Opportunities for climate change mitigation and adaptation through afforestation of degraded lands in Central Asia

Keywords

adaptive land use strategy, cropland marginalization, forest ecosystem services, multipurpose tree species, non-timber forest products, rural income, shallow groundwater table, soil salinity

Countries

Uzbekistan, Karakalpakstan

Objectives

The project aims to explore the role of small-scale plantation forestry for ecological restorations and rural livelihoods in response to growing water scarcity and cropland degradation. Conversion of marginalized and abandoned croplands to tree plantations is assessed as a strategy to increase the productive capacity of the land by improving soil fertility and provisioning useful products, and to contribute to the global effort of the climate change mitigation via carbon sequestration in biomass and soil. The research program encompasses agroforestry, eco-physiological, socio-economic and policy aspects to identify the environmental, economic, institutional and informational conditions under which the afforestation projects can be realized in the context of Central Asia and addresses (i) the bio-physical potential for carbon sequestration such as availability and suitability of land, appropriate tree species and silvicultural techniques, and (ii) the socio-economic incentives of afforestation including those provided by the Clean Development Mechanism. The final outcome will consist of science-based recommendations for land use policies that support both local and global public goods in this geo-strategically and politically important region. The first phase of the project focuses on infrastructure, establishment of field trials and databases. In the following phase, the simulation tools will be developed to upscale and integrate the field findings.

Methodology

Experimental designed field trials, mass spectrometry, remote sensing of land use change, cost-benefit analyses, GIS modeling, process-based modeling, sector modeling, agent-based modeling

Team Members

Prof. Dr. Asia Khamzina
Dr. Nobusuke Iwasaki
Begzod Djalilov
Utkur Djanibekov
Tilman Schachtsiek
Olena Dubovyk
Holm Voigt
Birgit Peña Häufler

Main Cooperation Partners

ZEF/UNESCO land restructuring project, Khorezm, Uzbekistan
Urgench State University, Khorezm, Uzbekistan
Remote Sensing Unit, University of Wuerzburg

Main Funding Partners

Robert Bosch Foundation

Duration of the Project

1 August 2009 - 31 July 2014

Contact

Prof. Dr. Asia Khamzina