vegetative cover-deforestation

 Vegetative cover

Vegetation acts as a protective cover to the planet earth.

Deforestation and over grazing have been causing tremendous

soil erosion and landslides. At present (2000 A.D.), the per

capita forest area in India is around 0.07 ha compared to the

world’s average of about 1 ha. Hardly 4% of the geographical

in India is under pastures and grasslands. With the passing

time the stress on vegetative cover in India is increasing with

the growing demand for food, fodder, fuel and timber. The

quantity of firewood that can be annually removed from

forests on a sustainable basis is only 40 million m3 as against

the existing demand for firewood in the country is 235 million

m3. Similarly, about 90 cattle units graze in the forest while

the carrying capacity of forests is estimated only at 31 million

cattle units.

 Measures to conserve and to improve vegetative cover are

highly essential to restore ecological balance, maintain

biological diversity, conserve soil and water, and to prevent

flood havoc. To increase the vegetation in the country,

plantation practices such as the following are encouraged:

1. Afforestation: establishment of forest by artificial

means on an area from which forest vegetation has

always or long been absent

2. Reforestation: restocking of felled or otherwise

cleared woodland

3. Social forestry: adoption of forestry practices by the

society to meet its common requirements such as fuel,

fodder etc

4. Agro forestry: adoption of suitable land use systems

that maintains or increases total yield by combining

food crops (annuals) with tree crops (perennials)

       These interventions reduce erosivity of rainfall/runoff and

erodability of soil through dissipation of rainfall energy by

canopy, surface litter, obstructing overland flow, root binding

and improving physico-chemical conditions, restore ecological

balance and reduce the risk of environmental degradation.

 Forest (conservation) Act 1980 was enacted with a view to

check indiscriminate destruction and diversion of forest-lands to

non-forest purposes. The Forest (conservation) Act 1980 was

amended in 1988 to incorporate stricter panel punishments

against violators. Recent scientific thinking is that the pumped

into atmosphere and to reduce or mitigate the effect of increased

carbon dioxide content.