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This paper presents a systematic review of the scientific literature on participatory monitoring (PM) in Mexico in order to understand its dimensions and usefulness for decision-making and public environmental policies. For this, a conceptual scheme of the mp is proposed from the socioecosystemic perspective (SEPM) in accordance with interdisciplinary scientific approaches and citizen science, through eight structural dimensions. The qualitative method of analysis was based on the application of the Search, Assessment, Synthesis, Analysis (SALSA) protocol, and the use of Scopus and scielo databases. The results first describe general spatial and temporal trends for Latin America and, subsequently, focus on the analysis of 24 preselected and coded publications for Mexico, considering monitoring criteria related to eight structural dimensions of the conceptual scheme. It is observed that the SEPM in Mexico has increased since the year 2000, the scale has been local, the land tenure dominant of social property, the regional scope, and has been more applied to the forest, water and agroforestry socio-ecosystems. The sepm has great potential for decisionmaking at different organizational levels, especially when it is implemented in an integrated manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a descriptive and evaluative analysis of the productive and environmental of SPSi with Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, emphasizing the nutritional quality, biomass production, voluntary intake, animal productivity and greenhouse gas emission aspects. For such purpose, a bibliographic review was made about the studies in the last 15 years, concerning animal production systems under tropical conditions, stressing the ones conducted in Colombia. It was noticed that the forage offer in SPSi with leucaena has a protein content higher than 22 % and a lower fiber content (20-30 %) with regards to most tropical pastures. Additionally, leucaena has the capacity to withstand intense browsing, and its presence increases plant and animal productivity. The animals produce at least two or three times more meat and milk ha-1 year-1 as the result of a higher nutrient intake and higher forage offer, because with this legume the dry matter (DM) intake can be 1,3 times higher than the one observed in conventional systems, and the forage production can be from 5 to 18 t DM ha-1. On the other hand, the inclusion of L. leucocephala allows to decrease the enteric emissions of CH4 in amounts close to 20 % per kilogram of produced meat or milk and per kilogram of consumed dry matter. Compared with the traditional systems, in the ones in which L. leucocephala is included, the efficiency in production is increased and the negative environmental effects of animal husbandry are decreased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study presented in this paper was evaluating the educational software Agroforestry World (Mundo Agroforestal) by rural young men and women from the educational institution Francisco de la Villota in Nariño, Colombia. Information and Communication Technologies are widely used for facilitating educational processes. The relatively new educational software Agroforestry World has not been assessed regarding the learning outcomes that might result from its application. Analyses were done through a TStudent test and a general linear model. After some time, significant learning processes in agroforestry were obtained. It was observed that the use of the software facilitated students' comprehension of the different topics, improving self-learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the environmental effects of the different product for economic human activities, a cattle farming today warrants a new approach in which productive resources are revalued trees and shrubs as key elements for the design of production systems more efficient and sustainable. This paper presents the results achieved in research conducted in livestock production systems of the Patía River Valley of the Cauca Department whose objective was to establish a baseline of tree and shrub species with fitness forage utilization in livestock systems and installation of a seed bank on site. The study was developed from the recognition and primary data collection with the help of producers in the area, followed by the systematization and analysis for the identification of those species with higher occurrence and use. As a result, a total of 29 species that are currently being used by different arrangements in livestock systems. From the baseline established in this paper proposes some agroforestry designs that can be implemented in livestock systems in the area, thereby constituting a source of information for the formulation of future research proposals related to the field of agroforestry in regional ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this analysis is to reflect on more sustainable family and extensive integrated livestock production models, in which the woody component is integrated, contributing to the reduction of greenhouse gases and favoring the mitigation of the climate change. For such purpose, a revision was made referring to the integration of the forestry activity in livestock production, as a viable alternative of production system. A start is made from the criterion that silvopastoral systems (SPSs), within the agroforestry ones, are agroecosystems in which a tree component is associated with a herbaceous (natural or improved pastures) and a farming component (livestock) in the same site, where biological interactions exist among them and land use is maximized. This paper also describes how SPSs are grouped; their opportunities from the economic, productive, social and environmental points of view; and the effects of the interaction among its components. This analysis allows to state that SPSs are a product of the relation among biology, society and culture, and in them there is a large diversity; likewise, they allow the reconversion of the very little productive extensive livestock production into more productive and sustainable systems, as well as the rehabilitation of the areas degraded by this type of livestock production, deforestation and soil depletion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the low production of high quality forage and environmental issues related to livestock at the regional level, this paper shows a proposal for the implementation of tree and shrub species under agroforestry models in the systems of cattle production areas tropical high. The alternative use proposals are based on first identifying a baseline of 17 tree and shrub species with forage skill utilization in bovine production systems for cold climate areas of the Department of Cauca. The research was developed from the recognition and primary data collection with the help of local producers, followed by the systematization and analysis to identify species with higher occurrence, while the definition of criteria for use based on information provided by producers and field observations. Thus, agroforestry models shown in this document is intended to provide some basis for its implementation in the field contribute thereby allowing the use of trees and shrubs zonal more efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to offer considerations about agroenergy production from biomass in integrated agroforestry systems. At present, worldwide, marked by a group of hazards that threaten human existence, there is a challenge mainly in the rural context: how can the coexistence of agroenergy, food security and environmental protection be achieved?, in the presence of climate changes, environmental degradation, food crises and the growing biofuels vs food contradiction, generated by a senseless policy for obtaining first-generation agrofuels from large extensions of food monocrops, which is morally rejectable. Biofuels are also considered an ecological alternative to fossil fuels, because of their reduction capacity in the emission of greenhouse gasses and because they promote the development of rural communities in southern countries; this is enhanced in integrated agroforestry systems, in which biofuels, of first as well as second generation, can be produced, especially with the application of the concept of biorefinery which allows converting biomass into many products, which total added value can be higher than the one generated by fossil fuels. International projects, which promote integrated and sustainable food and energy production in the context of agroforestry integrated systems, at local scale, contribute to this purpose. The authors consider that the execution of projects and experiences about agroenergy has the main objective of achieving energetic sustainability and food security at local scale, in rural areas, taking into account environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The abandonment of indigenous and traditional ways of relating to the landscape and making use of the environment are historically tied, since the epoch of conquest, to the imposition of development models that respond to foreign demands. Social scientists have variously integrated the concept of development as an analytical tool, with differing foci and applications, despite a broader and persistent tendency to relate the idea chiefly to economic growth and eschew social progress. This paper critically addresses the theoretical implications of an ecological approach to the recovery of indigenous technologies in the Andean area, on the basis of experiences in bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Its objective is to learn from past mistakes and recast the recovery of indigenous technologies as an effective strategy to articulate viable alternatives for local communities in the fields of agriculture, herding and agroforestry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]