Search

The article discusses research which examined the trends in monsoon rainfall extremes in the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states of India over the period of 2003-2019 by analyzing the gridded rainfall dataset of the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Topics covered include the spatiotemporal variability of the extremes in the area, the variation in the total monsoon rainfall during the period, and the trends in total dry days (TDD) in the monsoon season.

The article focuses on a study related to spatio-temporal trends and change point detection in rainfall in different parts of North-eastern states in India. It mentions that coefficient of variation of rainfall is quite low in monsoon and pre-monsoon season. It also mentions that monsoon season contributes much towards total annual rainfall followed by pre-monsoon and post-monsoon. It also mentions about problem of unprecedented drought like situation due to rainfall anomalies in India.

A paired watershed approach was used to quantifying the effects of staggered contour trenching (SCT) densities on runoff and soil loss from a long-term field experiment. Four adjacent physiographical similar ravine watersheds were selected. After 2-year calibration period, three of the four watersheds were treated with different SCT densities and leaving one watershed as untreated control (WC). The SCT densities of 139, 278 and 417 trenches ha−1 were determined based on the targeted 25, 50 and 75% runoff trapping potential of the WT1, WT2 and WT3 treatment watersheds, respectively. Runoff and soil loss were recorded for a period of 11 years including 2 years of calibration period. The calibration and treatment prediction equations for the treatment watershed with respect to untreated control watershed were developed by the simple linear regression. F-test and t-test ( p < 0·0001) suggested that calibration predictions were highly significant and treatment prediction equations differ significantly. Results showed mean runoff reductions of 86·1, 60·5 and 37·7% in the WT3, WT2 and WT1 treatment watershed over the control, respectively. Similar trends as the runoff were also recorded in soil loss reduction by 124·9, 77·1 and 40·0% for the WT3, WT2 and WT1 over Wc, respectively. Paired t-test ( p < 0·001) indicated that the means of the treatment effects on runoff and soil loss in treatment watersheds differ significantly with control watershed. It was concluded that 417 staggered contour trenches ha−1 is an optimum trenching density for supporting the horti-pastoral land use system in ravine lands of India. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

United Nation Sustainable Development Goal 15.3 make a note of growing significance of management and restoration strategies for degraded land, and advocating globally for collaborative frameworks of innovative applied research and policy. Present study, quantified the impacts of the staggered contour trenching (SCT) technology in conjunction with silvi-pasture production system on regulating and provisioning ecosystem services of degraded mini-watersheds. Impacts of the SCT on hydrologic regulating ecosystem services were quantified by employing the paired watershed approach. Concept of watersheds with and without treatments was employed for computing non-hydrologic regulating and provisioning ecosystem services of the SCT in conjunction with silvi-pasture system. Results of analyses revealed that the SCT density of 505 trenches ha -1 had the highest reduction in the hydrologic regulating services namely, mean annual runoff event, runoff amount and soil loss, which were 35.5, 63.3, and 3.73%, respectively followed by 378, and 186 trenches ha -1 . The highest improvement in the effective rainfall (9.9%) and effective rainfall efficiency (15.0%) was also with 505 trenches ha -1 . The SCT density of 505 trenches ha -1 had retained silt 23.1 and 1.2 times higher than that of 378 and 186 trenches ha -1 . The values of the post-treatment non-hydrologic regulating services of 505 trenches ha -1 were many folds higher compare to other trenching densities. Improvement in the non-hydrologic regulating services of the available -nitrogen, -potash and -potassium, and soil organic carbon values of the post-treatment of 505 trenches ha -1 were 36.7, 44.2, 25.8, and 25.0% than their pre-treatment values, respectively. Provisioning ecosystem services in term of the yields of the wood biomass of the Acacia nilotica and the Cenchrus ciliaris were the highest with 505 trenches ha -1 than the control (no trench) by 166.2 and 21.5%, respectively. Study indicated that 505 trenches ha -1 SCT density in the silvi-pasture production system was the best practices in conserving and maintaining the degraded land ecosystem services. These findings would be very supportive to the policy makers and degraded land managers for reclaiming and improving the sustainability and ecosystem functioning of the degraded land ecosystem for achieving the SDG 5.3 and maintaining the land degradation neutrality., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)