Assam Elephant Habitat Project: Invasive Plants to Biochar
Why in the news
An initiative in Assam aims to restore the quality of an elephant habitat by pulling out invasive weeds and turning the waste into carbon-rich biochar.
Key facts
- Site: Khalingduar Reserve Forest, Dhansiri Forest Division, Udalguri district, next to Bhutan; Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
- Implementer: Aaranyak, based in Guwahati.
- Weeds: Lantana camara, Chromolaena odorata, Mikania micrantha.
- Harm: they compete with native grasses, herbs, shrubs and young trees for light, space, moisture and nutrients, changing plant communities and holding back regeneration.
Three-part method
- Targeted removal: a vegetation survey found heavily invaded patches, and weeds were uprooted by hand to limit regrowth.
- Seed balls: native seeds wrapped in clay and compost are scattered over cleared patches so native species take over.
- Biochar: cleared plant matter is converted to biochar.
About biochar
- A porous, charcoal-like material made by heating organic waste where oxygen is scarce or absent.
- This process, pyrolysis, differs from open burning, which sends carbon back as CO2. Biochar keeps most carbon locked in a solid that resists decay for thousands of years, so it counts as carbon sequestration.
- In soil, effects depend on feedstock and production conditions, but the porous structure can influence water and nutrient retention, soil aggregation and microbial habitat.
Exam angle
- Organisation: Aaranyak; place: Khalingduar RF, Udalguri, Assam.
- Process: pyrolysis; product: biochar.