Gmelina arborea: A Versatile Tree for Agroforestry and Medicine | InformativeBD

Christian Chukuka Obiazi, and Isijokelu Moses Ojeifo, from the different institute of Nigeria. wrote a Review article about, Gmelina arborea: A Versatile Tree for Agroforestry and Medicine. Entitled, The relevance of Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) in agroforestry systens and medicine. This research paper published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES. an open access scholarly research journal on Biodiversity. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

The choice of suitable tree species is critical for optimal output in agroforestry systems. A wide range of potential uses of Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) remain largely ignored, probably because agroforestry programmes, hitherto, laid emphasis on nitrogen-fixing trees. Gmelina arborea is a fast growing multipurpose tree which generates high biomass but does not fix nitrogen. It has excellent coppicing capacity which lends it to rapid regeneration for frequent pruning. It produces an appreciable amount of foliage even at peak of dry season, thereby ensuring a yearround supply of forage and fodder for livestock, such as goats, sheep and cattle which relish the plant. Pruning from Gmelina is also useful for mulching. Favourable reports on the wood properties of Gmelina arborea indicate that it is suitable for general purpose timber, utility furniture, pulpwood and for making match sticks. The high regenerative ability of the roots and stems cuttings, aid vegetative propagation. Gmelina has a vigorous root system which enables it to effectively act as a nutrient pump for the uptake of leached nutrients from subsoil to the soil surface through leaf litter. Gmelinaarborea is tolerant to bush fire, thereby making it adaptable to the common practice of shifting cultivation which frequently involves burning of debris during land preparation. Studies are required to elucidate information on the compatibility of Gmelinaarborea in agroforestry systems.

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Introduction

The search for compatible multipurpose trees in agroforestry programmes in Nigeria is a continuous process. The wide range of potential uses of Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) have hitherto been largely ignored, probably because, agroforestry programmes emphasised nitrogen-fixing species. This is understandable, in view of provision of a free supply of nitrogen to the soil for crop growth by nitrogenfixing plant species, brought about by Rhizobium spp. bacteria in their roots. However, Amara et al. (1992) reported unexpectedly high nitrogen content in the leaves of gmelina. With declining forage and fodder supply for livestock, the need to highlight other nonleguminous multipurpose trees, such as,Gmelina arborea has become necessary and urgent. Gmelina arborea is a fast growing multipurpose tree. Nwoboshi (1982) stated that species like Tectona grandis and Gmelina arborea owe their popularity in forestry to their capacity to establish and grow well in plantations. Gmelina generates high biomass and excellent coppicing capacity. The plant produces appreciable amount of foliage even at the peak of dry season, thereby ensuring a year-round supply of forage and fodder. Sheep, goats and other ruminants relish its succulent foliage.

In Nigeria, Gmelina arboreawas originally introduced for fuelwood and poles in plantations. A notable example is the Enugu pitwood plantation (Pringle, 1960). Gmelina arborea (Roxb.),is native to Asia. It was introduced from South-East Asia to tropical Africa and introduced to Enugu State, Nigeria in1921 (Rotowa and Adeagbo, 2019). More recently, it was planted as a shade tree in residential quarters and homes. Large areas in tropical locations of Africa, America and Asia, such as Nigeria, Ghana, Colombia, Venezuela and Malaysia have undertaken extensive planting of this fast-growing tree and most of them are intended for the production of paper-pulp (Adam and Krampah, 2005; Deepthi, et al., 2015). The objective of this study were to examine the characteristics of Gmelina arborea in line with the potential uses, asses its present role in agroforestry and medicine and suggest the way forward. Environmental requirements of Gmelina Certain conditions are necessary for proper growth and development of Gmelina arborea plant. Deepthi, et al. (2015) observed that it is not a shade tolerant plant. It grows well in locations that receive 750- 4500mm or more of rainfall per annum. It does not flourish on poorly-drained and waterlogged soils. It remains stunted on sandy or dry and infertile soils. Drought condition also reduces it to a shrubby form. Adam and Krampah (2005) also noted that deep fertile soil that is well-drained is suitable for Gmelina. When it is planted under unsuitable conditions, Gmelina grows into a little more than a shrub and often remains stunted.

Characteristics of Gmelina Agroforestry is becoming a popular component of sustainable agriculture and environmental enhancement in Nigeria. The success of such programmes will depend on availability of information on the components. Such knowledge will include the growth and utilization of agroforestry species, and probably their potentials for enhancing yield of companion crops. Effective integration of Gmelina arboreain agroforestry systems therefore requires such basic information to enable successful harnessing of its potentials.

Selection criteria for tree species include value of fruit, oil, erosion, medicines, timber, fodder and fuelwood (Myonk, et al., 2015). It should also be noted that the traits of a good agroforestry species include good coppicing and ability to promote soil fertility through nitrogen fixation.

Reference

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Adam KA, Krampah, E. 2005. Gmelinaarborea Roxb.ex Sm. In: Louppe D, Oteng-Amoako A A, Brink M (Editors). PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa/Ressources végétales de l’Afriquetropicale), Wageningen, Netherlands. Accessed 11 April 2019.

Ashalatha M, Sankh K. 2015. A Morphological Review on Gmelina arborea Linn – A Wonder Ayurvedic Herb. International Journal of Health Sciences and Research 5(1), 304-308.

Basanda GM, Dhara PK,Tarafdar PK. 2017. Differential responses of arable crops with gamhar (Gmelina arborea) and mango (Mangifera indica) based agroforestry system in red and lateritic soils of West Bengal, India. Indian Journal of Agricultural Research 51(1), 86-89.

Chittendon AE, Coursey DG, Rotibi JO. 1964. Paper Making Trial with Gmelina arborea Timber in Nigeria. Tappi 47(12), 186A- 192A.

Deepthi Pathala, Harini A, Prakash L, Hegde. 2015. A Review on Gambhari (Gmelina arborea Roxb.). Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 4(2), 127-132. Available on line at www. phytojournal.com

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Kayode RMO, Olakulehin TF, Adedeji BS,, Ahmed O, Aliyu TH, Badmos AHA. 2015. Evaluation of amino acid and fatty acid profiles of commercially cultivated oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju) grown on Gmelina wood waste. Nigerian Food Journal Volume 33(1), 18-21.

Myonk JH, Hyok HO, Jianchu XU. 2015. Participatory selection of tree species for agroforestry on sloping land in North Korea. Mountain Research and Development 35(4), 318-327.

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Rotowa OJ, Adeagbo AA. 2019. Provenance trial of Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) in iddle-belt zone of Nigeria. Research Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences 7 (3), 27-31. Retrieved 21st Feb., 2020 from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334707542_Provenances

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Article source : The relevance of Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) in agroforestry systens and medicine 

 

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Voices from the Reclaimed Land: Community Choices in Post-Mining Agroforestry | InformativeBD

Muhammad Yusuf, Hafizianor, and Mahrus Aryadi, from the institute of Indonesia. wrote a Research Article about, Voices from the Reclaimed Land: Community Choices in Post-Mining Agroforestry. Entitled, Community preference on agroforestry systems at post-mining revegetation land at PT Arutmin Tambang Asam-asam, South Kalimantan. This research paper published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences | JBES. an open access scholarly research journal on Biodiversity. under the affiliation of the International Network For Natural Sciences| INNSpub. an open access multidisciplinary research journal publisher.

Abstract

During this time, land reclamation by means of revegetation so that plants can live on post-mining land finds obstacles in its implementation, including technical, social, expensive and long time problems. One of the ways is to formulate a post-mining land revegetation model effectively and efficiently (Kustiawan, 2001). Land use with agroforestry systems is a combination of tree crops that have an economic and ecological role with seasonal plants or other types of plants. The object of this research is the PT Arutmin Indonesia. Tambang Asam-asam coal mining area which has been and is currently conducting post-mining revegetation activities. The concept of land revegetation patterns after the coal mine that will be formulated is a reference for local government policies in utilizing natural resources, especially land that has been damaged. Community preferences are obtained by conducting interviews and using questionnaires to respondents. The number of respondents from the community was carried out by purposive sampling (Sugiyono. 2007). The chosen community is the head of the family with the livelihood of farming and gardening located in the area closest to the company’s operations. Community preferences analyzed included community expectations for groups of plant species, main types of plants and types of herbaceous plants and supporting plants. Public preference for agroforestry systems that can be developed in post-mining revegetation lands is 60% of the plants that are expected to be in agroforestry areas are timber-producing plants, 50% want rubber as the main crop in the agroforestry area, 70% choose turmeric as an herbaceous plant It is expected to be planted in post-mining areas, while 80% want ginger as a supporting plant that is expected to be planted in post-mining areas based on agroforestry.

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Introduction

The main problem in post-mining land is environmental changes that affect conditions in groundwater and surface water, then morphologically and topically change land (Suprapto, 2008). The problem of post-mining land rehabilitation is complicated, because it involves costs and time and special expertise is needed. Land reclamation activities combine the work of vegetation management to create a sustainable natural environment and the economy of the community remains good (Lubis, 1997). Until now there is still little research on the use of reclaimed land by coal mining companies to improve the welfare of communities around the mine.

One way to overcome the obstacles as described above is to formulate effective and efficient postmining land revegetation models. The revegetation model is based on agroforestry (Kustiawan, 2001). Agroforestry systems have great potential both in terms of ecology and economics. This system is beneficial for the management of water and soil in the surrounding environment because there are various types of plants with different canopy strata with their respective functions, as well as the biodiversity of plants that become habitats for animals. Besides that it is beneficial for people around the mine area because the community can periodically harvest the results of intercropping before and after the main crops produce products that can be harvested.

According to Foresta, et.al. (2000), land use with agroforestry systems is a combination of tree crops that have an important economic role or have an ecological role (such as coconut, rubber, cloves, cashew or tree crops) with seasonal crops (such as corn, rice, nuts, vegetables) or other types of plants (such as bananas, coffee, chocolate) are simple agroforestry systems. In addition, the types of plants chosen are directed to native plants. It is better to choose local plants that are in accordance with the current climate and soil conditions (Qomariah, 2003).

The basis of this research is the effort to recover postmining land which is a production forest area in order to be able to function again through the agroforestry system by exploring preferences for the return of the function of agroforestry-based production forest areas. This research was conducted at PT. Arutmin Indonesia Tambang Asam Asam, South Kalimantan which is a company that has implemented post-mining revegetation implementation. Efforts to restore the condition of post-mining land to be productive are expected to be maximally beneficial for human needs and the environment in a sustainable manner.

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Article source : Community preference onagro forestry systems at post-mining revegetation land at PT Arutmin Tambang Asam-asam, South Kalimantan 

 

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