Consultancy Report Study on Conservation of Subsoil Water In
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Consultancy Report Study on Conservation of Subsoil Water in Shivalik Hills of Punjab Funded by Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation Government of Punjab Submitted by ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Sector 27 A, Chandigarh 1 Citation: Panwar Pankaj, P.K. Mishra, A.K. Tiwari, V.K. Bhatt and Sharmistha Pal (2017). Study on Conservation of subsoil water in Shivalik Hills of Punjab. Consultancy Funded by Department of Forest and Wildlife, Government of Punjab. Printed by ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Research Center, Chandigarh : . TO OBTAIN COPY AND FURTHER INFORMATION: Please write to: The Director ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation 218, Kaulagarh Road, Dehra Dun – 248 115 (Uttrakhand) Phone: 0135-2758564; 2757214 Email: [email protected] The Head ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Sector 27A, Madhya Marg, Chandigarh – 160 019 (U.T- Chandigarh) Phone : 0172-2659365 Telefax: 0172-2650783 Email: [email protected] Publication Year : 2017 Cover Photo: Pinus roxburghii forest , sub surface water , over flowing water in May month, discussion with farmers on water status Back cover photo: Diverse forest in PLPA areas , agroforestry in PLPA villages, straight cliffs : abode to bird’s diversity, savior of Shivaliks: trees having root anchoring capacity Disclaimer: The report is a rapid reconnaissance study of Shivalik area . This report cannot be used for legal purposes / disputes and arbitrations etc related to boundaries of forest, encroachments etc. 2 Consultancy Report on Study on Conservation of subsoil water in Shivalik Hills of Punjab Funded by Department of Forestry and Wildlife Government of Punjab Submitted by ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Research Center, Sector 27 A, Chandigarh 3 Team of Consultants Name Designation Scientific Staff Dr. Pankaj Panwar Principal Scientist (Forestry) Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. P.K. Mishra Director Co- PI Dr. A.K. Tiwari Head of the Center Co- PI Dr. V.K. Bhatt Principal Scientist (SWE) Co- PI Dr. Sharmistha Pal Scientist (Soil Science) Co- PI Technical Staff Sh. Surender Singh Chief Technical Officer Member Sh Basudeo Technical Officer Member 4 Acknowledgements The consultants sincerely place on record the financial support received from Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation ,Government of Punjab for proving this opportunity to work on the consultancy “Study on Conservation of Subsoil Water in Shivalik Hills of Punjab”. The authors are grateful to the Director , ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun and Head of ICAR- IISWC, RC, Chandigarh for allowing the consultants to carry out the work and providing facilities, support and encouragement during entire course of study. The consultants are thankful to the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest, Punjab, Divisional Forest Officers, Range Forest Officers and Field Staffs of Punjab Forest Department for their significant support and providing logistics during the consultancy. The ground water data provided by Central Ground Water Board, Regional Centre, Chandigarh is also acknowledged. The technical hand provided by the Universal Satellite Mapping Consultants Pvt. Ltd. , Sector 17, Chandigarh for preparation of maps are duly acknowledged. The whole hearted support and active participation of the stakeholders of areas under PLPA villages surveyed during the study is also duly acknowledged. The consultants also express their gratitude to the staffs of ICAR- Indian Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Dehradun and ICAR- IISWC, RC, Chandigarh for their direct and indirect help and support provided during the study. AUTHORS 5 Contents Chapter Content 1. Introduction 1.1 Shivalik at a glance 1.2 Hydrology and ground water 1.3 Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources 1.4 Soil and water erosion 2. Materials and 2.1 Selection of watersheds methods 2.2. Selection of sites for detailed survey 2.3 Vegetation survey 2.4. Ground water status 2.5. Sub soil moisture and texture 2.6. Hydrology and PLPA – villagers perception 2.7. Forest status in PLPA areas 2.8. Potential soil erosion and PLPA 3. Results 3.1. Status of sub soil water in a time series 3.2. Impact of closure under PLPA and various works undertaken for conservation of sub soil moisture. 3.3. Determination of areas in different sub watersheds/ micro water sheds for closure under PLPA in future for conserving sub soil moisture. 3.4. Site specific measures/treatments in different sub watersheds/ micro watersheds for enhanced conservation of sub soil water. 4. Salient findings and Recommendation 6 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. Shivaliks at a glance Shivalik hills are one of the youngest mountain ranges running parallel to the Himalayan ranges. These are spelled differently as Siwalik, Sivalik, Sewalik, Shiwalik and Shivalik but term Shivalik has been preferred owing to its derivation from the tresses of Lord Shiva (Mittal et al., 2000). Term Shivalik has also been used synonymously to Outer or Lower Himalayas, though others consider it as a part of Outer or Lower Hiamalyas. Shivalik region is commonly referred as kandi region/belt in these north Indian states (Mittal et al., 2000). Technically speaking kandi region has bouldery soil frequently dissected by overland flow from hills through networks of small streams, choes, gullies etc. North-western Shivalik region (lower Himalayas) is generally up to 1000 m elevation and it covers an area of 3.33 million ha. In Punjab it extends from 300 25’ 54” to 320 32’ 00” N latitudes and 750 19’ 36” to 760 55’ 13” E longitudes. Total area covered is 5470 sq km including 110 sq km of entire union territory area. Punjab Shivalik covers entire district of Pathankot and part of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawansahar), Rupnagar, Fatehgarh Sahib (Sirhind) and S.A.S Nagar (Fig. 1.1). It also includes negligible parts of Kapurthala, Gurdaspur and Patiala districts (Yadav et al., 2015). Average slope of Shivalik hills vary from 25 to 60% (Singh et al., 2010) and most of the hill area is covered with subtropical forest. The piedmont plain covers a large area with slope between 1 to 6% which is frequently intercepted by choes. 7 Source: Yadav et al., 2014 Fig. 1.1. Map showing Shivalik hills (piedmont and hill region) of Punjab. The watershed approach is a system-based approach that facilitates the holistic development of agriculture, forestry and allied activities in the watershed. Sustainable watershed development planning requires high resolution and accurate spatial data, and knowledge of the ecology and socio-economy. Remote Sensing (RS) provides effective support in terms of relevant, reliable and timely information. A number 8 of studies, carried out worldwide, demonstrate the capability of remote sensing and Geographical Information System (GIS) in development planning. By interfacing remote sensing with GIS, different management scenarios could be generated, which could help the planners in assessing the feasibility of various alternatives before selecting the one that would be most suitable. Several workers have demonstrated the method for integrated sustainable rural development planning using remotely sensed data and GIS (Kushwaha et al., 2010; Martin and Saha, 2009). Modern technology like remote sensing and GIS have been providing newer dimension for effecting monitoring and managing the natural resources (Martin et al., 2007). It is well documented that the RS & GIS have great role to play in the preparation of resource map accurately in less time and cost. The assessment of Land Use & Land Cover changes can be effectively and accurately detected with the help of two data set of different period. On the other hand, GIS technology can integrate large number of data sets. The technology is mainly used to perform spatial analysis of point database and is effectively used to solve various environmental problems like quantitative assessment of soil erosion. 1.2 . Hydrology and ground water Due to peculiar geological formations, Shiwalik hills represent most fragile eco- system of Himalayan mountain ranges. The steep slopes and undulating terrain gives rise to more runoff and accelerated soil erosion during the monsoon season. Various streams locally known as choes and khads which emerge from Shivalik hills are ephemeral and dry up after each monsoon. These choes don’t continue long and disappears in alluvium after covering a distance of 10-15 km. The piedmont regions (lower shivalik region) restricts the infiltration of water and promotes surface runoff. Due to its sandy and gravelly nature the region serves as a potential ground water recharge zone. Water table of the region varies from 5 to 25 m (Mahajan et al., 2000) in unconfined aquifers. Due to shortage of water the success of plantations mainly depends on timely planting during the monsoon period and soil and water conservation 9 measures taken up in their vicinity. Many earth fill dams, ponds and stone masonry check dams have also been constructed in past for containing soil loss, reducing runoff and recharging ground water and providing supplemental irrigation to crops of region. 1.3. Conservation and maintenance of soil and water resources To control surface runoff and soil erosion, attempts have been made in the past under various schemes like Integrated Watershed Development Project I & II and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (1996-2007) to rehabilitate the degraded hills through extensive afforestation and soil conservation measures. The measures included construction of brush wood check dams, dry stone masonry check dams, continuous live hedges, crate wire structures in streams/choes, silt detention dams and cement masonry structures. Ponds are also maintained in the forest areas for the benefit of wild animals. Silt observation posts in representative watersheds were established to measure run-off and soil loss. Observations were recorded twice a year in June (before monsoon) and October (after monsoon) in existing open wells to see the effect of soil and water conservation measures on groundwater recharge.