographers. a Slice of paradise: The 300-acre grassland in …
Global warming is predicted to induce desiccation in many world regions through increases in evaporative demand. Rising CO2 may counter that trend by improving plant water-use efficiency. However, it is not clear how important this CO2-enhanced water use efficiency might be in offsetting warming-induced desiccation because higher CO2 also leads …
Among the wild cats, cheetah is unique and is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx notable with its non-retractable claws and pads. The cheetah made headlines last year when the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), New Delhi, announced setting aside three grassland sanctuaries to bring the extinct …
AHMEDABAD: The forest department has decided to declare as eco-sensitive zone a 956 sq km area around the Great Indian Bustard sanctuary in Abdasa. Once declared eco-sensitive, the area will be free of any development, mining or agriculture activities. Forest officials said the department will have to ban agricultural activities …
