Table 4 Conservation land management interventions studied
Group | Rank | Conservation land management intervention | No. | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Organic fertiliser (23.8Â %, 358) | 1 | Farm yard manure (pig, poultry, cattle)/compost | 154 | 10.2 |
2 | Urea | 71 | 4.7 | |
3 | Crop residues | 66 | 4.4 | |
4 | Leaf/green manure | 27 | 1.8 | |
5 | Lime (incl. dolomite)/ash (coal and volcanic soils) | 14 | 0.9 | |
6 | Biochar | 13 | 0.9 | |
7 | Vermiculture | 8 | 0.5 | |
8 | Waste (slaughterhouse/human effluent/biogas slurry/vinasse/distillery hh waste) | 5 | 0.3 | |
Tillage (23.3Â %, 350) | 1 | No till | 141 | 9.4 |
2 | Single conventional tillage | 111 | 7.4 | |
3 | Disk harrow/plough | 30 | 2.0 | |
4 | Minimum (incl. ripping and direct seeding) | 16 | 1.1 | |
5 | Ridge/basin | 15 | 1.0 | |
6 | Rotivar | 15 | 1.0 | |
7 | Mouldboard/base/country plough | 8 | 0.5 | |
8 | Double conventional tillage | 8 | 0.5 | |
9 | Shallow | 3 | 0.2 | |
10 | Deep chisel | 3 | 0.2 | |
Agroforestry (8.6Â %, 129) | 1 | Multipurpose tree species with multistorey cropping | 109 | 7.3 |
2 | Homegardens | 20 | 1.3 | |
Water conservation (6.5Â %, 98) | 1 | Other water conservation techniques | 28 | 1.9 |
2 | Maintaining raised beds, tied ridges and ditches | 24 | 1.6 | |
3 | Alternative wet—dry rice irrigation | 18 | 1.2 | |
4 | Partial root zone | 9 | 0.6 | |
5 | Intermittent submergent irrigation (shallow water for pre- and middle tillering stage, field sun drying for late tillering stage, then shallow water again until ripening stage) | 9 | 0.6 | |
6 | Drip irrigation | 6 | 0.4 | |
7 | Wastewater/treated sewage effluent (TSU) | 4 | 0.3 | |
Weed management (2.8Â %, 42) | 1 | Herbicides/fungicides | 22 | 1.5 |
2 | Mechanical | 14 | 0.9 | |
3 | Crop residues | 4 | 0.3 | |
4 | Wide seedling spacing | 1 | 0.1 | |
5 | Burning | 1 | 0.1 | |
Cover crops (5Â %, 75) | 1 | Legumes | 50 | 3.3 |
2 | Shaded patches | 25 | 1.7 | |
Pest management (2.5Â %, 38) | 1 | Insecticide | 22 | 1.5 |
2 | Integrated, including neem | 16 | 1.1 | |
Mulching (1.4Â %, 21) | 1 | Surface crop residue retention | 17 | 1.1 |
2 | Plastic Film Mulched (PFM) | 4 | 0.3 | |
Fallowing (5.6Â %, 84) | 1 | Dry | 79 | 5.3 |
2 | Wet | 5 | 0.3 | |
Erosion control (1.3Â %, 20) | 1 | Terracing | 11 | 0.7 |
2 | Revegetating slopes | 9 | 0.6 | |
Restoration (2.8Â %, 42) | 1 | Re/afforestation [incl. some rotational woodlots (three studies)] | 34 | 2.3 |
2 | Other | 8 | 0.5 | |
Passive interventions (3.1Â %, 46) | 1 | Maintaining biodiversity on farms | 16 | 1.1 |
2 | Fire management including supporting natural burning regimes | 13 | 0.9 | |
3 | Carbon sequestration | 12 | 0.8 | |
4 | Nutrient cycling by maintaining termite mounds within cultivated areas | 5 | 0.3 | |
Pollination management (1.6Â %, 24) | 1 | Hand pollination, camel hair brush, glass rod tapered, match stick or provision of beehives | 24 | 1.6 |
Mosaic/matrix management (4.5Â %, 67) | 1 | Wild/natural vegetation within/adjacent farmlands | 57 | 3.8 |
2 | Set aside areas such as buffer strips, alleys, hedgerows or field margins | 10 | 0.7 | |
Crop rotation (6Â %, 90) | 1 | Relay cropping/shifting cultivation | 90 | 6.0 |
Intercropping (1.3Â %, 20) | 1 | Push pull systems, legumes and cereals/fruit trees, N fixing trees with cardamom | 20 | 1.3 |
 Total |  |  | 1504 | 100 |