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Degraded hills can be restored by afforestation and conserving soil and water through rainwater harvesting. Three slope categories viz. 20% of a degraded hill were treated with rainwater harvesting (RWH) structures: Contour trench (CT), Gradonie (GD), Box trench (BT) and V-ditch (VD) including a control with a view to rehabilitate it by conserving and minimizing gradient in soil water and nutrients. Soil water content (SWC), height and collar diameter of Acacia catechu, Azadirachta indicia, Emblica officinalis, Holoptelia integrifolia and Zyziphus mauritiana planted in August 2005, herbaceous biomass and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) interceptions by tree, vegetation and tree-vegetation combine (PARintT/V/C) were monitored for suitability of RWH devices and tree species in rehabilitation. SWC decreased from December to June and it was linearly related to rainfall and vegetation height. PARint by tree, vegetation, and tree-vegetation combine were 30.0%, 54.6% and 84.6%, respectively and helped conserve soil water. SWC, plant and vegetation growth and PARintT were lowest (P |
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