Title: Wild weed cover lowering groundwater table in Gujarat, says forest expert -

[Times Of India 12 Aug 2011 by Rajiv Shah] --GANDHINAGAR: An authoritative study, put out by the state forest department last week, has not just revealed the total forest cover of Gujarat has witnessed an absolute decline since 2001, but also that whatever improvement of tree cover one witnesses in patches of forest and non-forest area is because of the spread of the wild weed, gando baval. Also called Prosopis juliflora or Prosopis chilensis, experts call it a "nuisance", as, among other things, it competes with rangeland grass for moisture, and it is found to lead to lowering of groundwater tables.

Authored by top state forest department official Dr HS Singh, known among official circles as perhaps the best forest expert in the government, the study, "Forests and Their Produce in Gujarat", says that "health of good forests has suffered due to increasing biotic pressure", more particularly "unauthorized cultivation" in forest areas. But it simultaneously underlines that whatever "forest improvement" has taken place, it is mainly due to "the invasion of prosopis chilensis." In the non-forest area, it adds, social forestry attempts have "naturalized" the wild weed, imposing a "threat on local vegetation, especially among grasslands."

Authored by top state forest department official Dr HS Singh, known among official circles as perhaps the best forest expert in the government, the study, "Forests and Their Produce in Gujarat", says that "health of good forests has suffered due to increasing biotic pressure", more particularly "unauthorized cultivation" in forest areas. But it simultaneously underlines that whatever "forest improvement" has taken place, it is mainly due to "the invasion of prosopis chilensis." In the non-forest area, it adds, social forestry attempts have "naturalized" the wild weed, imposing a "threat on local vegetation, especially among grasslands."

Estimating around 2.94 crore prosopis trees in Gujarat in the year 2009, Dr Singh says, it is already the No 1 tree species with 14.7 per cent of the total tree species of the state, next being neem, with 2.98 crore, or 11.1 per cent. While claiming that prosopis, "seen everywhere - along river beds, wastelands, coastal areas, along roads, railways, etc. - resolve crisis of fuel wood" in the lower rungs of society, and has thus been helpful to the poorer sections, Dr Singh admits, among its big "disadvantages" include destruction of the "natural ecosystems". In fact, the author says, "Invasion of prosopis chilensis has threatened the grasslands in the state."



From http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, see original source.



Article: WeedsNews2094 (permalink)
Categories: :WeedsNews:research alert, :WeedsNews:forestry, :WeedsNews:grasslands
Date: 16 August 2011; 8:26:30 PM AEST

Author Name: David Low
Author ID: adminDavid