Ecorestoration of Banni Grassland - Global Restoration Network

Ecorestoration of
Banni Grassland
The variation in the productivity of different grass
species under the same area lead to an assumption
that, there were certain soil parameters, which may
alter or govern the productivity of the species.
Among many soil parameters, soil salinity was considered
as a major factor. Many plants fail to grow
in high saline areas because, various plant species
have different level of salinity tolerance, and
this may lead to changes in their productivity. Therefore,
an analysis of soil factors with the productivity
of different plant species was carried out to understand
whether salinity has any effect on the
plant production. Figures 18 to 28 clearly show that
salinity has positive negative and neutral effects
on the productivity of various species.
At Dhordo restoration site, the distribution of all
the selected species were restricted with in 2.5 EC
48
level whereas it increased up to 4 EC at Bhirandiyara
site. The species such as Cyperus haspan,
Cyperus sp., Dichanthium annulatum, Cenchrus
sp., Chloris barbata, Sporobolus sp., and Scirpus
sp., showed a declining trend with increasing
salinity level. Interestingly, the distribution of
Dichanthium annulatum was restricted within EC
level 1.0 while productivity Sporobolus sp., reached
minimum at EC level 3.0. The productivity of
Aeluropus logopoides was not affected by salinity
up to 2.5 EC (Figure 24) above which it showed a
sharp decline (Figure 18). Cressa cretica is the only
species, which showed no changes in the biomass
productivity up to 4 EC level