Ecorestoration of Banni Grassland - Global Restoration Network

Ecorestoration of
Banni Grassland
estimated (all grass species) within the restoration
site was maximum in the unploughed area in all the
months except during the first fortnight of December
than the ploughed area. Among the slopes, the
broad slopes with a width of 5m had more biomass
production except during the end of December than
in narrow vertical slopes of 3m width. The biomass
of the narrow horizontal slopes was found slightly
higher than the narrow vertical slopes during the
first fortnight of November and December while in
other months it showed low biomass than the
vertical slopes (Table 22).
A comparison of biomass productivity of
unprotected and unploughed protected area of
restoration site during the study period shows that
the biomass of outside area was comparatively less
than the unploughed area of restoration site
(Figure 17), indicating thereby that to grazing
pressure existed in the unrestored area.
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Table 22: Biomass (Kg / Ha) Production at Bhirandiyara (all species)
Site Details Oct. 97 Nov. Nov. Dec. Dec.97 % +/- (Oct to Dec)
Unploughed 1898.8(34.0) 1353.0 2211.0 2290.0 4040.6 (43.0) 112.8
Ploughed 1343.1 (24.1) 1248.5 1750.0 2355.0 1692.0(18.2) 25.9
Slope Broad 1155.6(9.2) 1249.5 1713.0 845.0 1644.0(17.5) 42.3
Slope Vertical 514.2(11.9) 786.3 1149.5 752.0 1951.5(20.8) 279.6
Slope Horizontal 667.65 916.0 853.2 1625.0 1815.5(19.3) 171.9
Total 5579.3 5553.3 7676.7 7867 9387.6 68.3
Average Biomass in
Restoration Site
From Table 23 and 24 it was clear that Cyperus
haspan made a major contribution to the
biomass of the area, which was 41.6 per cent
of the productivity of restoration site and 82.6
per cent of the unprotected area. Grass species
such as Sporobolus sp., Cenchrus sp.,
Aeluropus logopoides, Dichanthium
annulatum etc., sown in the area were capable
of growing even under low moisture
availability whereas Cyperus haspan - a water
loving species requires high moisture for its
survival and growth. Therefore, it was
presumed that there will be a change in the
contribution of C. haspan in various amendment
areas during the course of the post monsoon i.e.
from October to December. To confirm the above
and to understand the recovery process of different
sub-compartments of the restoration site, biomass
was analysed with and without the contribution of
Cyperus haspan.
During the month of October, Cyperus haspan
constituted of more than 67.8 per cent of biomass
of the restoration site, which in the month of
December decreased to 34.9 per cent (Table 24).
Further, Cyperus haspan was found
almost equal in ploughed (49.8 per cent) and
unploughed areas (46.7 per cent) of the restoration
site (Table 23). However, it decreased to 43.7 per
cent in the broader slopes and 38.4 per cent in narrow
horizontal slopes and very low contribution of 17.5
per cent was recorded in narrow vertical slopes.
The amount of recovery could be clearly visualised
1349.85 2221.32 3070.68 3146.8 2236.76 -
Outside 0.00 1749.50 787.50 2635.00 1198.50 *-31.5
*data on November and December was compared, Percentage are given in parenthesis