Dr. SS Shinde and Dr. SB Nandgude

An increase in the concentration of atmospheric CO2 by 31% since 1750 necessitates the identification of strategies for mitigating the threat of global warming. Soil erosion is the major land degradation process that removes organic carbon from the soil. Estimates of soil loss and their conservation planning are essential steps to improve soil quality, increase biodiversity and enhance soil organic carbon storage which in turn improves carbon sequestration. Therefore, there is a need to study the magnitude of the impact of conservation measures on carbon sequestration on a watershed basis. The average annual soil loss from the Urmodi basin was 30 t/ha/yr before the adoption of soil and water conservation measures and 8.39 t/ha/yr with scientific planning and execution of soil and water conservation technologies. Total carbon sequestration was expected to increase by 8.35% to the level of 6.81 million tonnes of CO₂ from Urmodi basin after adoption of soil and water conservation measures and water harvesting structures. So, it is concluded that these conservation technologies would improve soil quality, enhances organic carbon and leads to better productivity of agricultural land.

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