Trees Forests And Land Use In Drylands

Drylands cover 41 percent of the Earth's land surface. This publication presents the results of the first global assessment of trees, forests and land use in these lands. The assessment breaks new methodological ground: it relies on the visual interpreation of freely available satellite images, carried out by more than 200 experts in a series of regional workshops. Using a tool called Open Foris ollect Earth, developed by FAO in collaboration with Google, participants gathered and analysed information for mrore than 200 000 sample plots worldwide. For each region, the report summarizes the distribution of forests, other wooded land and other land uses including grasslands, croplands, built-up areas and barren land, across all drylands and by aridity zone. It also estimates tree canopy cover, shrub cover, forest type and presence of trees outside forest. Indicatng that the global drylands contain more than one-quarter of the world's forest area, and that trees are present on 31 percent of the world's dryland area, the report provides a baseline for future monitoring and will support countries in their efforts to identify appropriate investments for the restoration and sustainable management of drylands.

Drylands cover 41 percent of the Earth's land surface. This publication presents the results of the first global assessment of trees, forests and land use in these lands. The assessment breaks new methodological ground: it relies on the visual interpreation of freely available satellite images, carried out by more than 200 experts in a series of regional workshops. Using a tool called Open Foris ollect Earth, developed by FAO in collaboration with Google, participants gathered and analysed information for mrore than 200 000 sample plots worldwide. For each region, the report summarizes the distribution of forests, other wooded land and other land uses including grasslands, croplands, built-up areas and barren land, across all drylands and by aridity zone. It also estimates tree canopy cover, shrub cover, forest type and presence of trees outside forest. Indicatng that the global drylands contain more than one-quarter of the world's forest area, and that trees are present on 31 percent of the world's dryland area, the report provides a baseline for future monitoring and will support countries in their efforts to identify appropriate investments for the restoration and sustainable management of drylands.

Community-oriented conservation of natural resources and promotion and protection of trees in drylands are examples to deal with climatic adversities. This book provides knowledge on climatic, ecological, social and economic condition of dry areas and lay out approaches and strategies to restore degraded lands. There are 15 chapters and first five deals with physiography of Rajasthan, drylands ecology, problems of land degradation, its economic evaluation and the approaches and strategies of restoration and rehabilitation. Next two chapters describe the problems of sand drift, salinity, water logging and effluent inflicted areas and strategies to control them. Chapters 8-10 deal with seed production, quality planting materials, genetic improvement, propagation and planting techniques. Chapters 11-12 describe methods of rain water harvesting and irrigation, and resources conservation for seed sowing and favouring regeneration and successions. Effective management of pests/diseases in nurseries and plantation, growth and yield prediction equations and models, and people's perception and participation in managing forest resources have been described in last 3 chapters. Purpose of this publication is to strengthen the forest functionaries and readers with wide ranging knowledge on land degradation, desertification and eco-biology of drylands; and methods to restore and rehabilitate degrading forest (lands) to increase forest cover, enhance resilience and people livelihoods and improve environmental conditions. Academician, researchers, forest managers, non-government organizations, extension agents and environmentalists can use it in developing, conserving and managing drylands ecosystems for its long lasting beneficial effects. This book is also useful to policy makers in effective planning of restoring, protecting and conserving dryland's ecological and socioeconomic services.

This volume provides new insights and conceptual understandings of the human and gender dimension of vulnerability in relation to the dynamics of tenure reforms in the dryland forests of Asia and Africa. The book analyzes the interaction between biophysical factors such as climate variability (e.g. droughts) with socio-political processes (e.g. new institutions and authority) and gender dimensions at various temporal and spatial scales. The book presents a number of case studies based on empirical research on forest tenure reform and it consequences on forest-dependent people. In particular, it highlights the interaction between legal, policy and institutional reform and the inclusion and/or exclusion of local people from deriving benefits from forest resources in the drylands. The book focuses on the questions how land tenure reform and natural resource governance impacts upon marginal groups (along individual, collective and gender dimensions); how do forest-dependent people prepare for and respond to vulnerability; and what is the effect of forest tenure policy reform on the human rights, gender and citizenship issues in relation to the use and management of forest resources and on conflict in forest zones. These issues are approached from the perspective of marginalized groups (gender and social diversity such as indigenous peoples and herders) in vulnerable dryland forests with a high risk of being exposed to climate variability.

Uses an innovative approach toward integrating biophysical and socioeconomical components into environmentally sound, sustainable forest management practices in dryland regions. Covers technical considerations in dryland forestry, agroforestry systems, rehabilitation of saline regions, investment and employment opportunities, forestry extension programs and much more.

Trees in dryland forests and wooded areas provide key ecosystem services such as animal feed, timber, fruits and, regulation of soil and water cycles. Equally, the presence of livestock in dryland woody areas can also play an important role in the local ecosystem; not only are they a source of income for local communities, but they also help vegetation and mobilise stored biomass. When both of these ecosystem elements are wisely combined – livestock and trees – it creates an integrated agricultural system that can boost the local ecosystem, representing a welcome agro-ecological transition in livestock farming. The ‘Grazing with Trees’ report gives a thorough assessment of the positive role that optimized extensive grazing livestock farming can play in the management and restoration of drylands’ forests and lands with trees. It assesses and provides sound evidence on the benefits of applying an integrated landscape approach and utilizing farmers and pastoralists’ knowledge to halt desertification, increase resilience, and enhance food security under the actual changing scenario. The report confirms the importance of agroforestry as a primary pathway for forest restoration in dryland areas as recommended by FAO’s State of Forests 2022, and its recommendations encourage landscape planners and decision makers to consider livestock as allies, carefully restore tree cover and accelerate action to promote healthy ecosystems.

Ecosystem Science is a highly interdisciplinary field of global significance. This series - copublished by Higher Education Press (HEP) and De Gruyter Publishers - is devoted to prominent topics in the fundamentals of ecosystem science and its application. The series is targeted to an international audience of scientists and practitioners, while maintaining a strong emphasis on reaching scholars and the general public in China. This will be accomplished by publishing all ESA books in both English and Chinese.