Browsing by Author "Saswat Kumar Kar"

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Drought severity assessment in south bihar agro-climatic zone
(India Meteorological Department, 2021) Vikash Singh; Saswat Kumar Kar; A.K. Nema
The present study has been focused to recognize and quantify the drought condition in Bihar Agro-climatic Zone-III, which falls in the drought-prone region of Bihar. The zone covers the whole South Bihar region, comprising of seventeen districts. The drought severity assessment in the study area has been carried out by two methods i.e., the rainfall departure analysis and the probability analysis. The research work has been carried out at a grid level consisting of fifty-five grids. The analysis of work has been further evaluated district-wise and in addition the result has been interpreted for the two agro-climatic zones {zone-iii (a) and zone-iii (b)}. For decades, the area is under the influence of frequent droughts due to uneven distribution of rainfall. The grid forty-seven of Bhagalpur district having maximum drought frequency of once in 1.87 years and also faces a maximum number of sixty-two drought years in the period of 116 years, as resulted from rainfall departure method. The maximum annual rainfall departure of-82.99% was observed for the grid-32 (G-32) of Banka district, during the year 1978-79, with a return period of once in 2.7 years. The probability analysis concludes that the areas influenced by grids 37,42,45, and 47 are drought-prone (probability of 75% mean rainfall being less than 80%). The departure as well as the probability analysis indicates that the grid-47 as drought-prone. This shows the compatibility of the two methods in meteorological drought assessment in general and particularly the most drought severe condition of the grid-47. © 2021, India Meteorological Department. All rights reserved.
Implication of land use shifting on land degradation and restoration potential of conservation agriculture in India's North-West Himalayan region
(Elsevier B.V., 2023) Saswat Kumar Kar; R.M. Singh; Sridhar Patra; M. Sankar; Suresh Kumar; Abhishek Singh
The soil organic matter is a crucial factor in determining soil characteristics and productivity; however various land management practices degrade or aggrade the soil health. The objective of this study was to look at the influence of land-use conversion on soil health by using the concept of stratification ratio (SR) of soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) and appraise SR as a predictor of SOC and TN stock and soil health for India's North-West Himalayan region. The research is oriented toward assessing the consequences of various land use regimes' impacts on SOC and TN depth distribution, storage, and stratification and, hence, identifying appropriate sustainable tillage techniques for the region. The research was accomplished in 2020–21 in the long-term experimental plot with four land uses, namely control [natural sal forest (Shorea robusta L.), conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and zero tillage (ZT)] in a rainfed system of north-western Indian Himalayas. A decrease of 79% in the mean weighted diameter of CT was observed after conversion from forest land to CT; however, the decrease was only 50% in the case of the adoption of ZT. Further, the surface soil (0–5 cm) SOC was significantly different from each other, with forest soil having the highest SOC (27.5 ± 0.21 g kg−1) and CT having the lowest SOC (11.0 ± 0.09 g kg−1). The stock of SOC and TN increased significantly with increment in soil depth, and among landuses, the highest SOM was observed with forest and the lowest with CT. Among the treatments, forest (56.56 ± 1.90 Mg ha−1) had significantly higher SOC storage than conservation agriculture (CA) (42.84 ± 0.27 Mg ha−1, ZT, and 41.41 ± 1.84 Mg ha−1, RT) and CT (41.33 ± 1.19 Mg ha−1) based on equivalent soil mass approach. For forest land use, except the surface layer (0–5:5–10), all the soil layers had SR >2, whereas, for ZT, the bottom two layers (0–5:20–25 and 0–5:25–30) had SR >2 and for RT, only the bottom layer (0–5:25–30) was having SR > 2. It was observed that the conversion of land use to CT reduced the SR of SOM drastically; however, by adopting CA, the SR had been restored to near normal in forest land use. The carbon pool index (CPI) was used to determine the effects of soil tillage and residue incorporation on soil quality improvement with respect to a sal forest. The CPI value increased significantly with an increase in soil depth for three land uses, and also, at each soil depth, the CPI followed the ZT > RT > CT trend. Thus, CA may be considered a viable alternative to CT for improving soil physicochemical parameters. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.
Integrated assessment of drought vulnerability using indicators for Dhasan basin in Bundelkhand region, Madhya Pradesh, India
(Indian Academy of Sciences, 2018) Saswat Kumar Kar; T. Thomas; R.M. Singh; Lokesh Patel
The present study has integrated both spatially and temporally varying drought vulnerability factors to develop an integrated drought vulnerability map for Dhasan basin. A drought vulnerability index is used to classify the study area into different vulnerability zones. From the drought vulnerability assessment for the study area during July 2002, it was observed that the northeast, northwest and extreme southern part of the basin (20% area) was under critical vulnerability condition whereas the southwest and central part of the basin (79.9% area) was under high vulnerability condition. The critical drought vulnerability condition existed in Dhamoni, Pidaruwa, Sagar, Patharia Hat, Chhapri, Baroda Sagar and Singtoni region, whereas high vulnerability condition existed in the remaining parts of the study area. The integrated drought vulnerability approach gives superior result for drought assessment as compared to vulnerability assessment by considering the individual factors for the study area. © 2018 Current Science Association, Bengaluru.
Low input sustainable agriculture: A viable climate-smart option for boosting food production in a warming world
(Elsevier B.V., 2020) Deepranjan Sarkar; Saswat Kumar Kar; Arghya Chattopadhyay; Shikha; Amitava Rakshit; Vinod Kumar Tripathi; Pradeep Kumar Dubey; Purushothaman Chirakkuzhyil Abhilash
Maximizing food production for feeding a rapidly growing human population while minimizing critical resource use and soil quality degradation is a major challenge for global sustainability. Sustainable agricultural practices based on low-external input is of paramount importance for reducing environmental trade-offs and planet healthy food production. Therefore, a critical assessment was made on viable low-input technologies aimed to reduce the negative effects of agricultural production as well as the use of various crop simulation models for forecasting the agricultural production under changing climatic scenario. While crop simulation models are helpful for predicting the growth and yield of individual crops under current as well as futuristic scenarios, it is difficult to model the response of multiple cropping systems under changing climatic conditions. As a matter of fact, the developing countries, majorly dependent on agriculture are most vulnerable to climate change. The increasing price of agrochemicals is another setback for subsistence farmers in resource-poor nations. In this backdrop, the current review aimed to assess the impact of climate change on agriculture, and the role of low input sustainable agriculture (LISA) for ensuring the food security while safeguarding the critical natural resources for human-wellbeing and also for attaining UN-Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, evidence-based impacts of LISA in emerging economies from Africa and South Asia are highlighted and suitable ecological indicators for measuring the sustainability of such LISA are addressed in brief. We conclude that the large-scale implementation of LISA will facilitate agricultural sustainability, and therefore, suitable policy frameworks are imperative for its worldwide adoption. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
Occurrence, Distribution, Damage Potential, and Farmers’ Perception on Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith): Evidence from the Eastern Himalayan Region
(MDPI, 2023) Satyapriya Singh; Mahadevan Raghuraman; Manikyanahalli Chandrashekara Keerthi; Anup Das; Saswat Kumar Kar; Biswajit Das; Hidangmayum Lembisana Devi; Sunil Kumar Sunani; Manas Ranjan Sahoo; Ryan Casini; Hosam O. Elansary; Gobinda Chandra Acharya
The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is a polyphagous non-native pest identified as a serious threat to crop production and food security globally, including in India. Its unintentional introduction and quick coverage in large areas is a serious concern to millions of farmers in the eastern Himalayan region. However, detailed understanding of farmers’ perceptions and the biological attributes associated with the meteorological factors for FAW is limited. The present investigation, which aimed to create baseline data on this pest, concurs with the idea that the FAW is widely dispersed throughout the maize ecosystems of Tripura, with an average infestation rate of 21.33 percent. The severity ranged from 0 to 1.40, with an average leaf damage score of 1 on a 0–4 categorical scale. The findings indicate that pheromone trap catch was significantly correlated with the evaporation rate as other meteorological factors influenced variably. The biological attributes imply that the life cycle was completed in 32.82 ± 0.08 days, with a high fecundity potential (1068.57 ± 4.35 numbers) in controlled conditions (25 ± 1 °C, 70 ± 5% RH). Indigenous natural enemies, such as entomopathogens, spiders, and wasps, were found to be the first defence against this invasive pest. A minority of the population (17.51%) was aware of the incidence of FAW. Furthermore, respondents’ socio-demographic variables were associated significantly with FAW status. This is the first scientific report from the eastern Himalayan region about farmers’ knowledge and awareness of the invasiveness of FAW. This finding enumerates a detailed understanding of FAW from diverse perspectives. Further, the concerted data provide an important baseline that could help the development of holistic management strategies for FAW. © 2023 by the authors.
Process-based modelling of soil erosion: scope and limitation in the Indian context
(Indian Academy of Sciences, 2022) Saswat Kumar Kar; Suresh Kumar; M. Sankar; S. Patra; R.M. Singh; S.S. Shrimali; P.R. Ojasvi
The conservation and sustainability of natural resources, particularly soil and water, are crucial for agricultural yield and livelihood. Soil erosion models simulate the influence of existing farm management patterns as well as soil conservation interventions affecting soil erosion rates and accordingly recommend appropriate management techniques. The erosion models might be helpful for forecasting soil erosion, sediment load and evaluating the effectiveness of conservation measures. Although numerous empirical, conceptual or physical process-based models are used to study soil erosion, they differ in respect of input data requirements, representation of physical processes, sediment yield, and limitations due to their spatial and temporal variations. Due to limitations in empirical models in describing the erosion process, some process- based models may be used to quantify the state of soil erosion in a region. Before use, the available erosion models must be evaluated and validated for local circumstances. In this respect, the present study has been carried out to provide a critical review of various soil erosion models used worldwide, having different climatic parameters for determining soil erosion rate, run-off and sediment yield status. © 2022, Current Science. All rights reserved.
Spatio-temporal evaluation of drought characteristics in the dhasan basin
(India Meteorological Department, 2018) Saswat Kumar Kar; R.M. Singh; T. Thomas
The meteorological drought characteristics including onset, departure, duration, severity as well as intensity have been evaluated mainly for monsoon season at all the three rain gauge stations located in Dhasan basin. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) has been applied to understand and quantify the drought severity on multiple time scale (1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 months). The spatiotemporal analysis of drought based on 3-month SPI has also carried out to identify drought years and the regions of the study area which is under the grip of continuous drought events. Based on the 3-month SPI, major drought events have been identified. The maximum drought severity of-11.17 occurred during November 1991 to August 1992 having the longest duration of 10 months, in the area under Sagar rain gauging station. The onset of most of the drought events in the basin take place during the beginning of Kharif season and terminate by the end of August or September, so affect the agricultural crops severely. The spatial variation indicates that during June 2002, about 55.74% of basin area was experiencing severe drought conditions, followed by 35.29% area under moderate drought condition and only 8.97% area faced mild drought conditions. The inter-relationship among the drought duration, number of drought events, drought severity and time scale have been studied. © 2018, India Meteorological Department. All rights reserved.
Underutilized edible fruit species of the Indo-Gangetic Plains: a systematic review for food security and land degradation neutrality
(Turkiye Klinikleri, 2024) S. Dinesha; S. Rakesh; Deepranjan Sarkar; Prakash Kumar Jha; Raghupathi Balasani; Shikha; Saswat Kumar Kar; Vishal Seth; Amitava Rakshit; Rahul Datta; Sezai Ercişli
Many underutilized edible fruit species (UEFS) are found in the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP), which support food security (FS) for both indigenous people and other dependent communities. Unfortunately, there is little study and fragmented information available about these naturally edible products. The UEFS of the IGP was the subject of a systematic review utilizing the PRISMA protocol, which produced implications for FS and land degradation neutrality (LDN). This review aims to survey, summarize, and annotate the published information about the angiosperms native and naturalized UEFS of IGP to identify and make use of this species, particularly for the sustainable development of this region. A systematic review confirmed that 371 species of UEFS, of which 62 species were threatened and near threatened (TNT)-UEFS. Among the TNT-UEFS, 41 species were threatened, while 21 species were NT. The threatened species were further categorized as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in the IGP as vulnerable (21 species), endangered (16 species), and critically endangered (four species). This systematic review suggests integration of the native and naturalized UEFS in afforestation and reforestation programs to aid in various ecosystem services. Calamus inermis, Corypha taliera, Licuala peltata, and Saurauia punduana are examples of multipurpose species that require immediate sustainable conservation and cultivation initiatives to save them from extinction in the near future. Multipurpose species such as Aegle marmelos, Buchanania lanzan, Manilkara hexandra, Syzygium cuminii, Tamarindus indica are immensely constructive and climate-smart by surviving in harsh agroclimatic conditions and have great potential for establishment on marginal and wastelands throughout the IGP region. These resilient fruit species enhance biodiversity, ecosystems, and landscapes in addition to providing food for humans. It progressively advances India’s commitment to LDN, combating climate change, and achieving the UN-SDGs, which call for reducing hunger and raising FS by 2030. As a result, the study will offer baseline data for the next investigations and be helpful to policymakers in creating sustainable and scientific policies for the IGP. © TÜBİTAK.