Silivipastoral systems having trees and grasses play an important role in providing fodder for sustainable livestock production in arid region, prevent soil erosion, conserve soil moisture and add organic matter to soil. A field experiment was initiated on the silvipastoral system having different trees species i.e., Hardwickia binata, Ailanthus excelsa and Colophospermum mopane in association with Cenchrus ciliaris grass at ICAR-CAZRI Jodhpur, India in the year 2003. Observations on growth, biomass production and organic soil carbon content were recorded during kharif season in the year 2015. Maximum plant height was recorded in case of H. binata whereas minimum was recorded for C. mopane. The highest canopy area was recorded in C. mopane, whereas least canopy area was recorded in case of H. binata. Highest DBH was recorded for C. mopane and least for H. binata. Specific gravity of wood of C. mopane was maximum whereas it was minimum in A. excelsa. The AGB of C. mopane (13.5 t ha-1) was maximum among the tree species whereas it was minimum in case of A. excelsa (2.6 t ha-1). Root biomass of C. mopane (3.51 t ha-1) was maximum whereas least was recorded for A. excelsa (0.67 t ha-1) which was at par with that of H. binata (0.74 t ha-1). The highest amount of carbon was sequestered by C. mopane tree (8.51 t ha-1) and least by A. excelsa (1.63 t ha-1) which was comparable with that of H. binata (1.80 t ha-1). Total Carbon sequestered by C. mopane based silvipature system. (10.19 t ha-1) was higher as compared to H. binata (3.69 t ha-1) and A. excelsa (4.45 t ha-1) based silvipasture systems. These results would help in selection of suitable silvipasture system for the arid regions of Rajasthan for sustainable land use management and increase carbon sequestration.

Thar Desert is characterized by high ambient temperature, sunshine, desiccating winds and meagre rainfall causing less availability of forage and discomfort to the animals. An experiment was initiated at Chandan area of Jaisalmer district, maintaining sheep of Jaisalmeri breed under continuous grazing system on fenced over mature sevan (Lasiurus sindicus) pasture as per the carrying capacity. The objective of study were to develop coping strategies for minimizing impact of extreme climatic conditions on sheep production of Thar Desert. The treatments were: C1 - Stocking of grazing sheep at recommended stocking rate (1 ACU ha-1 = 5 female + 1 male) + supplementary feeding of balanced concentrate @ 200 gms animal-1 + healthcare as per requirement; C2 - 12 animals per hectare with supplementary feeding and healthcare, C3 - 6 animals ha-1 without supplementary feeding and healthcare and C4 - 12 animals ha-1 without supplementary feeding and healthcare. Sheep were found more adjusted with feed availability through changes in grazing behavior like increased grazing time, bites per minute, change in grazing spot per 5 minutes, time taken while drinking water etc. Animals preferred shade when THI is above 88 particularly tree shed, because of cooling effect of leaves due to moisture evaporation and free flow air in the pasture area compared to erected thatched shade in Thar region. Sheep provided with supplementary concentrate feed and health management (C1, C2), even with double grazing pressure resulted in increase in live body weight and wool yield (C2) compared to the herds maintained exclusively on fenced over mature Sevan (Lasiuruss indicus) grass pasture (C3, C4).Supplementary feeding and healthcare also improved vital parameters like hemoglobin, blood sugar, respiration rate, pulse rate etc. Study showed that when grazing pressure is doubled with no feed supplementation and healthcare (C4) then there is decrease in body weight even though it spends more time for grazing. Thus, it is inferred that only grazing on pastures will not result in realization of actual livestock productivity in extreme hot climatic condition and it could be mitigated by supplementing grazing with balanced concentrates, provision of trees in grazing area and adoption of health management practices. Key words: Climate change, coping strategies, sheep production, supplementary feeding, Thar Desert.

Prosopis juliflora (Swartz) DC., an invasive alien plant species, is known as a threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services world over. It has heavily invaded community grazing lands (CGLs) in the Indian Thar Desert. The present study reports effects of four canopy sizes, (i.e. small, medium, large and no-canopy/open plot), of P. julflora shrub on native vegetation and soil fertility (0–20 cm depth) in the CGLs distributed in Jodhpur, Pali, and Sirohi districts in the Desert. In addition, economic profitability of P. juliflora based three enterprises, (i.e. charcoal making, pod-flour making, and sheep rearing in the grasslands if developed in the CGLs), was evaluated to find out invasion control measures of the shrub through utilization. Soil organic carbon (SOC), total N, available P and K, and mineral N (NO3−–N, NH4+–N) and soil-moisture contents were higher under the shrub canopy than in open plot; and they were the highest under the large and lowest under the small canopy sizes. But, light intensity (Lux) declined under the canopy. The decline, however, was the highest under the large and lowest under the small canopy sizes. Composition of native plant species changed and their richness and diversity declined under the canopy, but was higher under the larger canopy size. Economic analyses revealed that investment was the highest (5476US$ ha−1) in the charcoal and lowest (486US$ ha−1) in pod-flour enterprise, but gross profit and net present value (NPV) were the highest (10740US$ ha−1 and 5264US$ ha−1, respectively) in the charcoal and lowest (895US$ ha−1 and 409US$ ha−1, respectively) in pod-flour enterprise. Other economic parameters, like the annuity and internal rate of return (IRR), were also the highest in the charcoal and lowest in pod-flour enterprise suggesting that the charcoal enterprise is economically the most profitable enterprise; and it may control the invasion of the P. juliflora in the Desert.

Carbon sequestration potential of eight recommended land-use systems of arid western Rajasthan was compared. Biomass C stock was maximum in farm forestry of Acacia tortilis (31.4 Mg C ha(-1)) followed by Prosopis cineraria and Hardwickia binata based silvoarable systems (8.8 and 10.6 Mg C ha(-1)). Soil C stock was also maximum in farm forestry (47.6 Mg C ha(-1)) followed by Ziziphus based systems (32.5-33.9 Mg C ha(-1)). About 50-78% of additional soil C stock was in the form of soil inorganic carbon. The total C sequestered (biomass + soil) over a period of nineteen years was in the order: farm forestry (49.80) > silvoarable systems (11.0-13.3) > hortipasture system (8.3) > agri-horti (5.5), silvopasture (5.4) and sole pasture (5.3) compared to - 1.0 Mg C ha(-1) in sole cropping.

In arid regions of India the productivity of rainfed crops is low and uncertain due to erratic distribution of rainfall. Mixed/intercropping has been in practice to minimize the risk of crop failure and sustaining household requirements. Watermelon is being cultivated as mixed crop during kharif with pearlmillet and or clusterbean under rainfed conditions mainly because of its nutritious seeds having considerable oil content. The vegetable oil demand is increasing day by day and India's domestic supply is dependent on rapeseed, mustard, groundnut and soybean. Seed purpose watermelon genotypes have the potential to yield 700-800 kg seed yield ha(-1) with 30-40% oil content and could provide a better alternative as well as livelihood supportive role under rainfed conditions of the Indian arid zone. Watermelon seed price ranges from Rs. 6000-8000 per quintal in local markets thus supporting the livelihoods of desert dwellers in a big way. Therefore, it could be used for commercial exploitation of oil for domestic consumption as well as industrial applications.

Arid zone constitutes about 10% of India's geographical area, where further scope of area expansion under ag-riculture and productivity enhancement exists. The traditional farming systems are self-contained and show resilience to aberrant weather conditions, but are low yielders. This region is endowed with some of the most drought hardy crops, multi-purpose trees [e.g. Prosopis cineraria (L.) Druce (khejri) and Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. (ber)], grasses (e.g. Cenchrus ciliaris L., Lasiurus scindicus Henrard), and breeds of cattle (e.g. ‘Tharparkar’, ‘Kankrej’) and small ruminants (Marwari sheep and goat). The farming system research that began in early eighties derives its tools from rich indigenous knowledge accumulated over the ages for resilience, and amalgamated it with the scientific innovation to achieve higher levels of production, while managing the fragile resource base. Owing to risky crop production, land is put to alternate uses with perennial components like agroforestry, agri-horticulture, agri-pasture, horti-pasture, farm forestry etc. At ICAR-CAZRI, Jodhpur, IFS experiment over 7.0 ha area is being conducted since 2001 in adaptive research mode. Based on the results of this experiment, an IFS model for 5–7 ha farm holding for 250–400 mm rainfall zone has been recommended. This includes arable cropping (20%), agroforestry (30%), agri-horticulture (20%), silvi-pasture (10%) horti-pasture (10%) and boundary plantation (10%). In the livestock component, ‘Tharparkar’ cattle [0.75 adult cattle unit (ACU)/ha] and ‘Marwari’ sheep and goat (3 animals/ha) found rational to fully utilize family labour and available fodder. Moisture conservation practices are indispensable component of the model. The expected net returns calculated from this IFS model are 70, 000/ha with a payback period of 5 years at an (IRR) of 33%. This IFS model is expected to generate employ ment to the tune of 130 man-days/ha. This diversification is also equally effective to provide ecosystem services, viz. enhanced biodiversity, carbon-sequestration, fuel-wood production and greenery in the desert.

Perennial vegetation provides ecological and economic stability to livestock based production systems in the arid regions. But, role of herbaceous annual and seasonal vegetation is poorly understood. In order to understand this, grazing experiments [T-1: Control (no grazing); T-2: Optimum carrying capacity with supplemental feed (6 sheep grazing); T-3: Optimum carrying capacity without supplemental feed (6 sheep grazing); T-4: Double the carrying capacity with supplemental feed (12 sheep grazing) and T-5: Double the carrying capacity without supplemental feed (12 sheep grazing)] were conducted for two consecutive years in Lasiurus sindicus dominated rangelands at Chandan, Jaisalmer. Study revealed that irrespective of supplemental feed, 70-80% of L. sindicus cover declined in paddock with double the carrying capacity (T-4 and T-5). Further, the preferential consumption of seasonal and low perennials such as Ochthochloa compressa and annual Cenchrus biflorus in monsoon and post-monsoon helped to defray the consumption of perennials and inter-alia prolonged the duration of range use. It was concluded that spatial heterogeneity imparted by seasonal vegetation in an overall matrix of perennial tall grasses and woody perennials need to be managed optimally by grazing management of both seasonals and perennials.