Optimum Trenching Density Estimation Concept for Horti‐Silvi‐Pastoral System in Degraded Ravine Ecosystem: A Field Application

ABSTRACT The United Nations Sustainable Development Goal‐15.3 (SDG‐15.3) has conveyed a message of emergent connotation of restoration strategy and policy for degraded land ecosystems globally, and advocated for innovative and collaborative basic and applied research programs internationally. Trenching is an economically viable and practicable option for the conservation of green‐water and sustainable yield of production systems in the degraded land ecosystem. An optimum trenching density that has maximum net‐benefit per unit cost of production system is necessary for management and restoration of degraded/bad land ecosystems. Developed a concept for estimation of optimum trenching density by maximizing the net‐benefit per unit cost of the production system in land ecosystem, and demonstrate field applicability of the proposed concept for determining the optimum density of trenching in degraded ravine ecosystem. Evolved optimum trenching density concept consists of development of models for net‐benefit per unit cost of the production system. The two‐steps curve‐fitting approach was used for the development of models. An optimization model was formulated for optimum trenching density based on maximum net‐benefit per unit cost of the production system. The proposed concept was field‐tested for the staggered contour trenching (SCT) in an experimental horti‐silvi‐pastoral system in the degraded ravine ecosystem. The developed optimization model for the SCT was solved employing the AMPL optimization software. The optimum density for the SCT in the horti‐silvi‐pastoral production system in the degraded ravine ecosystem was worked out to be 357 trenches ha −1 for getting maximum net‐benefit per unit cost of the horti‐silvi‐pastoral production system. The optimized density of the SCT (357 trenches ha −1 ) can successfully be implemented in the horti‐silvi‐pastoral or other similar production systems in degraded land ecosystems anywhere in India and world. Derived concept could be used by the field functionaries and watershed managers, researchers, academicians, and policy‐and decision‐makers for developing suitable micro‐level management plan in watershed development and/or crop production improvement programs, and evaluating the effectiveness of green‐water management and conservation practices in a specific production system in a given degraded land ecosystem that gives maximum net‐benefit per unit cost of the production system.