This report outlines the opportunities for ecosystem restoration in Gadchiroli, a predominantly rainfed, tribal district in Maharashtra, that can improve climate resilience, food and nutrition security, and livelihoods for its local communities. Using a landscape approach, it identifies interventions across agriculture, forests, and water resources and highlights the role of community-based institutions in leading landscape restoration in the district.

Nanomaterials (NMs) have proven to be a game-changer in agriculture, showcasing their potential to boost plant growth and safeguarding crops. The agricultural sector has widely adopted NMs, benefiting from their small size, high surface area, and optical properties to augment crop productivity and provide protection against various stressors. This is attributed to their unique characteristics, contributing to their widespread use in agriculture. Human exposure from various components of agro-environmental sectors (soil, crops) NMs residues are likely to upsurge with exposure paths may stimulates bioaccumulation in food chain. With the aim to achieve sustainability, nanotechnology (NTs) do exhibit its potentials in various domains of agriculture also have its flip side too. In this review article we have opted a fusion approach using bibliometric based analysis of global research trend followed by a holistic assessment of pros and cons i.e. toxicological aspect too. Moreover, we have also tried to analyse the current scenario of policy associated with the application of NMs in agro-environment.

The study aimed to assess the effects of combined application of urea nitrogen (N) and tank* silt (TS) on greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions [i.e., carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O)] and agronomic productivity of maize‐horsegram system. A factorial [urea (0, 60, 120, and 180 kg N ha −1 )] and tank silt (0 and 30 t ha −1 ) replicated thrice randomized block design was employed for this investigation. Results of the study showed that maize grain yield was significantly influenced by the sole application of both N fertilizer and TS. When both the N fertilizer and TS were combined, the grain yield was significantly ( p < 0.01) improved by 5% (4870 kg ha −1 ) over the highest yield observed under only N. We have noticed a significant ( p < 0.01) residual effect of N and TS on horsegram straw yield during all the years of experimentation. With the increase in N‐rate, there was an increasing trend in CO 2 emission noticed in all the years including the pooled year data. Compared to CO 2 emission, N 2 O emission was greatly influenced by nutrient management and amendment application. Among the seasons, the post‐rainy season ( Rabi ) had a slightly lower emission trend of CO 2 , during all the years as compared to the rainy season ( Kharif ). The observed results marked the marginal increasing trend of cumulative CO 2 (cCO 2 ) emissions with regard to increasing doses of urea. Tank silt addition slightly favoured a CO 2 emissions. The trend of cumulative N 2 O (cN 2 O) emission was greatly influenced by the dose of urea following the order of N 180 > N 120 > N 60 > N 0 . However, N fertilizer application influenced the cCO 2 emissions ( r = 0.83), and significantly increased the cN 2 O emission ( r = 0.99). Therefore, optimum and timely application of urea combined with TS is recommended as an effective strategy to combat GHG‐based emissions (specifically N 2 O based) in semiarid rainfed regions.

Sustainable development goals (SDGs) by United Nations are some of the high-priority areas of research and this article established the sustainable agronomic practices converging soil chemistry, crop productivity and soil microbial involvement in nutrient modulation. Alternate wetting-drying (AWD) cultivation with implications on soil microbiome, nutritional dynamics and rice yield during pre-monsoon (boro) and monsoon (aman) season are not well studied. In the present 4-year field study, the impact of AWD irrigation in pre-monsoon and flooded irrigation in monsoon on soil microbiota and the nutrient pool has been studied. Nutrient-less pond water has been used to avoid any external nutrient input from irrigation water to ensure the sole elemental flux within the soil itself. The release of soil nutrients into the soil-aqueous system, influencing microbial populations and modulating the redox status was explored. Results indicated an increase in total concentration as well as bioavailability of selected nutritional elements (N, P, K, Fe, Ca, Mg, Cu and Zn) by 16–54% in the pre-monsoon cultivation relative to monsoon cultivation. Three plant growth phases (developing, milking and harvest) were considered to check the nutrient modulations in soil and plant tissues along with the plant growth and elemental uptake continuum. Crop plant measurements were improved and grain yields were found to be 5.2–6.46% increased under AWD and microbial activity. Krona charts, relative abundance, rarefaction curve and multivariate analysis of metagenomics data showed that the pre-monsoon soil was more enriched and maintained a balance between soil pH and microbial biomass than the monsoon soil. Microbial community diversity associated with plant growth phases was also found to be different depending on the seasonal alterations. Bacillus sp., Acidothiobacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Rhizobium sp., Burkholderia sp. were predominant in pre-monsoon soil releasing pulses of N, P, K, Ca and Mg whereas Verrucomicrobia was found to be dominant in monsoon soil where Fe was released. This study is a first of its kind that showed the combined effect of season and some specific groups of soil microbes on macro-micro nutritional availability in soil and enhanced plant quality.

Land degradation across the world has resulted in an unprecedented decline of ecosystem services, affecting the livelihood of 3.2 billion people globally. Sustainable land management is essential to protect our finite land resources from over-exploitation and degradation. Therefore, the present article was aimed to analyze the impacts of various national and international policies on current and future land restoration scenarios in India. A spatially explicit model (CLUMondo) was employed to predict scenarios, i.e., the 'business as usual' (BU) and 'sustainable restoration' (SR) by 2030. Though the results showed an increasing trend in land degradation , i.e., from 44.28 to 49.74 Mha during the period of 2005-15, a slight decrease was observed in 2019 (49.24 Mha), suggesting a net increase of 11.21% during the 2005-19 period. However, an increase in forest cover by 5.08% under existing policy targets overtook the degradation rate by restoration initiatives. The net decline in degraded land area by 1% with an increased forest cover by 1.83% observed during the 2015-19 periods reflected the positive impact of various national and global policies on existing restoration ventures in India. Our modeled results (weighted AUC = 0.87) also suggested an increase in forest cover by 6.9% and 9.9% under BU and SR scenarios, respectively. Under the BU scenario, degraded land will be restored up to 12.1 Mha; however, 6.27 Mha of these lands will be converted to cropland for food production. Importantly, a decrease in grasslands by 35.1% under the BU scenario warrants the urgency to maintain the integrity of such ecological systems. However, the SR scenario showed an increase in grasslands by 8.9%, with an overall restoration of degraded land up to 18.31 Mha. Moreover, a reduced cropland expansion rate of 1% suggested an effective land management response. While our results may have some uncertainties due to the model limitations, they can still be used for framing suitable land management policies to facilitate sustainable land restoration programs in India.

Tectona grandis L.f. has considerable potential to restore marginal and degraded lands as it offers multiple co-benefits during the restoration venture. It provides good quality wood for multipurpose use, including biomass for bioenergy and noninvasive traits. For this, aboveground biomass (AGB) was assessed along with testing the critical soil properties (soil physicochemical and biological properties) across different plantation sites during a 4-year study period (2015-2018). The study suggested that the soil properties like bulk density, moisture content, pH, organic carbon, available nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium have shown significant mean improvement in all planted sites collectively. These were improved by -0.21 g cm(-3), 0.68%, -0.68, 0.27%, 13.69 mg kg(-1), 11.77 mg kg(-1), 95.20 mg kg(-1), respectively, in an arid area (Mirzapur, i.e., M1, M2, M3, M4, M5, and M6 sites, representing a warm and tropical dry climate) from the unplanted control (CM1) during 2015-2018. Moreover, the microbial biomass carbon and dehydrogenase activity were significantly improved by 56.71 mg kg(-1) and 6.92 mu g TPF g(-1) hr(-1), respectively, from CM1. Similar results were also observed in the semiarid areas of Varanasi, representing a humid subtropical climatic pattern (i.e., V4 and V5 sites) compared to the unplanted control in the (CV1). Furthermore, the AGB was found between 12.56 and 229.13 kg tree(-1), representing 5 and 30 years of plantation, respectively, in 2018. Reference sites (V1, V2, and V3) were also considered that reflect a planted control, which helped assess the comparison between variable sites and the sites under restoration. Therefore, the study further suggested that this tree species has the tremendous potential to restore marginal and degraded lands in the arid and semiarid areas of North India with a significant biomass supply as an additional benefit.

The rate of change in the relative amount of active and passive carbon (AC and PC) due to the land management practices (cropping systems combined with tillage) may vary with soil types depending on their level of chemical and/or physical protection from the decomposition but has rarely been directly measured. We have quantified the C storage potentiality of different soil types, namely old alluvial Inceptisol of Malda and recent alluvial Entisol of Coochbehar in West Bengal (subtropical eastern India) under the influence of different cropping systems (rice-maize: RM and rice-wheat: RW) and tillage practices (zero-tillage: ZT and conventional tillage: CT). The key objective was to demonstrate the short-term impact of conservation agriculture (CA) on soil C dynamics over the conventional practice. Research revealed that after short-term CA, total organic carbon (TOC), AC, PC, and total nitrogen (TN) showed significant (p < 0.05) improvement under the RM cropping system over the RW. The highest TOC content under the RM cropping system was recorded in the sites of Malda over the Coochbehar sites. The ZT significantly (p < 0.05) enhanced the TOC in the upper layers (0–5 and 5–10 cm) and the CT showed improvements in the lower depths (10–20 cm). We observed some irregular variations in the interactions of the cropping system and tillage with respect to different sites. However, the ZT performed better in improving C fractions under RM and RW as compared to CT. The TOC and TN stocks were maximum in the lower depth which was evident in both soil types. The TOC linearly regressed on TN accounted for 94.2% variability (R2 = 0.942) of the C accumulation in soil and vice-versa. The PC was in a significant relationship with TN (R2 = 0.943), but AC was moderately regressed (R2 = 0.851). Lower stratification ratio values in Coochbehar soils (sandy loam in texture) indicated higher profile distribution of AC and PC in the soil profile; while in the Inceptisol, accumulation of the C fractions on the soil surface due to heavy texture resulted in the higher stratification values. The novelty of this study is that old alluvial Inceptisol showed a comparatively greater amount of AC and PC storage capability in comparison with the new alluvial Entisol. Conclusively, our study demonstrated that the adoption of conservation agriculture (CA practice/ZT) in cropping systems with higher C biomass input would significantly enhance the AC and PC fractions; however, the amount of storage is highly governed by the soil type and climatic factors.

-Enhancing the productivity of rainfed crops, especially rice, while coping with climate adversities and saving critical natural resources is essential for ensuring the food and nutrition security of a growing population. With this context, the present study was undertaken to validate promising farm innovation and adaptation practices used by small-medium landholding farmers for rice cultivation in eastern Uttar Pradesh (UP), north India, as well as to examine the sustainability of innovative practices for large-scale adoption. For this, a 3-year study comprising extensive field surveys and experiments was undertaken to compare single transplantation (ST) and double transplantation (DT) in rice along with organic addition (farm-yard manure, FYM) on crop growth, yield, climate resilience, soil quality, and overall sustainability i.e., social (women involvements and labour productivity), environmental (water productivity and nutrient use efficiency), and economic (benefit:cost ratio) dimensions of sustainability. Field experiments were conducted in triplicate using two local rice varieties (MotiNP-360 and Sampurna Kaveri) in two agroclimatic zones, namely the middle Gangetic plains and the Vindhyan zone, in the Mirzapur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh. The DT practices of rice with and without farm yard manure (FYM) (replacing at a dose of 25% NPK) were evaluated over conventional methods of rice cultivation (i.e., ST, as control) and analysis was done periodically. The DT practice improved growth (p < 0.05), percent fertile tiller and grain (p < 0.05), and rice yield (15-20% higher than ST), while also improving soil quality, yield indices, water and labour productivity, and the benefit-cost ratio. The DT practice also resulted in early maturity (10-15 days earlier than ST), created more labour days for women, decreased lodging and pest/disease incidence, as well as a subsequent reduction in the use of synthetic chemical pesticides and associated environmental costs. Importantly, the residual effects of FYM application significantly improved (p < 0.05) the grain yield in subsequent years of cropping. Optimizing DT cultivation practices, preferably with FYM input for various agro-climatic regions, is essential for large-scale sustainable rice production under changing climatic conditions.

This editorial article provides a brief overview of various articles published in the Special Issue: Managing Agroecosystems for Food and Nutrition Security.

Agroecological interventions are imperative for boosting agricultural productivity and soil fertility while increasing profitability of subsistence farmers in low-income countries by replacing synthetic fertilizers. With this context, the present study was aimed to evaluate the impact of animal manures (sheep and poultry manure) and plant residue-based organic amendments (rice husk biochar and sugarcane pressmud) on soil quality, nutrient uptake and balance, yield, and sustainability of rice-wheat cropping in alluvial (rainfed) and red lateritic soil (dryland) of middle Gangetic plains (Narayanpur) and Vindhyan region (Rajgarh) of Mirzapur district in eastern UP. The field experiments were conducted for three years at the above two sites and amendments were done at a rate by replacing 30% standard recommended doses of fertilizer (RDF) for rice-wheat cropping system. Field trials were conducted with the 100% RDF as control, and 70% RDF with sheep manure, poultry manure, rice-husk biochar and sugarcane pressmud in a randomized block design. The organic amendments were done during the rice cultivation stage and the residual effect was observed during the subsequent wheat cultivation. Though soil organic carbon (SOC) was found to show significant (p >= 0.05) increase in biochar amended plots, animal manures followed by pressmud showed year wise increase in both SOC and microbial biomass carbon. In rainfed areas, plant growth and yield attributes for both rice and wheat were at par in amendments than control while in dryland, the 100% RDF showed better performance during the first year, after that amended plot showed better performance. All amendments resulted in higher benefit: cost ratio except biochar addition in Narayanpur, whereas in Rajgarh, the poultry manure resulted in significant improvement in benefit: cost ratio from second year onward. Our study advocates that validation of suitable amendment packages based on organic inputs are imperative for improving the yield, soil quality and nutrient balance of rice-wheat cropping system and thereby attaining the UN-SDGs at the village/local level.

Alternate wetting-drying (AWD) cultivation with implication on soil microbiome, nutritional dynamics and rice yield during pre-monsoon (boro) and monsoon (aman) season are not well studied. In the present 4-year field study the impact of AWD (in pre-monsoon season) is compared with conventional mode of irrigation (i.e. flooded field in monsoon season). The release of soil nutrients into the soil-aqueous system, influencing microbial populations and modulating the redox status were explored. Results indicated an increase in total content as well as bioavailability of selected nutritional elements (N, P, K, Fe, Ca, Mg, Cu and Zn) by 16-54% in the pre-monsoon cultivation relative to monsoon cultivation. Three plant growth phases (developing, milking and harvest) were considered to check the nutrient modulations in soil and plant tissues along the continuum plant growth and elemental uptake. Krona charts, relative abundance, rarefaction curve and multivariate analysis of metagenomics data showed that the pre-monsoon soil was more enriched and maintained a balance between soil pH and microbial biomass than the monsoon soil. Microbial community diversity associated with plant growth phases also found to be different depending on the seasonal alterations. Bacillus sp., Acidothiobacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Rhizobium sp., Burkholderia sp. were predominant in pre-monsoon soil releasing pulses of N, P, K, Ca and Mg whereas Verrucomicrobia was found to be dominant in monsoon soil where Fe was released. This study is a first of its kind that showed the combined effect of season and soil microbes on macro-micro nutritional availability in soil and enhanced plant quality. Keywords: Soil quality; Metagenomics; Nutrient availability; Pre-monsoon irrigation; Resource conservation; Soil microbiome

Soil is a living and dynamic body, which is prone to degradation under conventional agricultural practices. Healthy soil is one of the most important pillars of sustainability as it delivers several ecosystem services along with its control on microbial activity, nutrient recycling, and decomposition. Nature‐based solutions can play an important role in restoring soil quality for enhanced agricultural productivity and sustainability. This article discusses various nature‐based options available for improving soil quality. Indigenous practices such as sheep penning, tank silt application, green manuring, and refuse from croplands and households have the potential to restore and maintain soil fertility. Biofertilizers can add nutrients (N fixers), fixe up to 300 kg N ha through biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and facilitate (nutrient solubilizer and mobilizers) nutrient availability in the soil. Biochar, a commonly used product, can increase soil moisture availability by 8%–10% and aids in mitigating climate change through C‐sequestration. Biochar may have a climate change mitigation potential of 1.8 Pg CO 2 ‐C equivalent per year. When added to the soil, it not only acts as a nutrient source; but also acts as a soil amendment. Biogas slurry, the effluent from biogas reactors, contains various nutrient elements that can enrich soil fertility. The holistic approach in a farming system, through integration of different enterprises, reduces dependence on off‐farm resources. Soil management through nature‐based options will maintain crop productivity and sustainability in the long run without any adverse effects on the environment.

Bioenergy production from marginal and degraded lands is getting worldwide attention due to its potential for renewable energy, land restoration, soil carbon sequestration and also for meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, majority of the literature reported the bioenergy production prospect based on a single bioenergy crop production system. Therefore, the present article utilizes a multi-criteria analysis to identify India's potential marginal and degraded lands (P-ml) and their suitability for bioenergy crop production based on a polyculture zonation technique (PZT) with the projections for bioenergy and carbon mitigation potentials. Ten multipurpose bioenergy crops have been studied, out of which seven hardwood tree species were further selected based on ecological and climate suitability. Results suggested that India accounted for 45.13 million ha (Mha) of P-ml, and it could produce 96.82 Mt y(-1)& nbsp;of biomass and 6.16 Mt y(-1)& nbsp;of biofuel, considering half utilization of the plantation areas. Such productions represent 2.22 EJ y(-1) (equivalent to 618 TW h y(-1)) of bioenergy potential. Around 64 Mt C y(-1 & nbsp;)can also be sequestered by these plantations and additionally help in meeting carbon sequestration over 2800 MtCO(2) by 2030, corresponding to India's nationally determined contribution. According to the spatial validation results via centroid coinciding approach, 14 randomly generated points out of 24 coincided on the centroids of randomly identified land parcels, which were further validated through the ortho-imagery from Google Earth. Our study results can be used for framing suitable strategies for exploring bioenergy production from similar agroecological conditions and also for attaining India's national and international commitments related to land restoration and renewable energy production. (C)& nbsp;2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global warming and associated climatic changes due to rapidly increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission majorly by various anthropogenic activities led to negative impacts on various natural resources including the land and forest systems. Biomass production has been continuously suggested to address these issues, as it not only assists in environmental cleanup but also sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) under both aboveground and belowground domains. Being a versatile source of renewable energy, biomass uses are very much diversified such as bioenergy, biocomposites, biopolymers, bioplastics, and other biomaterials thereby providing strength to build cohesive bioeconomy for sustainable development. Therefore, the present chapter deals with the abovementioned account for the same in order to address several targets of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). Moreover, it also focuses on potential practices to enhance the production of quality biomass feedstock from degraded and neglected natural resources such as the marginal and degraded lands and forest systems for human well-being and nature's vitality.

Assessing the impacts of unprecedented biodiversity loss on planetary resilience, The Economics of Biodiversity: the Dasgupta Review ("Dasgupta Review") asserts that sustainable engagement with nature is crucial for sustaining the livelihoods of present and future generations. It further urges the integration of biodiversity into national accounting and science-based decision-making processes in order to advance the well-being of both people and the planet. Here, we present the salient features of the Dasgupta Review along with several recommendations for strengthening global biodiversity and ecosystem conservation efforts. Although institutional transformations at regional and national scales are essential to facilitate the recognition of economies' dependence on nature, behavioral changes at the level of the individual are also needed to better understand, value, manage, and utilize biodiversity. Formulation of inclusive policies prioritizing biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource consumption is also essential for averting future public health risks associated with ecosystem degradation and species loss.