IMPACT OF AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS ON TREE SPECIES DIVERSITY AND FARMERS LIVELIHOOD OF BHOLA SADAR AND DAULAT KHAN UPAZILA IN BHOLA DISTRICT

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of agroforestry system on tree species diversity and farmers livelihood of Bhola sadar and Daulat Khan upazila in Bhola district. Assessment was done by approach of purposive random sampling. Information concentrated from an accumulation of 64 households ranging from marginal, small, medium and large categories. A total of 3032 trees representing 19 families in homestead, 671 trees with 12 families in crop land and 479 trees with 7 families in road side were identified. In the study area, fruit/food (25.58%), fuel wood (25.00%), timber (22.09%), fodder (9.30%), medicinal (8.14%), fence (4.65%) and others species (3.49%) were found in homestead. On the other hand, in crop land, mainly fruit/food species (22.22%), timber species (25.93%) and fuel wood tree species (22.22%) were found. In road side, mainly timber species (32.50%), fuel wood tree species (27.50%) and fruit/food species (15.00%) were found. Considering the abundance of tree species in the study area, the highest percentage of tree species abundance was found for mango (11.48%) followed by coconut (9.50%) and rain tree (9.10%) in homestead. Again, the highest percentage of betelnut (15.20%) followed by jackfruit (11.92%) and mango (10.73%) were found in crop land. Similarly, the highest percentage of koroi (17.54%) followed by raintree (13.99%) and mango (12.73%) were found in road side. Shannon Wiener index (H) was used to evaluate the tree diversity and the evaluation showed that tree species diversity in homestead was 1.314 thereafter 0.546 was in crop land and 0.417 in road side. Farm size, homestead size, total annual income, livelihood status of the farmers and changes of livelihood status of the farmers were significant with concerned variable in all agroforestry systems which had significant impact on livelihood status of the farmers. Among the three agroforestry systems studied, homestead agroforestry showed higher tree species diversity and facilitate better livelihood status of the farmers in the study area. The findings from this study have the potential to inform and enhance agroforestry programs, enabling the effective implementation of tree planting, initiatives tailored to diverse target populations within varying economic and environmental contexts.