Bishal Sitaula

Norwegian University of Life Sciences · Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric)

Farmers are adopting different agroforestry practices, but comparative studies between the practices based on ecosystem functions are often ignored. We assessed species composition and carbon stock in two different agroforestry practices (traditional and improved) adopted in the mid-hills of Nepal. We found higher species richness and dominancy of...

Determinants for choosing climate change adaptation strategies and selecting improved agroforestry practices have rarely been explored, while numerous studies have been conducted on climate change and agroforestry. This paper discusses; local understanding of climate change, climatic impacts, and factors that affect farmers’ choices of adaptation s...

Farmers are predominantly adopting two forms of agroforestry, traditional and improved practices, in the midhills of Nepal, but their efficacy on a comparative basis is poorly assessed, so farmers often confuse whether to continue the traditional practice or embrace the improved practice. We carried out a study in six villages of three districts, i...

A study was carried out at Lingmethang to find out the ecological requirement for the growth of Sandalwood (Santalum album L.) trees in Bhutan. It also aimed to determine the preferred hosts of Sandalwood in the study site and to map its habitat suitability in the country. Plot size of 20 x 20 m 2 for trees, 10 x 10 m 2 for shrubs, and 5 x 5 m 2 fo...

Farmers in Bhutan practice hot water blanching and sun drying of green chillies as one of the preservation measures. The blanched dried chilli is known as ema shukam locally and is used in preparing various traditional cuisines. Blanching is done for 2-3 minutes by immersing in boiling water and drying in open sun. However, blanching and drying pro...

Trees Outside Forests (TOF) is a reliable source of income for farmers in rural area but study regarding this has not been explored in depth yet. Therefore , this study was objectively conducted to assess the contribution of income from TOF products in annual income of rural household. Dhangadimai Municipality of Siraha district, Nepal was selected...

is research was objectively conducted to assess importance value index (IVI), tree species diversity and carbon stock density. Dhangadimai Municipality of Siraha District, Nepal was selected as study site. The map of TOF was prepared and further categorized it into Group and Scattered plantation. Altogether 60 samples, specifically each 30 from Gro...

Aquilaria malaccensis Lam., commonly referred by its trade name Agarwood, is an endangered species. Its natural distribution and ecology in Bhutan are poorly known. So, this study aimed to understand the ecological requirements and model suitable habitats for the growth of A. malaccensis in the country. Using purposive-non-probability sampling, veg...

Mountain pastoralism is the one of the important traditional farming systems for livelihood of the local communities in the Hindu Kush Himalayan regions. This system is continuously deteriorating in recent decades due to socio-political and environmental changes. Therefore the study was conducted to analyze existing socio-political changes particul...

The International Conference entitled “Natural Resources, Agriculture and Society in a Changing Climate” was successfully conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal during the period 17-19 August 2019. This multi-stakeholder interdisciplinary conference represents an important milestone of the NORAD funded NORHED project entitled, “Sustainable natural resource...

The physico-chemical characteristics of soils under forest and grazing land were studied in Rara Lake catchment of Mugu district. Soil samples were collected from two depths (0-15 cm and 15-30 cm) respectively and soil profiles were studied. Soil physico-chemical parameters, including Soil Organic Carbon (SOC) and micronutrients were determined and...

In this paper, we discuss the need for personal transformation in the rapidly changing environmental context. We also provide a short reflective and analytical framework for climate-smart agriculture (CSA) and its linkages with vulnerability, resilience, and livelihoods and reflect on how CSA can impact positively on the livelihoods of smallholder...

It is widely accepted that climate change will affect sugarcane production and its associated pests. The aim of this chapter is to review the impact of climate variability on factors and processes affecting environmental exposure of pesticides used in sugarcane production in Malawi. We indicate that changes in temperature and rainfall will have a d...

Vehicle wash wastewater (VWW) contains a wide range of contaminants and discharge of such contaminated wastewater into the surface water bodies degrade water quality and affect aquatic ecosystems. This study, presents an impacts of discharging VWW into the stream Olarong Chhu in Thimphu and river Paa Chhu in Paro using water chemistry and benthic m...

The major challenge related to sustainable management of natural resources, agricultural and livestock production, and the assessment of innovative technologies and policies is to identify solutions for these problems. Soil degradation, a serious problem in sub-Saharan Africa, is affected by climate change through emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs...

Sustaining soil and forest resources, ensuring food security, and reducing poverty under changing climate in Africa are major challenges. The ever-increasing population, which may reach 1.4 billion by 2030, demands that food production must increase by 20% as compared to the present production. The population growth rate of 2.7% in 2017 in SSA regi...

Subsistence-based traditional farming system is being replaced by an intensified cropping system to meet the increasing demand for food production, soil disturbance due to which may alter ecosystem functions and hence affect the emission of greenhouse gases. We measured fluxes of methane (CH4) with a closed chamber technique from fields in the trad...

This book discusses knowledge-based sustainable agro-ecological and natural resource management systems and best practices for sustained agricultural productivity and ecosystem resilience for better livelihoods under a changing climate. With a focus on agriculture in Africa, the book assesses innovative technologies for use on smallholder farms, an...

Land use changes are a common occurrence resulting from different factors in Nepal. There is a need for better understanding of the temporal and spatial change dynamics of land uses as well as their future projections. This paper assesses the land use change and its impact on carbon stocks and provides future scenarios of land use changes and their...

Heavy metal contamination owing to anthropogenic activities affects human health and is of worldwide concern. The aim of the study was to investigate the possible linkage between vehicle washing and heavy metal contamination. Heavy metal concentration in sediment samples from vehicle wash wastewater settlement tanks (WSTs) and water bodies (Olarong...

Forest management is an important strategy which can significantly contribute to climate change mitigation through appropriate care of forest resources. This study was carried out to evaluate two systems of carbon stock accumulation; a harvested forest verses a non-harvested forest. Both the above-ground and below-ground cabon stocks were assessed....

The effects of climate change have negatively affected Malawi's agricultural production. In this context, fisheries have been providing alternative livelihoods. However, there is a knowledge gap around the responses of small-scale fishers to climate-related changes. Therefore, a study was conducted on the Western shores of Lake Malawi between Augus...

High altitude ecosystems have important natural ecological functions but are under increasing impacts from human activities and climate change. A detailed analysis of the water chemistry of Lake Rara, a high mountain lake in western Nepal, was carried out in October 2015 and April 2016. A total of 31 water samples were collected. Major ions (Ca²⁺,...

Climate change is expected to have serious environmental, economic, and social impacts in mountainous regions worldwide. Rural communities that depend on farming, livestock rearing and natural resources for their livelihoods are likely to be affected by its adverse impacts. This study was carried out to understand one community's perceptions and ex...

Conservation tillage is expected to have a positive effect on soil physical properties, soil Carbon (C) storage, while reducing fuel, labour and machinery costs. However, reduced tillage could increase soil nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions and offset the expected gains from increased C sequestration. To date, conservation tillage is barely practiced o...

The rural population in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), which constitutes more than half of the total population, experienced serious incidences of extreme weather events in the past two decades. This part of the population is vulnerable to climate change due to significant dependence on agriculture as a climate-sensitive livelihood option. However, t...

The rural population in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH), which constitutes more than half of the total population, experienced serious incidences of extreme weather events in the past two decades. This part of the population is vulnerable to climate change due to significant dependence on agriculture as a climate-sensitive livelihood option. However, t...

Agroforestry is a natural resource management system that integrates trees, crops and animals in a manner that produces two or more crops from a small unit of land sustainably. It is a sustainable land use system that is ecologically and economically sound and offers the added benefit of carbon sequestration. This paper reviews agroforestry practic...

The manuscript is primarily intended for the population involved in agricultural consultancy (advisory services), students and any readers interested in climate change and its effect on agricultural production. This publication will thus influence the strengthening of the capacity of agricultural extension services and farmers in the implementation...

Intensification of food production in Nepal has been found to acidify the soils and hence increase their apparent propensity to emit N2O as measured by the N2O/(N2+N2O) product ratio of denitrification during standardized anoxic incubations (Raut et al., 2012). We hypothesized that this would lead to high N2O emission factors (EF), and tested this...

Half of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BH) population lives in rural areas. Agricultural production is a backbone of the rural economy and generates significant economic value for the country. BH is highly vulnerable to climate change, which poses a significant development challenge given the climate-sensitivity of the agricultural sector, the share of...

p>Land management regimes and forest types play an important role in the productivity and accumulation of terrestrial carbon pools. While it is commonly accepted that forests enhance carbon sequestration and conventional agriculture causes carbon depletion, the effects of agro-forestry are not well documented. This study investigated the carbon sto...

Carbon sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems is emerging as an important strategy to address climate change issues globally including Nepal. As the information on carbon stock under different land use systems with focus on both biomass and soil profile is lacking, this paper aims to quantify carbon stock in biomass and in soil profile under diffe...

Ovaj rukopis prvenstveno je namijenjen za populaciju koja s e bavi poljoprivre dnim savjetovanjem (savjetodavne službe), studente i one čitaoce koje interesuju klimatske promjene i njihov uticaj na poljoprivrednu proizvodnju. Ova publikacija će i na taj način uticati na jačanje kapaciteta poljoprivrednih savjetodavnih službi i samih poljoprivrednik...

Soil chemical and physical properties play a vital role in vegetation growth and crop production. Degradation of soil leads to a decrease in productivity and crop yields. In order to manage soil for sustainable use, it is important to monitor and optimize its physical and chemical properties. This study was carried out to determine and compare the...

The study addressed the influence of seasons and land use on soil microarthropod communities. Soil fauna were grouped into three categories, i.e., Collembola (20%), Acari (59%) and other microarthropods (21%). The densities of total microarthropod, Collembola, and Acari were highly significant with seasons. Shannon Index and QBS-ar were also signif...

This article reviews the water quality studies in the Central Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal at different sources and from different river systems as well as lakes and ponds. Sources considered for review are surface-water, groundwater and rainwater. All the major river systems are included and the water quality status of both upland and lowland stream...

Soil disturbance due to grazing has been severe in Indian forests. This may alter ecosystem functions such as the cycling of nitrogen, and may hence affect the emission of greenhouse gases. We measured fluxes of CH4 and N2O with a closed chamber technique throughout one year in a forest of Western Ghats, Karnataka state, southwest India and determi...

The objective of this research was to quantify the effect of the application of organic fertilizers: farmyard manure, vermicompost, spent mushroom compost, under two different ground cover management systems (black polyethylene and wheat straw mulch) on soil nutrient levels and strawberry yield during a two-year production cycle. The application of...

This discussion paper highlights the need for transformation in how we understand and deal with climate change. This transformation is necessary if we are to move toward sustainable future. Climate change is a multi-dimensional problem, including more than just social or environmental issues. Its primary causes and consequences are deeply rooted in...

This study addressed the integrated effects of season, slope aspect and land use on faunal population density, diversity and Soil Biological Quality (QBS-ar index) in the mid-hills of the central Nepal Himalaya. It also examined the relationship among these soil quality indicators. Faunal density and QBS-ar were significantly higher during the post...

In view of the heavy people’s dependence (80 %) on various forms of land-based resources, carbon sequestration should not only be targeted in forests, but also on private land agroforestry. A survey was conducted in 2011 to investigate the gap in contribution of agroforestry carbon to the household economy in the middle hills region of Rasuwa distr...

There is a growing concern of pesticide risks to human health, natural environment and ecosystems. Many previous economic valuations have accounted health aspects or environmental components, but rarely combined; thus, overall risk assessment is partially distorted. The study, conducted close to the capital of Nepal, addressed the health effects of...

Exaggerated and incompetent use of chemical pesticides in crop production can have adverse effects on human health, natural ecosystems and social capital. The potential impacts are interconnected and complicated, so the current scientific knowledge base of its understanding seems to be imperfect, and the degree of impacts could be much more; theref...

This paper assesses the origins of and changes to fertilizer policy in Nepal over a period of time. It assesses farmers’ awareness of the recent changes to the subsidy policy and examines their perceptions of the extension services. This paper looks at the environmental implications of the concentrated application of chemical fertilizer, particular...

The degradation of forest and soil contribute significantly to carbon emission to the atmosphere leading to the build–up of carbon dioxide in atmosphere and contributing to global warming. Consequences of climate change are not only the rise in global temperatures, but also changes in the precipitation patterns, which could affect agricultural prod...

An oral presentation was made on the topic in the meeting that was held on 26-28 September in Oslo Norway

We observed skewed distribution across household of benefits of pesticide use in vegetable farming in Nepal. However, economic burden or harm of pesticide use and exposure by household economy is poorly studied. It is hypothesized that exaggerated and incompetent pesticide use is likely to affect human health that may lead to decline in human produ...

Assessing erythrocyte acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in farm workers across agricultural seasons can be used to monitor risks of pesticide exposure. We surveyed a total of 403 households in Nepal and adopted the Test-mate ChE Cholinesterase Test System to monitor AChE activity across season on the 127 individuals of the sampled households. Th...

Agricultural intensification is not as simple as the Boserupian process of agricultural change; rather it is a complex evolutionary process involving several interacting drivers. This article attempts to identify the gaps in the social, economic, and environmental effects of agricultural intensification in the mid-hills of Nepal by reviewing agricu...

Nepalese mid-hill farmers have shifted from a subsistence-based farming system to an intensified farming system. This paper attempts to describe the evolution of the process of agricultural intensification in the mid-hill region by examining external drivers, trends in fertilizer use, landholding, cropping patterns, irrigation and labour use in the...

This study analyzed the adoption and extent of agricultural intensification at household level in Ansikhola watershed in mid-hills. Structured questionnaire survey of 310 households, key informants interviews and focus group discussion methods were applied to collect the necessary information. The results revealed that 63% of the sampled households...