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This study analyzes the process of productive specialization of the work in Maranhão, through the advance triggered by the implementation of the manufacturing unit of Suzano Paper and Cellulose in the municipality of Empress, southwest of the state. Methodologically, in addition to reviewing the relevant literature, secondary data on transformations in local employment and local professional qualifications derived from the implementation of Suzano were used together with field research. The data used originate from RAIS; CAGED; IBGE, in addition to technical schools and local universities. The results found made it possible to verify that there is a specialization of the workforce in progress to meet the logic and full functioning of the pulp production chain in Imperatriz - MA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alder-based shifting cultivation, particularly, has been identified for its unique ecological and socio-economic role. It is a distinctive agricultural practice in Nagaland, India, with significant implications for climate change. This study explores the interactions between alder-based shifting cultivation and climate change dynamics. The paper examines how integrating alders into the shifting cultivation system influences carbon sequestration and soil enrichment in this bio-diversity-rich but environmentally vulnerable region. The paper comprehensively analyses the carbon balance within this managed ecosystem. The findings emphasise alder trees' role in enhancing nitrogen levels in the soil and promoting carbon storage in the biomass and soil organic matter. This paper advocates that agroforestry systems can be effective strategies for climate-resilient development in Nagaland if adequately managed. The study concludes that recognising and reinforcing the role of indigenous practices is crucial in shaping effective and inclusive climate change responses in the region. The other hilly parts of the country can set this as a model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of soil amendment with biological sludge from the paper mill on growth of Khaya senegalensis forest tree and Orthosiphon stamineus medicinal shrub was studied. Both crops received nutrient input early, i.e. after transplanting. Growth data were taken at fixed intervals for up to 1 year. Orthosiphon stamineus was measured for aboveground dry matter yield at four crop cycles. Residual nutrient level in soil after 1 year of application was evaluated. Comparison was made with inorganic fertiliser application and untreated soil. Khaya senegalensis responded positively to raw and composted biosludge applications, outperforming the widely used inorganic fertiliser. Biosludge application resulted in greater height increment, diameter growth and total plant biomass than the control and inorganic fertiliser. Orthosiphon stamineus also produced greater biomass with biosludge application and the trend remained the same for all crop cycles except for the relatively lower yield at the second, third and fourth crop cycles. Soil fertility parameters were most affected at the topsoil layer with overall accreting tendency under K. senegalensis tree with sludge application. Exchangeable K was the most limiting nutrient for K. senegalensis while P and K limited growth of O. stamineus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monoculture systems in South East Asia are facing challenges due to climate change-induced extreme weather conditions, leading to significant annual production losses in rice and oil palm. To ensure the stability of these crops, innovative strategies like resilient agroforestry systems need to be explored. Converting oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) monocultures to rice (Oryza sativa)-based intercropping systems shows promise, but achieving optimal yields requires adjusting palm density and identifying rice varieties adapted to changes in light quantity and diurnal fluctuation. This paper proposes a methodology that combines a model of light interception with indoor experiments to assess the feasibility of rice–oil palm agroforestry systems. Using a functional–structural plant model of oil palm, the planting design was optimized to maximize transmitted light for rice. Simulation results estimated the potential impact on oil palm carbon assimilation and transpiration. In growth chambers, simulated light conditions were replicated with adjustments to intensity and daily fluctuation. Three light treatments independently evaluated the effects of light intensity and fluctuation on different rice accessions. The simulation study revealed intercropping designs that significantly increased light transmission for rice cultivation with minimal decrease in oil palm densities compared with conventional designs. The results estimated a loss in oil palm productivity of less than 10%, attributed to improved carbon assimilation and water use efficiency. Changes in rice plant architecture were primarily influenced by light quantity, while variations in yield components were attributed to light fluctuations. Different rice accessions exhibited diverse responses to light fluctuations, indicating the potential for selecting genotypes suitable for agroforestry systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At less than one percent of Malaysia's total population, the Orang Asli (Peninsular Malaysia's Indigenous Peoples) lack political clout; state nonrecognition of their land rights constitutes a fundamental reason for the economic and social ills faced by their communities. This article examines the protection of Semai Orang Asli customary territories from a cultural heritage perspective. Drawing on a study of traditional place-names and oral history, it describes how forests, other than existing as the Semai ancestral domain, continue to be the lifeblood of Semai culture and economic production. The paper examines state-owned forest reserves and the role these play in Semai cultural continuity, including traditional livelihoods such as agroforestry and swidden agriculture. Forest reserves are on the frontier of resource extraction and forest conservation in Malaysia; however, because these comprise the customary territories of Orang Asli, they also signify the frontier of forest-dependent Indigeneity. The paper weaves a narrative of Semai forest dependence, and concludes with a discussion of the prospects for a World Heritage Cultural Landscape (WHCL) designation as a possible avenue for protecting Semai customary territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local climate change impacts hit hard at smallholder farmers in developing countries due to their overreliance on rain-fed farming. Whilst ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) to climate change holds an answer to smallholder farmers' adaptation needs, there are inadequate empirical results from the field to support formulation of effective adaptation strategies. Hence, this paper aimed at investigating EbA practices adopted by farmers, in North-Western Ghana to ameliorate local climate change impacts, with emphasis on benefits and associated challenges. The study methods were cross-sectional survey, mixed methods, and case study approach, with all data collected in the Wa West District of Ghana. Data were gathered using questionnaire, focus group discussion (FGD) and interviews. Data from the questionnaire were entered into SPSS version 20 to analyze associations between the variables using cross-tabulation. Descriptive statistics, in the form of percentages and frequencies, were then generated from the survey data and integrated with the qualitative information in the presentation of results. Also, statistical significance of the relationships was analyzed using chi-square test. Chi-squared tests were done to determine associations between socio-economic and environmental factors, and challenges and benefits associated with the adoption of EbA practices. This was necessary to give further insights to inform policy-related decisions aimed at addressing EbA adoption challenges. The results revealed that farmers use a combination of practices rather than single practice. Farmers integrated crops and trees and keep local breed of farm animals. Benefits of EbA included improvements in soil fertility leading to high crop yield and availability of food and income. Challenges of adopting EbA were the long timespan for benefits of most EbA practices to begin to accrue, lack of extension information and increasing cost of hired labour. It is recommended that tree integration should emphasis trees with multiple benefits and compatible with food crops. For the achievement of food security policy objectives, agroforestry promotion should focus on the integration of fruit tree crops and food crops to address hunger and increase farmers' incomes. Mobile extension technology should be exploited by government for the provision of EbA-specific information to farmers to bridge the extension services gap. Climate change policy of government should include the planting of non-fruit trees as windbreaks to provide multi-purpose benefits including provision of stakes for yam farmers, live-fencing and firewood for women. There is the need for government policy objectives to include EbA by farmers under the flagship 'planting for food and jobs' programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document, titled "Biological cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in soils," explores the bioavailability and cycling of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in soil and its impact on agricultural production and food security. The document emphasizes the importance of understanding the biological turnover of N and P in soils and managing their availability to optimize nutrient-use efficiency and reduce environmental impacts. The special issue includes 10 papers that cover various ecosystems and management practices, highlighting the role of plants, microorganisms, and fauna in N and P cycling. The document concludes by emphasizing the need for multidisciplinary approaches to further unravel the complex interactions that determine nutrient efficiency and crop productivity. [Extracted from the article]

Agroecology is identified as an important solution to increase the sustainability of agricultural and food systems. Despite the increasing number of publications assessing the socio-economic outcomes of agroecology, very few studies have consolidated the scattered results obtained on various case studies. This paper provides new insights by consolidating evidence on the varied socio-economic effects of agroecology across a large number of cases at a global level. To this purpose, we used a rapid review methodology, screening more than 13,000 publications to retrieve evidence on the socio-economic outcomes of the implementation of agroecological practices. The results of the review indicate that (1) agroecological practices are associated more often with positive socio-economic outcomes across the broad range of evaluated metrics (51% positive, 30% negative, 10% neutral, and 9% inconclusive outcomes); (2) the socio-economic metrics associated with financial capital represent the vast majority of evaluated metrics (83% of total) and are affected positively in a large share of cases (53%), due to favourable outcomes on income, revenues, productivity and efficiency; (3) human capital metrics (16%) are associated with a larger number of negative outcomes (46% versus 38% positive), due to higher labour requirements and costs that are however partly compensated by an overall greater number of positive outcomes on labour productivity (55%); and (4) the results vary depending on the agroecological practice assessed; e.g. for agroforestry, we identify 53% positive outcomes while for cropping system diversification 35%. These results indicate an overall favourable potential for farms to benefit from a positive socio-economic performance with the use of agroecological practices. Yet, the magnitude, temporal aspects, and success factors related to these outcomes, as well as the trade-offs between them, and the system-level effects of an agroecological transition are to be further assessed, since they can have an important influence on the performance of individual farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tithonia diversifolia (Hemsl.) A. Gray has been recommended as a fertilizer species and its liquid extract as a biofertilizer in organic agroforestry systems. However, studies indicate that plant extracts have inhibitory effects on the germination and growth of several plant species, acting as allelopathic. In this sense, the work aims to evaluate, on a laboratory scale, the biological effect of concentrations of aqueous extract of T. diversifolia on the germination and initial development of seeds, using lettuce as an indicator species. Aqueous extracts were produced at concentrations of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%, using distilled water as a control. Lettuce seeds were arranged in Gerbox boxes, on filter paper, in the amount of 25 seeds per box, under a constant temperature of 20°C and natural light, for seven days. The percentage of final germination, mean germination time (MGT), germination speed index (GSI), and phytosanitary status of the seed on the seventh day were evaluated. The aqueous extracts of T. diversifolia in concentrations between 5% and 20% do not affect the final germination of the seeds, however, they reduce the germination speed; affect seedling size, and induce a higher percentage of abnormalities in germinated seeds. The results suggest that extracts of T. diversifolia have allelopathic potential for the germination of species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across Central Asia, agricultural and agroforestry practices have been shaped by a high-modernist approach since about the 1950s, with the aim of overcoming ecological limitations. Negative repercussions of this approach still affect local developments, but a shift towards resource-conserving production systems faces constraints—many of which relate to so-called 'path dependencies', i.e. historically-evolved institutions constraining the current practices, policies and local imaginaries of (un-)sustainable land use in various ways. Drawing on case studies from agriculture and agroforestry developments in Xinjiang (China), Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the paper explores these mechanisms and reveals a modernisation paradigm as a major source of path dependency. Moreover, the paper highlights aspects that are sometimes overlooked in the path dependency literature on Central Asia: first, path dependency should not be confused with Soviet legacies, and second, not all agricultural policies in the past were environmentally detrimental; in fact, reviving some aspects could actually be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: This work aims to analyze flocks' management practices and sheep breeders' perceptions of the impact of climate change to enhance the resilience of the sheep production systems in the Tunisian semi-arid region. The results revealed three main sheep production systems: the agro-pastoral rain-fed system (AGPRF), the agro-pastoral irrigated system (AGPI), and the agro-sylvo-pastoral system (AGSP). Each production system is characterized by specific management and productive parameters that are used by farmers to build resilience actions. However, farmers' climate change perceptions are mostly the same across the three sheep production systems: a decrease in precipitation and an increase in temperatures and extreme events, which negatively influence feedstuff availability and costs. Global climate change inflicts unambiguous risks on agricultural systems and food security. Small ruminants are known for their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. This paper aims to characterize sheep production systems in a vulnerable agricultural zone and the breeders' perceptions of climate change to apprehend challenges that they are confronting, and formulate resilience actions. The data analysis is based on 94 semi-structured surveys of sheep farmers carried out in the Tunisian semi-arid region. The PCA analysis results revealed three main sheep production systems. The agro-pastoral rain-fed system (AGPRF) is dominant (55%), with large farms and common pastures integrating cereals and fodder. The agro-pastoral irrigated system (AGPI: 20%) is characterized by small-area and forage irrigation (1.8 ha) and a smaller number of ewes but a greater use of animal feed supplementation. The agro-sylvo-pastoral system (AGSP: 25%) is a system where grazing is based on common lands and using tree sub-products, while the agricultural area is exclusively used to cultivate cereal crops. Sheep breeders' climate perceptions are summarized as unpredictable climate events, a decrease in precipitation, and an increase in temperature. Resilience actions principally consist of reducing flocks' numbers, using alternative local feed, fodder, and water resources, and building more shelters and planting more trees in the grazing areas. Nevertheless, cost-effectiveness should be considered in such vulnerable zones to insure the sheep production systems' sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous peoples and local communities are key actors in the preservation of important biodiversity resources around the world. However, the ever-encroaching agricultural frontier and expansion of conventional agricultural practices threaten these communities, their autonomy over the land, and the traditional knowledge and practices associated with biodiverse ecosystems. Agroecology emerges as an important solution to support the continuation of agrobiodiversity, food security, and environmental conservation, but top-down solutions often do not resonate with the lived realities of traditional, Indigenous, and small-scale farming communities. This paper examines a collaborative research and narrative network developed over the past several years around traditional erva-mate agroforestry production in Southern Paraná, Brazil. It offers an example of how oral environmental history and public history can support conservation practices through agroecology. The key outcomes of this interdisciplinary, multi-dimensional research and engagement were the development of a candidacy for the system to be recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) from the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the implementation of a Dynamic Conservation Action Plan to address the threats and challenges farmers and communities are facing. The discussion explores two concepts that were integral to these processes, the creation of narrative networks and a focus on plurivocity. Both approaches ensured that the actions, knowledge, and narratives developed through the GIAHS candidacy were not imposed but agreed upon and generative through narrative and dialogue, remaining true to the realities and lived experiences of community members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silvopastoral systems have complex impacts on a diverse range of outcomes, making it essential to design these systems using an integrative approach to maximise positive impacts to farms. This paper comprises firstly a systematic review of global silvopastoral processes, and secondly stakeholder-driven synthesis of key opportunities and challenges for future silvopastoralism situated in the context of New Zealand. The systematic review demonstrated that although under-researched, livestock interactions can have overriding influences on the system, and that the traditional functional traits that are typically deemed important for selection (N2-fixing trees v non N2-fixing trees, evergreen v deciduous) do not show consistent positive impacts on the agroecological environment. From the New Zealand silvopastoral participatory case study, including the stakeholder workshop, we synthesised 5 key principles that should be considered in future system designs. These were: (1) silvopastoral systems are complex and require holistic management; (2) the views, values and experiences of local people are deeply connected to silvopastoral system design; (3) spatial heterogeneity in environmental and social conditions requires locally specific decisions; (4) understanding of ecological processes must underpin all management decisions; and (5) the complexity and spatial heterogeneity present in silvopastoral systems requires high-resolution data and tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When it comes to forest management and protection, knowledge is key. Therefore, forest mapping is crucial to obtain the required knowledge towards profitable resource exploitation and increased resilience against wildfires. Within this context, this paper presents a literature review on tree classification and segmentation using data acquired by unmanned aerial vehicles, with special focus on the last decade (2013–2023). The latest research trends in this field are presented and analyzed in two main vectors, namely: (1) data, where used sensors and data structures are resumed; and (2) methods, where remote sensing and data analysis methods are described, with particular focus on machine learning approaches. The study and review methodology filtered 979 papers, which were then screened, resulting in the 144 works included in this paper. These are systematically analyzed and organized by year, keywords, purpose, sensors, and methods used, easily allowing the readers to have a wide, but at the same time detailed, view of the latest trends in automatic tree classification and segmentation using unmanned aerial vehicles. This review shows that image processing and machine learning techniques applied to forestry and segmentation and classification tasks are focused on improving the accuracy and interpretability of the results by using multi-modal data, 3D information, and AI methods. Most works use RGB or multispectral cameras, or LiDAR scanners, individually. Classification is mostly carried out using supervised methods, while segmentation mostly uses unsupervised machine learning techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion of an agroforestry based agricultural system to a monocropping farming system influences the distribution and composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). The aim of this paper was to analyze AMF species diversity, spore density, and root colonization across different agroforestry practices (AFP) in southern Ethiopia. Soil and root samples were collected from homegarden, cropland, woodlot, and trees on soil and water conservation-based AFP. AMF spores were extracted from the soil and species diversity was evaluated using morphological analysis and root colonization from root samples. The AMF spore density, root colonization and composition were significantly different among the AFP (P < 0.05). In this study, 43 AMF morphotypes belonging to eleven genera were found, dominated by Acaulospora (32.56%), followed by Claroideoglomus (18.60%). Home gardens had the highest spore density (7641.5 spore100 g− 1 dry soil) and the lowest was recorded in croplands (683.6 spore100 g− 1 dry soil). Woodlot had the highest root colonization (54.75%), followed by homegarden (48.25%). The highest isolation frequency (63.63%) was recorded for Acaulospora scrobiculata. The distribution of AMF species and diversity were significantly related to soil total nitrogen and organic carbon. The homegarden and woodlot AFP were suitable for soil AMF reserve and conservation. Article highlights: The homegarden and woodlot agroforestry practices are the best alternative mechanisms for conservation of soil AMF biodiversity. The agroforestry practices that are known with high surface vegetation cover results in conservation of soil AMF. The agricultural practices such as scattered trees on farm-based systems with intensive tillage impacts soil AMF communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of agroforestry, which is a combination of growing perennial trees along with crops and/or livestock in spatial and temporal arrangements, is recommended for improving the livelihoods of smallholders. Alike several other technologies, the adoption status of agroforestry innovations in sub-Saharan Africa is considered poor. Studies have shown that plethora of biophysical and socioeconomic variables affect adoption of agroforestry innovations. In these studies, the contribution of psychological variables determining the voluntary decision-making on agroforestry adoption decisions is often neglected and marginally explored. This paper aims at exploring the role of psychological variables for the sustained agroforestry adoption intention. We employed the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict sustained agroforestry adoption intentions of 327 farmers in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. Intention for sustained agroforestry woodlots adoption is assessed by employing the confirmatory factor analysis. Farmers' intention to sustain adoption of agroforestry woodlot innovations is principally driven by their positive evaluation of the cash and livelihood benefits of the innovations (attitude) compared to traditional farming, their own capability to produce the innovations and accessibility of resources (perceived behavioral control), and the farmers' perception of pressure and expectations from experts and important others (subjective norms). By employing TPB, this study brings a theoretical contribution to the TPB framework and measurement guidelines, unveils limitations of applying confirmatory factor analysis in a 'new' (woodlots) context and suggests data-based policy and development implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Sericulture is a labor-intensive agro-industry business that can increase the community's welfare and support environmental improvement. In Indonesia, silk, as the final product of sericulture, is a potential non-timber forest product (NTFP) that provides benefits to livelihoods and the forest ecosystem. Silk is a fiber produced by the domestic silkworm or mulberry silk moth, Bombyx mori L., belonging to the Lepidopteran order, Bombycidae family, probably providing more than 99% of the world's silk. However, there are many challenges to its development at both upstream and downstream levels, including the availability of quality eggs, optimal and efficient cultivation, pest and disease control, a lack of policy support, unsustainable production, low product quality, and competition with imported products. This paper discusses the recent status and future directions of sericulture development in Indonesia. Improvements in technical and social-economic aspects can support the development of sericulture in Indonesia through increasing productivity in the upstream sector along with conducive downstream policies and governance. The domestic silkworm or mulberry silk moth, B. mori L., provides more than 99% of the world's silk. Silk, as a sericulture product, was first introduced in Indonesia through a trade mechanism and began to develop in 1953. Several factors (economic, ecological, market, and cultural) support sericulture and make it become one of the non-timber forest product priorities. However, the competitive advantages alone have not encouraged the development of prospective sericulture industry in Indonesia yet. This paper is a review of tropical sericulture development in Indonesia. The literature on the development of sericulture in Indonesia between 1989 and 2022 is used to describe conditions related to mulberry cultivation (moriculture), and silkworm rearing (sericulture), as well as the state of socio-economic development, culture, and institutions. Moriculture and sericulture techniques, socio-economic aspects, institutional arrangements, and community motivations are intertwined, creating a challenging atmosphere for sericulture development. There are potential resources, such as exploring quality mulberry production and quality silkworm production through research and development, valuable cultural aspects, and potential stakeholders to build network engagement. Commitment, cooperation, and action from all stakeholders are needed to enhance the development of sericulture in Indonesia. In this context, the central government can play an important role in facilitating multi-stakeholder partnerships in the development of integrated sericulture in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely information about the need to thin forests is vital in forest management to maintain a healthy forest while maximizing income. Currently, very-high-spatial-resolution remote sensing data can provide crucial assistance to experts when evaluating the maturity of thinnings. Nevertheless, this task is still predominantly carried out in the field and demands extensive resources. This paper presents a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) to detect the necessity and urgency of carrying out thinnings using only remote sensing data. The approach uses very-high-spatial-resolution RGB and near-infrared orthophotos; a canopy height model (CHM); a digital terrain model (DTM); the slope; and reference data, which, in this case, originate from spruce-dominated forests in the Austrian Alps. After tuning, the model achieves an F1 score of 82.23% on our test data, which indicates that the model is usable in a practical setting. We conclude that DCNNs are capable of detecting the need to carry out thinnings in forests. In contrast, attempts to assess the urgency of the need for thinnings with DCNNs proved to be unsuccessful. However, additional data, such as age or yield class, have the potential to improve the results. Our investigation into the influence of each individual input feature shows that orthophotos appear to contain the most relevant information for detecting the need for thinning. Moreover, we observe a gain in performance when adding the CHM and slope, whereas adding the DTM harms the model's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duru et al. (Agron Sustain Dev 35:1259-1281, 2015) highlighted a missing tool for studying and improving the performance of cropping systems in the transition to highly diversified agriculture. In response, this paper proposes a concept for designing, modeling, monitoring, and auditing desired ecosystem services, in intercropping and agroforestry systems. We have labelled this concept ESSU (Ecosystem Services functional Spatial Unit). It delimits the smallest spatial unit encompassing all the interacting species and other functional components (e.g., crops, trees, livestock, spontaneous vegetation, semi-natural habitats such as hedges, ditches, forest patches, and animals) that together provide a specified set of ecosystem services. The novel ESSU concept allows representation of an entire diversified agroecosystem by the repetition of the spatial unit that provides the same sets of targeted ecosystem services as the agroecosystem it represents. It can then be used for various activities, such as the (i) design of more efficient agroecological systems according to the targeted ecosystem services; (ii) rapid audit of farming practices for biodiversity/resilience across large tracts of farmland as part of achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 targets of sustainable food systems; and (iii) modeling such diversified agroecosystems using a motif adapted to represent the targeted ecosystem services and the species spacing design. We demonstrate that the ESSU concept is highly flexible and applicable to a wide range of diversified agroecosystems, like arable intercropping, crop-tree intercropping, tree-tree agroforestry, and agro-pastoralism. We also show its relevance and suitability for representing temporal changes over 1 year, across several years, and over decades, indicating its generalizability and flexibility. We argue that ESSU could open new theoretical and practical research avenues for the study of diversified agroecosystems. Considered with all the knowledge available on practices, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, ESSU might provide a learning-support tool to fill the knowledge gap about relationships among practices, biodiversity, and associated ecosystem services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroforestry (AF) and mixed farming (MF) are two multifunctional land use systems that harbor an untapped potential for future climate mitigation, however, they remain outside of the norm. This review collected and analyzed the policy landscape for AF and MF in 19 European countries. The results show that while the policy landscape in Europe has been growing for AF, with support found within the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy and Green Deal, as well as European state polices, direct MF support is largely missing. No country assessed supports AF in its entirety (traditional, establishment, yearly maintenance) although, there are countries like Portugal, which show robust policies for at least one of these aspects. This paper also assessed the degree to which policies found can be considered agroecological, or contributing to an agroecological transition. Our analysis indicates that while agroecological elements do exist in some of the policies, it is currently primarily on plot, field, and farm level, involving input substitution or the change of one practice for another. We conclude that policies are currently not designed in a cohesive manner, and at times work against one another. We therefore recommend that all future policies center themselves on the High-Level Panel of Expert's 13 Principles of Agroecology, as well as on transformative and inclusive policy design frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest landscape restoration (FLR) is the intentional intervention in the forest landscape to recover biological diversity and ecosystem functions, improving human well‐being in altered landscapes. The general objective of the present study was to understand the state of the art of research that potentially contributes to FLR practices in the Amazon. We carried out a comprehensive literature review using the Web of Science platform, considering papers published between 2000 and 2020 to understand the state of knowledge on restoration strategies that support FLR in the nine Amazonian countries and the nine states of the Brazilian Amazon. We selected 362 articles that met our inclusion criteria after analyzing 1,205 articles. We found that Brazil, followed by Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador, has the largest number of published articles on FLR. Agroforestry (37.88%) and natural regeneration (30.35%) were the most common FLR strategies across all countries and Brazilian states. Most studies investigated ecological functioning (33%), vegetation structure (31%), and tree diversity (15.5%). Forest restoration strategies (forest plantation, natural regeneration, or silviculture) are reported in most studies (57.23%), in comparison to restoration strategies of agricultural lands (agroforestry systems or improved fallow; 42.77%). We found an increase in publications describing restoration strategies over time in the Amazon, especially from 2012 onwards, with a peak in 2018. Future studies in the Amazon region should address socioeconomic issues and expand the geographic scope within the Amazon, as well as the FLR strategies and the ecosystem attributes investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Animal production plays a critical role in many global challenges around sustainability, including climate change and resilience, One Health and food security. With this role comes pressures on livestock welfare. Aims: This paper demonstrates key contributions animal welfare makes to global sustainability challenges. Methods: This paper highlights 'win–win' improvements for both animal welfare and other aspects of sustainability by using the following four case studies: tail docking Australian sheep, agroforestry systems in Ethiopia, the Australian dairy-beef industry, and strategic feeding of goats in Pakistan. Key results: These case studies show how animal welfare can be improved alongside livelihoods. However, even in these win–win situations, the adoption of improved practices is not guaranteed. Conclusions: Long-term, sustained change in animal welfare can simultaneously make in roads to other challenges around sustainability. To do this, we must have a broader understanding of the system in which the animals are raised, so that barriers to change can be identified. Implications: Lessons from these case studies can be applied to other production contexts and challenges, highlighting the universal value of understanding and addressing animal welfare. Global challenges around sustainability are putting different pressures on the welfare of livestock. This paper highlights 'win–win' improvements for both animal welfare and other aspects of sustainability, but even in these win–win situations, the adoption of improved practices is not a guarantee for a myriad of external factors. By having a better understanding of the system in which animals are raised, a broader understanding of an animal's welfare, and acknowledging the emotional states that animals experience, progress towards improving welfare and, ultimately, addressing some of these global challenges, can be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homegarden, a type of agroforestry system, is one of the earliest thriving traditional food systems reported. Studying the contribution of homegardens in the context of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is crucial when the COVID-19 pandemic has hindered the achievement of many of the crucial SDGs. In this review, we focused on 94 peer-reviewed papers on homegardens from 2010 to 2021 to interrelate them with the corresponding targets and indicators of each SDG. The SDGs were classified into five categories, each focusing on a specific aspect: Category 1 (SDGs 1–5, poverty dimension), Category 2 (SDGs 6–9, development infrastructures), Category 3 (SDGs 10–12, sustainable production and consumption), Category 4 (SDGs 13–15, green infrastructures), and Category 5 (SDGs 16–17, green institutions). The distribution of the 94 papers analyzed was 92%, 23%, 33%, 51%, and 50% in each of the SDG categories, respectively. Category 1 and SDG 2 were found to be most realized in the homegarden literature. Important observations were found that highlight homegardens' probable use in providing food security, nutritional needs, health and wellness, preservation of agrobiodiversity, and enduring sustainability. Homegardens appear to be an important strategy for attaining the SDGs and can be accomplished with proper planning, in addition to taking into consideration how the traditional societies have sustained it for long. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the potential effects of farmers' species preferences on carbon stock in cocoa-based agroforestry systems (CAFS) in the Central Region of Cameroon. To achieve this goal, the species composition and structural variables of two land-use systems were investigated using 26 plots of 30 m × 30 m each, of which 20 were distributed in CAFS and 6 in adjacent secondary forests. Allometric models were used to estimate the species aboveground and root carbon stock. Ordination analysis indicated three types of species management systems: high-density timber and fruit trees; high-density Musaceae, palms and other shading trees; and low-density timber and fruit trees. The average densities of cocoa shading trees and shrubs were 234 ± 136 and 843 ± 360 individuals' ha−1, respectively. Thus, the average potential carbon stock of the sampled CAFS was estimated at 186.97 ± 86.06 Mg C ha−1, 22% representing the root carbon stock. The transformation of secondary forest into various species management systems decreased the aboveground carbon by 18–34%. The annual rate of carbon accumulation estimated based on ring analyses was within the range 2.32–13.74 Mg C ha−1 year−1. The monetary value of the total carbon stored and the carbon accumulation rate were US$4042 ha−1and US$159 ha−1year−1, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops the transboundary concept of market‐based commons to explore how partial and incomplete privatisation measures are contributing to the creation, operation, and maintenance of common property in agrarian societies embedded in global economies. Focusing on Indonesia's Riau province, I show how transboundary publics and geographically dispersed users of peatland resources collectively engage in environmental stewardship around sustainable forms of peatland development and activities aimed at mitigating the socio‐ecological costs of growth. The paper explores three types of peatland commons centred on social agroforestry using paludiculture (wet cultivation) techniques, fire mitigation strategies, and green supply chains around sustainable peatland products. I argue that while these market‐based commons are still in their infancy, they inscribe a specific set of transboundary governance relationships that seek to reform rather than resist capitalism by promoting both the protective and productive functions of carbon‐rich peatlands as profitable environmental goods of public value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining bees (Andrenidae) are solitary, ground-nesting, smaller to medium in size, mostly found in the temperate agroforestry and arid ecosystems. These bee's builds their nest in soil mounds and burrows in the soil that's why they are called mining bees. These bees are very efficient pollinator in agricultural crops, fruits, fodder, pulses and other economically important plants. Most of the pollinators including mining bees enhance agricultural productivity at a large commercial level and appear in the beginning of the spring season. Due to their hairy body, scopae, smoky wings, with short and spikey tongue and chewing-lapping type of mouthparts, these adaptive structures are very favourable for the pollination. Our review is based on the importance of mining bees and their role in pollination in different agroforestry ecosystem in India. Besides, the literature pertaining to their pollination mechanism and different activities performed by different species of mining bees has been placed in a single roof for further studies. Family Andrenidae is represented by single genus (Andrena) from India and distributed under 54 species. Very elaborate and comprehensive information about mining bees from the region is presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global land cover classifications may lead to the loss of important local and national nuances such as forest and agroforestry classes. These classes are important to local contexts because they contribute to sustainable land management systems. This paper demonstrates the application of Sentinel-2A satellite images, elevation data, and the Google Earth Engine platform to generate more detailed, specialist land cover classification for forestry classes important in Sri Lanka deriving ten spectral, 16 textural, and three topographical features from the input datasets. The random forest classification model discriminates vegetation types as forest, forest plantations, shrub, grassland, home garden, and cultivation with an overall accuracy of 94% and kappa value of 0.91. Results indicate the elevation feature contributes the most to discriminate forest and agroforestry classes, and red band (664.6 nm) textural metrics derived from grey-level co-occurrence matrix analysis are more useful for separating the home garden from other land cover classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• U. chamae provides vital goods and services to sustain livelihoods in Africa. • Most of studies on U. chamae were globally undertaken in Nigeria. • Few studies examined the sustainable conservation and management aspects. • Further investigations will shed light on its appropriate management strategies. Uvaria chamae P. Beauv is known as a key shrub species providing several goods and services for sustaining livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite its great medicinal importance for local communities, little is known about its conservation status and sustainable management strategies regarding the current overexploitation of the species' fruits through traditional agroforestry systems. Here, we addressed a global systematic review of the current state of knowledge on several aspects of research of U. chamae for setting further breeding programmes and conservation initiatives. A total of 744 publications were identified based on the extensive bibliometric review of its sustainable management and conservation status over the last three decades (1991-2021) through existing online databases. Only 257 publications were finally included in the current review after deep scrutinization which were in line with several aspects of the conservation ecology and management of U. chamae in Africa. All retained papers came globally from the five sub-regions, and particularly 13 countries in Africa. Most of them were recorded in West Africa (n = 245) compared to the other sub-regions where few studies exist on this intensively harvested shrub species. Approximately 89% of the retained publications came from five of West African countries including Nigeria (n = 151), Benin (n = 30), Côte d'Ivoire (n = 18), Guinea (n = 16), and Togo (n = 14). In-depth bibliometric analysis revealed critical knowledge gaps on U. chamae in terms of its geographic distribution; conservation status; tree growth, productivity and propagation; morphological diversity; molecular genetic diversity; reproductive biology; ecophysiological performances; socio-economic importance; biochemical analysis; and structural characterization. The current review paves the way for developing further long-term management programs of U. chamae in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of an appropriate design is a very important aspect of agroforestry experimentation. Since different species of trees may interact spatially, plots in agroforestry could be connected through network of trees which would create non-directional adjacency effects on a plot. Hence, there is a need to take the "direct effect of trees" and "tree network effects" on the crop into account when designing an agroforestry experiment. Tree network effect refers to the influence a tree exerts on the surrounding plots as a result of adjacency of the plots. In this paper, a class of network designs incorporating effects of trees from adjacent plots has been obtained. The characterization properties of the designs have also been studied. The designs are found to be variance balanced for the estimation of direct as well as network effects of trees. They are also highly efficient designs, and hence, are recommended for agroforestry experimentation with multiple tree species and a single crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural practices of smallholder farming systems of Latin America can play an important role in reducing their exposure to the risks associated with climate extremes. To date, however, there is no systematic analysis of scientific evidence for the extent to which these practices can provide the multiple benefits needed for smallholders to adapt to climate extremes. In this paper, we searched scientific databases to review scientific evidence of the benefit provided by twenty-six practices in crops commonly farmed by smallholders in the region and highly relevant for their food and nutrition security; namely, coffee, maize and beans. We reviewed scientific documents (n = 304) published in the period 1953–2021 to register evidence of the practices' effects on fifty-five benefits. Our analysis of these documents found measurement records (n = 924) largely based on field experiments (85%). Our results show strong evidence of the multiple benefits that some ecosystem-based practices (e.g., tree-based practices for coffee and no tillage for maize) can provide to support the adaptation to climate extremes of smallholder farming systems and enhance a farm's natural assets (e.g., biodiversity, water, soil). We also found that the majority of research on practices in the region focused more on the socioeconomic dimension (54%) rather than on the capacity of practices to improve the natural assets of a smallholder farmers or reduce the impact of climate extremes. Given these knowledge gaps, we discuss the importance of a renovated investment in research to address existing knowledge gaps. Our concluding suggestions for future research include the need for systematizing existing knowledge from different sources (e.g., peer-reviewed, gray literature, farmers, extension agencies, etc.), and to assess the extent to which these practices can provide multiple benefits for smallholder farming systems by improving their wellbeing, reducing their vulnerability to different hydroclimatic extremes while also contributing to ecosystem services provision at the landscape level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tropical climate-smart agriculture could be a cost-effective and scalable nature-based solution toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the coming decades. Nevertheless, the lack of integrated on-farm CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O flux measurements remains a barrier to including these systems in certification programs and the carbon (C) market. This systematic literature review critically examines field-measured GHG emission studies within climate-smart agri-systems in Brazil, aiming to: (i) integrate GHG-measured data, (ii) explore geographical representativeness and connections between organizations and authors, (iii) analyze distributions of studied GHG molecules, climate-smart system types, and productive components, (iv) conduct a meta-analysis on the adoption of climate-smart agriculture, and (v) identify methodological and scope gaps, providing insights for future research directions. The systems considered include no-till, well-managed pasture, integrated crop-livestock, and integration with trees (i.e., crop-forestry, livestock-forestry, crop-livestock-forestry, and multistrata agroforestry). Out of 1200 papers mentioning GHGs and climate-smart systems, 74 contained reliable on-farm flux measurements. Most authors were Brazilians affiliated with Embrapa and public Universities. Studies concentrated on the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, with scarce data for other biomes. Over half of the trials assessed individual GHG molecules and only one climate-smart system. Urochloa spp. and Avena spp. were the most studied forage genera, while soybeans and corn dominated annual crops. Eucalyptus spp. and beef cattle were common trees and animals. No-till, integrated crop-livestock, and agricultural integrations involving trees showed soil C–CH 4 influx from 0.8 to 1.0 kg ha−1 y−1. Transitioning from pasture monoculture to integrated systems decreased N–N 2 O emissions by up to 1.63 kg ha−1 y−1. Converting extensive grazed land to intensified-integrated systems reduced animal CH 4 intensity, with cuts of up to 122 g CH 4 per kg of average daily weight gain. Future research must urgently address methodological issues, such as de-standardization (e.g., 8–10 flux units found per GHG molecule) and the absence of crucial ancillary variables. In conclusion, adopting diversified climate-smart agri-systems shows potential to mitigate GHG emissions, but caution is advised when extrapolating our numerical findings due to limited data across Brazilian edaphoclimatic conditions. We urge scientists to prioritize frequent on-farm measurements of all three GHGs (CO 2 , N 2 O, and CH 4) along with agroecosystem C sequestration across multiple climate-smart systems, enabling reliable and comparable net GHG flux calculations to identify the most sustainable option. Advancing and standardizing GHG measurements in Brazil offer an opportunity to enhance GHGs inventory accuracy, calibrate models, and promote policies and investments that expand refined tropical climate-smart agriculture. [Display omitted] • We systematically reviewed GHG measurements in Brazilian climate-smart agri-systems. • Well-managed pastures, no-till, and integration-based systems mitigate GHG emissions. • Brazilian GHG dataset incompletely represents systems and environmental complexities. • Producing agri-GHG field data is still vital for policies, investments, and C market. • Future GHG research should standardize flux units and include ancillary variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural fires are currently one of the main global disasters, and Portugal is among the countries that have suffered from them for decades. These fires pose economic, environmental, and social threats to the country. A primary cause of rural fires is the burning of biomass to clear agroforestry residues. Thus, combating rural fires requires more effective forest management, particularly the removal of forest residues that serve as fuel. These residues, also known as biomass, have significant potential for energy production and biofuel use. This paper proposes a model that integrates the PROMETHEE decision-making method with the roadmapping. This proposed model includes 7 steps, including the planning of the roadmap, the definition of the decision problem, gathering information and building the roadmap. The proposed model was applied to develop a roadmap proposal for the recovery of surplus agroforestry biomass in Portugal, identifying the most emerging conversion technologies in the national context. With the roadmap developed, it was possible to understand that the recovery of surplus agroforestry biomass in Portugal involves several sectors. The energy sector is one of those that can benefit from the recovery of leftover agroforestry biomass, both from the point of view of carbon neutrality and energy independence. Forestry management is another of the great advantages of recovering leftover forestry biomass and, consequently, reducing the number of fires. In the context of recovery, combustion is the most widely used technology for producing energy or heat. The technology identified as most emerging in the upcoming years is gasification. Investment in scientific research is essential for the success of this sector, as is the development of public incentive policies and more engagement from all stakeholders. This paper conclude that valorizing agroforestry residues can reduce rural fire risks while promoting energy independence, sustainable regional development, and innovation in Portugal. • The paper proposes an integrated PROMETHEE II-Roadmap model. • The proposed model is applied to the valorization of residual agroforestry biomass in Portugal (RAFB). • Benefits of RAFB valorization include reduction of rural fires, increased renewable energy alternatives, and sustainable regional development. • An evaluation of biomass conversion technologies is performed, and gasification is identified as the most emerging. • The paper emphasizes the need in the sector for research investment, stakeholder engagement and development of supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, the whole world is confronted with a geometric increase in the human population without a corresponding increase in the agricultural land resource to meet the human demands for food and clothing which are primarily sourced from agricultural industry. Therefore, it is needful for every country to search the importance of agroforestry and make haste to adopt it as it is the only option and panacea with which to combat the world ever increasing human population with limited and dwindling agricultural land resource. Agroforestry is more intentional, intensive, interactive and integrated than agriculture per se. Improved agro-forestry practice is eco-friendly, job creative and lucrative. It also promotes wider biodiversity and high yields of crops and livestock through proper soil management. Agroforestry is a multidisciplinary science encompassing agronomy, physiology, horticulture, apiculture, soil management, ecology, agrisilviculture, silvopasture, agrosilvopasture, and apisilvoculture have made it more comprehensive than other farming systems. The most glaring importance of agroforestry is centered on its ability to adapt to climate change, especially now it has become a case study in the world as its adverse effects on both living and non-living things cannot be neglected. So, this review paper is aimed at sensitizing and encouraging worldwide farmers and non-farmers to adopt the modern agro-forestry practices as improved means for promoting food security and checking deforestation with its associated adverse effects in the world. However, there are numerous challenges confronting the establishment of agroforestry and basically among them are - scarcity of land, improved seeds/seedlings, and conservative attitudes of the farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

I served as researcher at the College of Micronesia and suffered an injury to my arm. I was fortunate to be treated by honorable traditional healer Sounwini Lepen Lison Leon Aldis with his instructions for the use of traditional medicines, ceremonial prayers, and health practices. This article describes my experience with this beloved healer, traditional Pohnpei medicine and the myriad plant medicines of Pohnpei, Micronesia. Lepen’s teachings guided me and here I report my experience with his permission. May he rest in peace. His memory is a blessing. Many native plants are described with images to reveal their powerful attributes. The Story is told in narrative with photographs disclosing the richness of Pohnpei island medicines and the deep traditional food and medicinal knowledge held by Sounwini Lepen Lison Leon Aldis. I dedicate this paper in his blessed memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road detection is a crucial part of the autonomous driving system, and semantic segmentation is used as the default method for this kind of task. However, the descriptive categories of agroforestry are not directly definable and constrain the semantic segmentation-based method for road detection. This paper proposes a novel road detection approach to overcome the problem mentioned above. Specifically, a novel two-stage method for road detection in an agroforestry environment, namely ARDformer. First, a transformer-based hierarchical feature aggregation network is used for semantic segmentation. After the segmentation network generates the scene mask, the edge extraction algorithm extracts the trail's edge. It then calculates the periphery of the trail to surround the area where the trail and grass are located. The proposed method is tested on the public agroforestry dataset, and experimental results show that the intersection over union is approximately 0.82, which significantly outperforms the baseline. Moreover, ARDformer is also effective in a real agroforestry environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a glaring shortage of studies on the impact of ICTs use on the adoption of agroforestry technologies and combined effects of ICTs use and agroforestry technologies' adoption on farmers' welfare. To fill the information gap, this study examined the impact of ICTs use on agroforestry technologies' adoption and their heterogenous impacts on crop farmers' welfare in Southwest, Nigeria. Endogenous-treatment poisson regression (ETPR) model and unconditional quantile regression (UQR) model were used to analyse the data collected from 488 respondents. The results indicated that the use of ICTs improved the adoption of agroforestry technologies which facilitate friendly environment. Also, ICTs use and agroforestry technologies' adoption statistically and heterogeneously influenced farm revenue and household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS). Precisely, ICTs use had the highest influence on farm revenue at the lowest quantile, while agroforestry technologies' adoption had the highest effect on household food insecurity access scale (HFIAS) at the lowest quantile. Therefore, policies that promote crop farmers' access to ICTs should be the priority of policy makers who are interested in the welfare of crop farmers and increased farmers' level of agroforestry technologies' adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indonesia is home to around 45% of the world's tropical peatlands which continue to be degraded on a large scale by deforestation, drainage and fire, contributing massively to global GHG emissions. Approaches to restoring the peat–water balance and reducing emissions in peat hydrological units, through managing them based either on full protection or large-scale commercial production, have generally failed to address environmental and local community needs. We present published and unpublished findings pointing to the need for an integrated peatland protection and restoration strategy based first on raising water levels in degraded (drained) peatlands and maintaining them in forested peatlands, thus, reducing GHG emissions. Second, the strategy incorporates ecologically sound agroforestry business models that strengthen livelihoods of smallholders and so sustain their interest in sustainably managing the peatlands. In this paper, we focus on the second element of this strategy in Indonesia. Eight agroforestry business models are proposed based on their merits to attract both smallholders and commercial investors as well as their compatibility with hydrological rehabilitation of the peatlands. While financial returns on investment will vary across sites and countries, our analysis indicates that some models can be profitable over both short and longer time periods with relatively low levels of investment risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Soil ridge height was used as an indicator for spatial distribution of wind erosion. • Windbreak effects were visualized by comparing ridge height among distances. • Sheltered area had greater ridge height than unsheltered areas after wind erosion. • UAV and iPad LiDAR were effective for visualizing windbreak effects. • Appropriate measurement targets facilitate smart device–based sensing by citizens. Tree windbreaks have multifunctional benefits including wind damage reduction, soil erosion control, and biodiversity conservation. The removal and low adoption of tree windbreaks due to agricultural expansion are issues in many regions despite their critical role in improving agricultural sustainability. Farmers' and landowners' recognition of the benefits of windbreaks in their cultivation environments is necessary to preserve windbreaks. To visualize the benefits of windbreaks using remote sensing techniques, we focused on the top-to-bottom height of soil ridges, which are created homogeneously throughout the field using a machine. In this paper, we propose the use of soil ridge height as a remote sensing indicator to evaluate the spatial distribution of wind erosion. We tested two different remote sensing approaches at a potato field: one was an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the other was an Apple iPad Pro with a built-in light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor. Based on geographic information systems (GIS), the digital elevation model (DEM) was divided into grids with one ridge-furrow pair, with the ridge height given by the difference between the maximum and the minimum elevations in each grid element. The grid-based analysis of the differences in ridge heights between two periods was less affected by the positioning error than the DEM of difference. In a year with large erosion of up to 0.07 m, the spatial pattern of the wind erosion was identified from a single post-erosion survey. Structure-from-motion (SfM) and multiview stereo (MVS) photogrammetry from real-time kinematic-UAV identified smaller wind erosion in an area sheltered by the windbreak and just leeward of a grass-covered road. The iPad LiDAR exhibited higher accuracy in reproducing the ridge height than UAV-SfM-MVS and successfully visualized the windbreak effects by scanning plots at different distances from the windbreak. The iPad LiDAR system is considerably less expensive than UAV-SfM-MVS. In addition, compared to UAV techniques, it is easier to create DEMs with the iPad LiDAR system. Thus, this technique would be beneficial for the spatial evaluation of wind erosion in various fields with different site conditions. This approach is also expected to contribute to the effective visualization of windbreak benefits through three-dimensional printing of DEMs. It provides rapid and innovative method to send a clear message to stakeholders about the importance of windbreaks. To extend smart device applications to remote sensing, our findings emphasize the importance of devising measurement targets to improve detectability and simplify survey designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant allelopathy is a biological phenomenon in which plants adapt to defend against the pests (weeds, insects, nematodes and pathogens) adverse environment. It is one of the hotspots in Ecology and Agronomy. In this paper, we have retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) SCI-E database the allelopathy-related studies (1960-2019). The Annual Number of Publications, Authors, Countries, Institutions, Journals and Keywords were analyzed by the bibliometric method to determine the research trends and hotspot changes in this field over the past 6 decades. From 1960-2019, the WoS database included 4,114 studies in the field of plant allelopathy. During this period of 60 years, the number of publications has gone through three stages: (i). Initial Stage (1960-1990), (ii). Growing Stage (1991-2009) and (iii). Stable Stage (2010-2019). The studies were conducted by 9,956 authors at 2,166 institutions across 100 countries. The United States, China, and Japan have the highest number of publications. The top three institutions with the highest number of publications are the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kagawa University and USDA, USA. The top three authors are H. Kato-Noguchi, F.A. Macias, and C.H. Kong. The major Journals in this field are: (i). Allelopathy Journal, (ii). Journal of Chemical Ecology and (iii). Plant and Soil. The results of keyword clustering showed that the main research directions in this field are: (i). Metabonomics undergoing allelopathy, (ii). Functions of allelopathy substances, (iii). Molecular biology, (iv). Allelopathy of aquatic plants, (v). Alien plants invasion and (vi). Application of plant allelopathy in agroforestry production. Plant allelopathy is a research field that aims to maintain stable development. Future studies should focus on strengthening the cooperation among international scholars in plant allelopathy research and improving the output in frontier and hotspot areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention to intercropping for sustainable agriculture is increasing, and scientific studies on intercropping have also grown in recent years. Agroforestry Systems, which combine annual crops with trees, are used widely in semiarid regions to reduce wind erosion and improve the efficiency of resources such as water and nutrients. Field experiments were conducted at Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Limited Farm, Mondipatty, Tamil Nadu, to study the compatibility of intercropping systems in the Dalbergia sissoo-based Horti-silvicultural system for two years during 2016 and 2017. The experiments were conducted in a split-plot design with four replications. The main plot treatments were M1: Cassava M2:Chillies and the subplot treatments were five nutrient management packages viz., S1: Untreated control, S2: 100 % Recommended Dose of Fertilizers (Cassava: 90: 90: 240 and Chillies: 60: 80: 80),S3: 125 % Recommended Dose of Fertilizers (Cassava: 112.5: 112.5: 300 and Chillies: 75: 100: 100), S4:150 % (Cassava: 135: 135: 360 and Chillies: 90: 120: 120) Recommended Dose of Fertilizers, S5: Soil Test Crop Response studies - Integrated Plant Nutrient Supply System -based recommendation (as per soil test value). The results indicated that the Horti-Silvicultural system of growing Cassava and Chillies along with D. sissoo performed well. It was observed that statistically significant (p = 0.05) higher yields of 17.8 tha-1 and 1.6 tha-1 were recorded in Cassava and Chillies, respectively, in treatment S5, where the fertilizer was applied based on the Soil Test Crop Response studies - Integrated Plant Nutrient Supply System. In addition, the soil fertility status was also sustained in this plot. The fertilizers applied to the intercrops have contributed to the nutrient requirement of the tree crop and thereby reduced the cost of cultivation in the agroforestry system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rural populations of small island developing states in the Pacific region are amongst the most exposed to the harsh realities of climate change. Forest management, tree planting, and agroforestry are some of the most promising strategies to build local resilience while providing food and income security in these remote areas. In this paper, we outline the contextual reasons for why deforestation and forest degradation continues, and provide practice-based approaches for REDD + to address deforestation. Our transdisciplinary methods include the construction of seven land use models to compare business-as-usual scenarios with respective REDD + strategies across Vanuatu's five REDD + islands, combined with a case study of Vanuatu's first REDD + project. Close collaboration between international researchers, local government officials, and Ni-Vanuatu non-governmental organizations and communities allowed for information sharing across epistemologies, adding local, place-based knowledge to scientific inquiry, responding to calls for more 'locally led' approaches to climate adaptation in Vanuatu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding the perceptions, preferences and management practices associated with intraspecific variability of emblematic African tree crops is critical for their sustainable management. In this paper, we examine how the agrobiodiversity of a fruit tree species native to Central Africa, the African plum tree (Dacryodes edulis), is perceived and managed by Cameroonian cultivators. Methods: Semi-structured interviews and tree surveys were conducted over four months with 441 African plum tree owners from three different ethnic groups (Bamileke, Bassa, Beti) in urban, peri-urban and rural areas. Questions focused on trees owners' perceptions—including the local nomenclature—preferences and management practices related to African plum trees and their intraspecific agrobiodiversity. Results: Across the three ethnic groups in the study area, more than 300 different local varietal names were recorded. These were mainly based on morphological and organoleptic traits, with two-thirds of the names referring to fruit size, skin color and fruit taste. The same traits were used by tree owners to describe their fruit preferences, but their relative importance in shaping fruit preferences varied among groups. The preferences of urban dwellers from different ethnic groups when purchasing African plum fruit focused on the fruit's taste characteristics, while those of rural dwellers differed among ethnic groups. In rural areas, where African plums are sold and consumed by their growers, the preferences of Bassa consumers reflect quantity (fruit size) over quality (fruit taste or skin color) considerations. These preferences are reflected in the choice of seeds used for planting. Bassa owners sought seeds from trees with large fruits (with 34.8% of Bassa owners giving top priority to this trait as a selection criterion) to a significantly greater extent than Bamileke and Beti owners who prioritized taste and skin color instead. Among tree growers who selectively retained African plum trees in their fields, 44% considered tree productivity as a primary selection criterion. Conclusions: Findings linking perceptions of and preferences for fruit traits to intraspecific tree diversity, with attention to inter-ethnic and rural–urban differences, will help design locally specific measures to conserve the agrobiodiversity of African plum in the context of its ongoing domestication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cocoa farmers must decide on whether to rehabilitate (Rh) or to renovate (Re) a cocoa orchard when its productivity declines due to ageing, disease outbreaks or other causes. Deciding on Rh/Re is often a complex, expensive and conflictive process. In this review, we (1) explore the diversity of contexts, driving forces, stakeholders and recommended management practices involved in Rh/Re initiatives in key cocoa-producing countries; (2) summarise the often conflicting views of farmers and extension agents on Rh/Re programmes; (3) review the evidence of age-related changes in planting density and yield of cocoa, given the weight of these variables in Rh/Re decision processes; (4) describe the best known Rh/Re systems and their most common management practices; (5) propose an agroforestry Re approach that overcomes the limitation of current Rh/Re diagnosis protocols, which do not consider the regular flow of food crop and tree products, and the need to restore site soil quality to sustain another cycle of cultivation of cocoa at the same site; and (6) explore the effects of climate change considerations on Rh/Re decision-making and implementation processes. Each Rh/Re decision-making process is unique and highly context-dependent (household and farm, soil, climate, culture). Tailored solutions are needed for each farmer and context. The analysis, concepts and models presented for cocoa in this paper may also apply to coffee orchards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black pepper is a very important spice and medicinal crop of India. The country produces about 62,000 metric tonnes of black pepper annually, of which 10-12% is exported. Kerala with an area of 82,761 ha under the crop is a leading producer of the spice in India. It is grown under varied agro-ecologies in the state ranging from sea-level to High Ranges. The crop, a climber, is cultivated either as a monocrop trailed on different multipurpose support trees (called "standards", e.g. Ailanthus triphysa, Erythrina indica, Garuga pinnata, Gliricidia sepium etc.) or in the homesteads along with assorted trees like Areca catechu, Cocos nucifera, Artocarpus heterophyllus, Mangifera indica and the like. Trailing a sciophytic (shade-loving) climber on woody perennial support trees makes it a unique agronomic system and an excellent example of agroforestry. Attractive prices, albeit fluctuations, long shelf-life of the produce, and the ability to provide a range of ecosystem services including supporting and regulatory services (e.g. carbon sequestration and soil fertility enrichment), make black pepper production an attractive land use option in Kerala. This paper reviews the literature on agroecology of the crop with particular reference to Kerala. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the decline in public budgets for agricultural extension support, ties between members of farmer groups are becoming more important to facilitate information transfer about agroforestry. This paper examines the role of social network ties in predicting organizational leadership in an agroforestry-based farmer group. Using social network data derived from interviews with members of farming groups based in the Ayeyarwady Delta of Myanmar, we established a positive relationship between advice-seeking ties and organizational leadership. In other words, farmers who were highly sought for agroforestry advice were more likely to be elected as leaders of the farmer group. Results show the frequency of interactions through advice-seeking ties also had a positive influence on the probability of farmers holding leadership positions. We found a core–periphery structure for the advice networks, whereby farmer leaders were overrepresented at the network core. Interestingly, general members of the farmer group were also in the core of the core-periphery structure, suggesting that engaging with farmers without leadership roles can also effectively disseminate agroforestry information to peripheral farmers. We conclude that farmer groups are valuable in agroforestry adoption and persistence and further analyses of formal leadership structures are needed to support more transparent and accountable governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Agroforestry systems and legume sowing have been reported as efficient in terms of soil function, gaining momentum as environmentally sustainable agricultural practices. This paper examines how the soil microbial community of Mediterranean pastures responds to legume-enrichment. Methods: We used phospholipid fatty acids profiling (PLFA) to measure microbial community composition, community-level physiological profiling (CLPP) to measure their activity and functional diversity, and analysed soil labile and bulk organic carbon in four wood pastures. Each site included a triplet of treatments composed of a native pasture (Control) and two native pastures enriched with a legume-rich mixture sowed ≤ 7 (young) and ≥ 11 (old) years ago, and two habitats (under tree canopy vs open pasture). The sites were fertilized with varying amounts of phosphorous. Results: We found large variations among legume-plot ages and habitats, with microbial biomass, diversity and CLPP-activity higher in the legume-plots than in the control plots, and under tree than in open pastures. The community shift after sowing was driven by increased abundance of gram-negative bacteria and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and decreased saprophytic fungi. Soil bulk and labile C stocks steadily increased after the sowing, and were related to legume abundance, P-fertilization and forage yield, both directly and indirectly, through the positive effect on microbial biomass and CLPP-activity. Conclusions: The shift in microbial community structure together with the increased soil C stocks, soil P and likely N fixed by legumes form a positive legacy that can help to enhance the productivity and climate-resilience of pastures, although this needs further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]