Agroforestry
Shaded-Coffee: A Nature-Based Strategy for Coffee Production Under Climate Change? A ReviewBackgroundCoffee agroforestry systems are a natural climate solution that are used to reduce the impact of coffee cultivation on ecosystem health. Coffee generates over $200 billion in income globally each year, so ensuring the efficiency and success of cultivation is crucial for human livelihood. Coffee agroforestry systems are often variable, and there lacks a compiled knowledge base about these systems and practices. Open access copy available |
Bird Assemblages in Coffee Agroforestry Systems and Other Human Modified Habitats in IndonesiaBackgroundDeforestation in tropical regions such as Indonesia is mainly driven by need for agricultural expansion. Agroforestry systems for a major agricultural crop, coffee, are becoming increasingly popular as the need for forest restoration is more apparent. Coffee agroforestry provides benefits to biodiversity, though specific impacts of coffee shade trees on bird populations outside of the Neotropics and Africa are understudied. Birds are a highly important taxa and serve many vital ecological roles. Open access copy available |
The Embedded Agroecology of Coffee Agroforestry: A Contextualized Review of Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption and ResistanceBackgroundAgroforestry crops are known to provide many benefits to both people and nature. Implementing agroforestry practices can be complex and requires improvement in certain regions and practices. Coffee agroforestry is not widely adopted and there is a lack of knowledge about the implementation of agroforestry techniques for coffee production. Goals and MethodsThe authors conduct a literature review including coffee production in Colombia, Malawi, and Uganda to understand their perceptions of coffee agroforestry, decisions on implementation, local policies, and capacity to adopt new practices. Open access copy available |
The role of land-use history in driving successional pathways and its implications for the restoration of tropical forestsBackgroundAcross tropical landscapes, large portions of forest have been removed or degraded. Regenerating or secondary forests are becoming increasingly valuable to maintaining and restoring the biodiversity and ecosystem services in the tropics. However, it is apparent that succession does not always happen at the same rate or in the same patterns/quality. It is thought that the history of the land and its usage heavily impact the regeneration patterns of a forest landscape. Open access copy available |
Lightly-harvested rustic cocoa is a valuable land cover for amphibian and reptile conservation in human-modified rainforest landscapesBackgroundTropical biodiversity is impacted by anthropogenic land covers such as agriculture. Land use has the ability to both negatively and positively impact tropical biodiversity. In the tropics, important crops are grown in tropical forested landscapes such as coffee and cocoa. These forest understories are also important habitats for highly sensitive and ecologically vulnerable amphibian species. Amphibians and reptiles are an understudied taxa in conservation ecology and targeted in this study. Open access copy available |
Tropical fruit production depends on wild insect communities: bees and lychees in ThailandBackgroundMost of the agricultural crops around the world depend on wild animal/insect pollination. Insect pollination is the most common in tropical regions, and is something that tropical tree fruits such as the native Asian lychee (Litchi chinensis). The roles of wild insects on lychee production in northern Thailand has not yet been evaluated. Available with subscription or purchase |
Forest ecosystem services at landscape level – Why forest transition matters?BackgroundForest transition theory describes patterns of forest decline and recovery. This theory explains what services change as forested landscapes shift in the three stages of recovery. This model covers both forest-type gradients (diversity and usage) and landscape gradients (connectivity and coverage). It is not yet understood how these forest transition stages influence the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. Open access copy available |
A cautionary note for forest landscape restoration in drylands: cattle production systems in northwest Madagascar’s dry forestsBACKGROUNDIt is evident that land tenure security is crucial for successful restoration. Unfortunately, in Madagascar, dry forests are considered unoccupied and unowned even when communities have long-established claims under customary tenure systems. The authors stated that collective tenure recognition efforts were underway in Madagascar, but limited knowledge of agropastoralist cattle production strategies impeded the efforts to develop tenure reforms. The authors examined how cattle raisers in the Boney Region in northwest Madagascar organize pastoral spaces and cattle production strategies in the area’s dry forest. Open access copy available |
Designing optimal human-modified landscapes for forest biodiversity conservationIntroductionCurrent land-use patterns have resulted in the rapid conversion of forests to human modified forest landscapes (HMFLs). This degradation of forest landscapes can threaten species diversity and disrupt the ecological functions and services they provide. As such, designing and implementing effective landscape conservation strategies that benefit biodiversity as well as promote human well-being is essential. Open access copy available |
Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration Enhances Rural Livelihoods in Dryland West AfricaBACKGROUNDFarmer Managed Natural Regeneration, (FMNR), has been adopted in the drylands of West Africa, i.e., the northernmost region of Ghana. This is an approach which encourages the regeneration of woody plant cover in farming and mixed land use areas for arable land restoration and reforestation. Farmers in this region practice smallholder pastoralism and seasonal rain fed crop farming for subsistence and market purposes. FMNR has been adopted as a solution to low agricultural productivity. Previous studies only focused on the economic contribution of FMNR. Open access copy available |
