Soil erosion from traditional hill agriculture is a major concern for agronomic development in the Eastern Himalayas (India). An integrated farming system (IFS: is the combination of multipurpose trees-MPT interspersed with seasonal agricultural crops) may reduce the severity of erosion while ensuring food and nutritional security. The aim of our study was to identify an IFS, resistant to soil erosion in the hill ecosystem of Eastern Himalaya. For this, eight micro-watershed (MW)-based IFSs namely livestock with fodder crops (MW₁), forestry (MW₂), agroforestry (MW₃), agriculture (MW₄), agri-horti-silvi-pastoral (MW₅), horticulture (MW₆), cultivated fallow (MW₇), and abandoned shifting cultivation (MW₈, as traditional land use) were established and soil erosion was measured for 24 years in the sloping land (32.0%–53.0%) of the Eastern Himalayas (Meghalaya, Northeast India). In the forests (MW₂), annual average (IA: 1983–2006) runoff and soil losses were 405.5 (±113) mm and 11.0 (±2.4) Mg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, respectively. The conversion of forests to cultivation caused a decline in the parameters of hydro-physical quality and fertility, more severely in the traditional farming (MW_7&8) than in the IFS mode of cultivation (MW_3,5,&6). Soil water conservation measures (SWCMs: contour bunding, terracing, and grassed waterways) were more effective at reducing erosion when used together compared to individually. Adoption of these SWCMs in cultivated MWs in IFS mode (MW_3,5,&6), reduced the runoff by 13.0%–17.1% and soil loss by 12.6%–15.1% over forests (MW₂). However, in traditional agriculture (MW_7&8), runoff increased by 50.6%–87.6% while soil loss was 50.3%–59.8% higher over the forest. The study demonstrated that the adoption of agroforestry, agri-silvi-horti-pastoral or horticulture-based IFSs with appropriate SWCMs may be promoted to reduce soil erosion while sustaining soil quality attributes and food security in the hill ecosystem of the Indian Eastern Himalayas.

中文翻译：

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综合耕作系统对丘陵微型流域（印度东喜马拉雅山脉）土壤侵蚀的长期影响

传统山地农业造成的土壤侵蚀是东喜马拉雅山（印度）农业发展的一个主要问题。综合耕作系统（IFS：多用途树木-MPT 与季节性农作物的组合）可以降低侵蚀的严重程度，同时确保粮食和营养安全。我们研究的目的是在喜马拉雅东部的山地生态系统中确定一种抗土壤侵蚀的 IFS。为此，八个基于微流域 (MW) 的 IFS，即牲畜与饲料作物 (MW ₁ )、林业 (MW ₂ )、农林业 (MW ₃ )、农业 (MW ₄ )、农业-园艺-森林-牧业 (MW ₅ ), 园艺 (MW ₆ ), 休闲耕作 (MW ₇)，并建立了废弃的轮垦（MW ₈，作为传统土地利用），并在喜马拉雅东部（印度东北部梅加拉亚）的坡地（32.0%–53.0%）测量了 24 年的土壤侵蚀。在森林 (MW ₂ ) 中，年平均 (IA: 1983–2006) 径流和土壤流失量分别为 405.5 (±113) mm 和 11.0 (±2.4) Mg ha ^-1  yr ^-1。森林转为耕作导致水文物理质量和肥力参数下降，传统耕作（MW _{7 和 8}）比 IFS 耕作模式（MW _{3,5 和 6 ）更严重}）。与单独使用相比，土壤水保护措施（SWCM：等高线堤岸、梯田和草地水道）在减少侵蚀方面更有效。_{在 IFS 模式（MW 3,5 和 6} ）的栽培 MW 中采用这些 SWCM，森林径流减少了 13.0%–17.1%，土壤流失减少了 12.6%–15.1%（MW ₂）。然而，在传统农业（MW _{7 和 8}）中，径流增加了 50.6%–87.6%，而森林的土壤流失增加了 50.3%–59.8%。该研究表明，在印度东喜马拉雅山脉的山地生态系统中，可以促进采用农林业、农业-森林-园艺-或以园艺为基础的 IFS 和适当的 SWCM，以减少土壤侵蚀，同时维持土壤质量属性和粮食安全。