India faces severe decline in farmland trees, major losses in Maharashtra and Telangana

Millions of large trees across Indian farms have vanished in the past decade, new research has found, raising concerns about the impact on the environment and agricultural practices. The researchers noted that farmlands in many regions lost up to half of their large trees between 2010 and 2018.

The paper, Severe decline in large farmland trees in India over the past decade, published in the journal Nature Sustainability, analysed satellite imagery from 2010 to 2022. 

The study identified regions in central India, particularly Maharashtra and Telangana, as hotspots for tree disappearance. These areas lost nearly 2.5 million trees between 2011 and 2018. The highest densities were observed in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, with 22 trees per hectare.

The paper revealed a worrying trend: Over 5 million large trees (5.6 million to be exact), with a crown size of about 67 square metres, disappeared from farmlands between 2018 and 2022 alone. The information is unsettling given that agroforests play a crucial role in offering socio ecological benefits and are a potential climate solution as a carbon sink.

Agroforest trees in India are remnant trees from forests cleared for agricultural use, offer shade, soil fertilisation and other benefits to the land, the researchers noted. 

Trees such as mahua, coconut, sangri, neem, babul, shisham, jamun, vegetable hummingbird, karoi and jackfruit in farmlands provide fruits, fuelwood, sap, medicine, mulch, fibre, fodder and wood for animal and human use.

Citing an example, researchers said that neem trees can grow tall, having canopies of up to 20 metres in diameter and can survive for hundreds of years.

Their observations, using satellite data from RapidEye and PlanetScope tree detection tools, showed that the phenomenon is not a local exception but is relevant across Indian croplands, reflecting national-scale thinning of the country’s large farmland trees in a short period.

According to India’s land-cover map, 56 per cent of India is carpeted by farmland and about 20 per cent is covered by forest.

The analysis found that some regions lost up to 50 trees per square kilometre. The revelation has worried scientists as these trees had crown sizes of more than 67 square metres, with some even reaching 96 square metres and 150 square metres.

The information was also verified on the ground via field visits to 1,000 random trees, with an uncertainty of disappearance estimated to be 21 per cent, the study notes.

The researchers observed that a 5-10 per cent tree mortality rate owing to wildfires, fungi, insects, and droughts is expected. They note that anthropogenic climate change and human mismanagement also exacerbate tree loss.

The scientists analysed the possibility of climate change and high temperatures in central and southern India resulting in poor rainfall and drought conditions behind the losses in the past decade. However, those regions were found to have above-average precipitation.

To understand the reasons, the researchers interviewed farmers from Telangana, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and the Kashmir and Jammu regions, all marking tree disappearance on the maps.

The study noted that farmers mainly removed the trees due to their perception of poor benefits from the trees and with the purpose of boosting crop yields. For instance, farmers removed trees to establish bore wells for groundwater extraction for additional water supply and to expand paddy fields to improve yields. They also said that trees with large canopies, such as neem, negatively affected crop yields.

Fungi and climate change did not have a negative impact on the trees, the interviewees informed.

But the researchers said that as per the last census, over 86 per cent of farmers in India are marginalised, owning less than two hectares of land, with 67 per cent of them having holdings of less than a hectare. In such a scenario, trees play a crucial role in assisting their livelihoods.

The study noted that the findings only highlight the disappearance of large farmland trees between 2010 and 2022.

“At a first glance, this may contradict official reports and recent studies stating that tree cover in India has increased considerably in recent years. It is, however, important to note that we report only gross losses and did not consider tree gains as a separate class,” the study noted.

The researchers also refrained from including block plantations and do not provide information on net tree changes.

“Our results do not contradict reports concluding that there has been a net increase in planted trees outside forests as a result of tree planting being encouraged and actively carried out in India,” the paper added.