Agroforestry Systems最新文献

Low agricultural productivity associated with poor soil fertility management characterizes the sub-Sahara African agriculture. Trees in farmlands are believed to improve soil properties and agricultural productivity, yet smallholders are limited in their choice of agroforestry tree species. Here, we assessed the effect of Cordia africana and Croton macrostachyus trees on soil properties and leaf litter decomposition in parkland agroforestry in Bullen District, Benshangul Gumuz, northwestern Ethiopia. We used a randomized complete block design with a distance from a tree trunk setup to draw soil samples and conduct a litter burial experiment across five farmlands. In each farmland, three mature trees per species were identified, separately, and under each tree, three transects containing three concentric radial distances measured from a tree trunk were established. Using this setup, a total of 45 composite soil samples per the study species were drawn and analyzed for soil pH, total nitrogen, available phosphorus, organic carbon, and cation exchange capacity. Additionally, leaf litter mass losses of the study species were quantified with the litterbags method. The results revealed that all the measured soil variables and litter decomposition were significantly different between distances for both C. africana and C. macrostachyus. A significantly higher nutrient contents and litter decomposition were observed under the tree canopies than outside, and for C. macrostachyus than C. africana. We conclude that trees in farmlands might improve soil properties through litter addition and decomposition. Future studies should disentangle the role of litter addition and microclimate effects of trees in farmlands on soil properties.

Various woody species are growing in diverse landscapes and form a prominent component of farmland in Ethiopia. Farmers' preferences for woody species also vary in different parts of the country. The diversity and farmers' preferences for woody species have been described earlier. However, a simultaneous analysis of land use diversity and farmers’ preferences for woody species is scarcely available. Therefore, to fill the gap, this study was conducted in three selected highlands of Ethiopia to assess the land use diversity and farmers' preferences for woody species. A total of 320 households were randomly selected, and out of these, 105 households were purposely selected for species inventory. Overall, 525 plots were made using a 30 m × 30 m plot size for different land uses. Focus group discussion and key informant interviews were used for farmers’ preferences. The results imply that 32 woody species belonging to 16 families were recognized. Fabaceae was the leading family with 25% of species, followed by Rosaceae with 12.5% of species. In terms of species diversity, home garden (2.39) was more diverse than grazing land (1.94), crop land (1.50), boundary (0.92), and woodlot (0.54) in all areas. Among the preferred species, Eucalyptus globulus, Cuppressus lusitanica, Malus domestica, Cytisus proliferus, and Acacia decurrens were the most preferred and planted woody species by farmers. Generally, farmland maintains various tree and shrub species according to landscape practices. Farmers preferred and planted different woody species based on their benefits. Woody species must be maintained on farmland to overcome socio-economic and environmental problems.

The quantification of change in total organic carbon (TOC) pool and its fractions in relation to altered soil enzymatic activity during long-term vegetation refurbishment is considered critically important for managing and restoration of landscapes. Landscapes have contrasting impacts on soils’ biochemical and biological composition, which eventually affect soil aggregation, carbon (C) fractions and enzyme activities. We therefore, examined the response of different landscapes viz. poplar-based agroforestry, rice–potato–maize, rice–wheat and maize–wheat cropping vis-à-vis uncultivated soils of north-western India on soil aggregation, C fractions and enzyme activities. We hypothesized that both plants mediated C and exogenous C input would exert differential impacts on organic C pool in soils under different landscapes in response to diverse cropping practices. Landscapes significantly (p < 0.05) influenced microbial activities, soil enzymes, C fractions, TOC and the process of soil aggregation. Soils’ physical, chemical and biological properties were significantly improved under poplar-based agroforestry system, following rice–potato–maize system, whilst had the lowest effect in the uncultivated soils. The uncultivated landscapes significantly lost TOC by ~ 1.6, 2.1, 2.9 and 2.7-times, respectively than the soils under maize–wheat, rice–wheat, rice–potato–maize and poplar-based agroforestry. Rice–potato–maize cropping resulted in ~ 13.6% higher C stabilization in passive C pool, compared with rice–wheat cropping system. Macro-and micro-aggregates formation was significantly improved due to establishment of poplar-based agroforestry as well as rice–potato–maize systems over the others. Correlation matrix elucidated easily extractable glomalin concentration as potential determinant influencing soil enzymatic activity; e.g. cellulase (r = 0.854**; p < 0.01) and xylanase (r = 0.969**; p< 0.001 ). These results enlightened knowledge on soil aggregation, C fractions and enzyme activities in different landscapes, which help enhance C sequestration and eventually the C restoration in studied landscapes. This study suggests that to overcome problems originated from intensive rice–wheat cropping system for which poplar-based agroforestry and rice–potato–maize system could be another best option.

Agroforestry systems provide multiple benefits for human wellbeing and biodiversity; however, their diversity and spatial distribution has sharply declined across Europe. This study focuses on agroforestry farms in Sweden. The aim of the study was to explore farmers’ motivations to start agroforestry, what benefits farmers attributed to their agroforestry farms and perceived challenges to practising agroforestry in Sweden. In total, 13 farms that practise various agroforestry forms were selected as case studies. A focus group, semi-structured interviews and field observations were used for data collection. We identified four types of agroforestry systems such as silvopasture, silvoarable, forest farming and forest gardens established on different land such as forested or agricultural land. All studied agroforestry farms were small but had complex spatial and temporal arrangements of crops, trees and animals, which were crucial to generating multiple benefits. Our results show that the multifunctionality of agroforestry systems resulted from farmers’ desire to design such systems. Farmers’ intentions to get foods and materials from their farms were always intentionally unified with multiple ecosystem services. We argue that agroforestry farmers are designers of multifunctional landscapes, as they deliberately organised their farming activities to get a bundle of ecosystem services belonging to all four categories—provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural. However, the complexity of agroforestry management, lack of technologies suitable for small-scale agroforestry farms, limited plant materials (including seedlings) and limited knowledge about how to do agroforestry challenged the scaling up of agroforestry practices.

Research evaluating the impact of silvopastoral systems on physical and biological properties of Amazonian soils is scarce. Thus, this study aimed to compare the soil carbon storage potential and physical and chemical soil properties of silvopastoral systems (SPS) and conventional pastoral systems (CPS) in the San Martin region of Peru. Using the Walkley and Black method, we analyzed soil organic matter at two different depths (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm). In addition, bulk density, soil moisture, total porosity, and mechanical resistance were measured in both systems. The highest (P < 0.05) carbon stocks were reported at 0–15 cm of depth with values of 31.4 Mg ha⁻¹ and 34.4 Mg ha⁻¹ for CPS and SPS, respectively. At 15–30 cm depth, the total carbon stock was higher for SPS, with 29.12 Mg ha⁻¹, than for CPS, which had 26.4 Mg ha⁻¹. Despite the absence of statistically significant differences, soil carbon stocks were higher in SPS. No significant differences in soil moisture were found between systems, although soil moisture was slightly greater in SPS than CPS (28 and 25%, respectively). The CPS had 59% of the total porosity, which was higher than the SPS. Mechanical resistance was lower in SPS (2.15 kg/cm²) than in CPS (2.33 kg/cm²) at 10 cm of depth. These results indicated that the SPS has the potential to store more carbon and improve physical and chemical traits in the soil than the CPS.

The objective of this study was to quantify the forage yield, determine its nutritive value, and evaluate the movement pattern, weight variation and body condition score of goats managed on sites of the Brazilian Caatinga grassland (Dry Tropical Forest) in different seasons, at the Lisboa settlement located at the south bank of Piauí river, in the towns of São João do Piauí and Pedro Laurentino at Capivara mountain, Piauí, Brazil, in two study sites, one constituted by shrubby Caatinga (site I) and the other by arboreal Caatinga (site II). The highest forage mass value (1,534.57 kg DM ha⁻¹) was recorded on the arboreal site. The mass of forage plants found on the sites differed among plants and months. The species Senna macranthera had the highest yield in March (177.35 kg DM ha⁻¹) on the shrub site, while Arrabidaea ateramnantha had the highest yield in February (710.65 kg DM ha⁻¹) on the arboreal site. The litter mass differed among sites, with the greatest amount found on the shrub site (1,785.96 kg DM ha⁻¹). Crude protein, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent insoluble nitrogen and in vitro dry matter digestibility contents were greater on the arboreal site. Dry matter and protein differed among months, showing an inversely proportional relationship. Litter nutritional variables did not differ (p < 0.05). In the Caatinga, goats travel an average of 6.24 km day⁻¹, with maximum movement of 7.36 km day⁻¹ in the dry season. The highest weight of the goats (33.06 kg BW) and the lowest body score (2.53) occurred in the transition season from the rainy to the dry season, and the lowest weight occurred in the dry season (26.93 kg BW). The botanical composition of the grassland determines the forage mass between months of the year. In this semi-arid region, goats follow a movement pattern defined by the herbage allowance and water availability.

In arid and semi-arid regions of China, effective irrigation management and agronomic strategies are essential for enhancing the soil water environment and optimizing water productivity. A three-year (2020–2022) field experiment was conducted in the Ningxia Water Saving Agriculture Science and Technology Park, a semi-arid region in northwest China, to assess the impact of planting patterns, watermelon irrigation quotas and their interaction on soil moisture status, yield and quality. The experiment encompassed: (1) two planting patterns: Apple-watermelon agroforestry and watermelon sole-cropping; and (2) three irrigation quotas (W1: 105 mm, W2: 210 mm, and W3: 315 mm). As the years progress, there is a decreasing trend in the average soil water content (SWC) of the 0–100 cm soil layer within the agroforestry system. During the flowering and fruit setting stage and expansion stage in 2022, the soil water content (SWC) in the agroforestry planting pattern is significantly lower than that in the watermelon sole-cropping pattern. Within the agroforestry planting pattern, the W1 and W2 irrigation quotas increase the average fruit weight, soluble solids content, and sugar content but reduce watermelon yield. The interaction between the W3 irrigation quota and agroforestry planting pattern promotes leaf photosynthesis, and extends the watermelon fruit expansion stage and maturity stage to compensate for the decrease in yield.

In summary, the agroforestry planting pattern improves the quality of watermelon fruit, increases soil water utilization, and reduces yield. For those seeking sustainable solutions to enhance land productivity and water use efficiency, apple-watermelon agroforestry emerges as a more promising alternative.

This study analyzed adoption of agroforestry technologies in the central highlands of Ethiopia. A binary logistic regression model was used based on a survey of 96 adopters and non-adopter farmers. The results showed that all the farmers had a positive perception of agroforestry technology and that farmland boundaries were the most widely adopted agroforestry technology (81%), followed by farmland tree planting (71%). Alley cropping was the least preferred agroforestry technology by farmers (11%), followed by garden agroforestry technology (37%). Agroforestry was perceived as a major contributor to various products and improved soil fertility by 29% and 28%, respectively, of the farmers. Family size and customary rules are significant determinants of agroforestry technology adoption (p < 0.01). Access to extension services was also significantly correlated with the adoption of agroforestry technology (p < 0.05). Adoption of agroforestry technologies is important to address the continuous depletion of forest resources and improve the livelihood of farmers. The potential influence of these determinant factors should be taken into account when identifying suitable agroforestry technologies.

This study explores the resilience and damage dynamics of agroforests, a critically important yet understudied agroecological system, in the aftermath of Category-5 Cyclone Winston in Fiji. As agroforestry gains prominence globally as a versatile production system able to support agrobiodiversity and food security for climate resilience, understanding the characteristics that contribute to its resistance and resilience to disturbance becomes increasingly important. Here we examine the effects of individual and species-specific traits, and management (planted and fallow vs forest areas) on the probability of tree stem survival and damage, and discuss the resistant and resilient qualities of trees and management actions in these systems. We found that the probability of post-cyclone survival increased as a function of wood density, irrespective of management type. Damage severity increased with tree size (diameter at breast height). Some of the species with the highest wood density were native trees, emphasizing the role of native species in agroforests, and the value of agroforests to conservation. Overall, agroforest trees experienced relatively low stem mortality (12.2%), suggesting that these agroforests may resist extreme disturbances despite their potential vulnerabilities such as landscape edge effects and altered species compositions. Our study provides insight into the potential of agroforests as resilient agroecological systems capable of withstanding escalating cyclone intensities, and the role of effective management strategies for fostering resilience amid a rapidly changing climate.