Traditional Homestead Agroforestry Systems in a Floodplain Village of The Brahmaputra Valley, Assam: Characteristics and Functions
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25175/jrd/2021/v40/i3/142500Keywords:
Homestead Agroforestry Systems, Floodplain Village, Brahmaputra Valley.Abstract
The traditional homestead agroforestry is an age-old resource management practice used by different ethnic communities living in the Brahmaputra Valley, Assam. The homestead gardens possess rich plant diversity and play a significant role in biodiversity conservation in the rural areas and thus, notably contribute towards rural food security, household economy, livelihoods and sustainability of the local ecosystems of the Valley. But, the plant diversity and productivity of the homestead agroforestry in the Valley have been deteriorating in recent times mainly due to floods, threats posed by squirrels and monkeys, and the overall negligence of rural people towards such practices. Thus, the status of plant and animal species and the nature of land use within the homesteads have been changing significantly. The change is accelerated by factors like growing population pressure, and changing behaviour and perception of the villagers under the influence of modernisation and urbanisation. The present study examines the characteristics of the homestead agroforestry systems and their ecological and economic functions in Jatia Bhangra, a floodplain village in Kamrup district of Assam.Downloads
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