Potential of adaptive co-management in restoring socio-ecological functions of degraded community forests in temperate Himalaya, India

Scarcity of empirical studies turning the concepts into cost-effective practices is a barrier in achieving the desired trajectory and scale of ecosystem restoration. The present study aimed to assess (ⅰ) potential of tree-bamboo-medicinal herb mixed plantation founded on the concept of adaptive co-management in restoration of degraded community forest in a temperate village of Indian Himalaya and (ⅱ) persistence of offer of local people to voluntarily maintain and expand the trial after its economic benefit/cost ratio became > 1.0. Biodiversity, carbon stock and economic benefits were assessed in the restored forest 1, 3 and 10 years after 7-year-long-funding phase (i.e., 8, 10 and 20 years after initial planting in 1991), and other land uses in the village landscape. Significant economic loss occurred from gregarious flowering induced mass mortality of bamboo in the 2^nd year after funding phase but it was outweighed by the gain from walnut fruiting. People maintained recovery by transplanting Nepalese Alder (Alnus nepalensis) in gaps. The 20-year-old restored forest land had 17% of aboveground and 75% of belowground carbon stocks, and 39% of flowering species present in the intact forest. Restored forest had only four of the eight Near-threatened/Threatened species present in intact forest. Further, intact forest was monetarily the most efficient land use despite absence of payments for its ecosystem services. People did not expand the trial or medicinal plant cultivation in farms induced by it. They abandoned cropping in 39% farm area and leased 24% abandoned area to a company. Flowering plant species richness and carbon stocks changed at the ecosystem scale but not at the village landscape scale. Emission from agricultural abandonment nullified carbon sequestration by forest restoration. Community forest restoration should render both material/monetary and non-material/non-monetary benefits to people. Cultural landscapes should be taken as spatial units for ecosystem restoration planning, monitoring and evaluation.