ANNOUNCEMENTS
Many nations around the globe face severe environmental consequences due to land degradation, which in turn reduces the agricultural productivity, endangers food security, and increases disease risk. This study examines the role of Eco- Restoration Technology (ERT) in rehabilitating degraded land in a village community using Bambusa balcooa plantations in Nagpur district of Maharashtra State which is located in Central India. Soil properties were analyzed before and after restoration, showing improvements in bulk density (1.42 to 1.28 g/cm³), porosity (22% to 47.5%), electrical conductivity (0.32 to 0.314 mmhos/cm), pH (7.92 to 7.75), available nitrogen (17.04 to 202.4 kg/ha), phosphorus (9.2 to 33.5 ppm), organic matter (0.11% to 0.91%), and organic carbon (0.17% to 1.58%). Other gains included the decrease of soil loss from 8.189 to 7.016 tons/ha/yr, and in increment in soil moisture from 10.832 to 11.079 mm. Carbon sequestration in the soil was found to have a significant increment. The improvement in C-sequestration was found to be approximately 1,500% as compared to the baseline scenario where no restoration was implemented. Beema Bamboo was also identified as an efficient biofuel source, with an ash content of 3.17% and an ethanol yield of 321 liters/ton. Thus, this study supports bamboo as a viable species for land rejuvenation and carbon sequestration besides being an efficient source for generation of ethanol.
