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Determinants of farmer well-being can be derived from objective and subjective measures of social components, environmental sustainability indicators, and quality of life indices, as well as the multiple scales that farms and farmers operate. Yet, despite multiple frameworks on farmer well-being, the extent to which farmer-expressed values are used in the development of farmer well-being indicators is unclear. Challenges can arise from extracting indicators that are insufficiently grounded in place, or that inadequately incorporate context and biocultural relations and practices. Here in this scoping review, we synthesize the methodologies in the literature on assessing farmer well-being and identify the extent to which farmer well-being domains are derived from values expressed directly by farmers. We consolidated and coded 92 papers to respond to the following questions: (1) What are the most frequent farmer well-being domains in published studies? (2) What methods are used to elicit multidimensional farmer well-being domains? (3) Do well-being domains used in the literature adequately reflect a biocultural context, including place-based influences on well-being? Our results show that economics and social relationships are frequent domains of how farmer well-being is identified and assessed. These domains tend to be measured simultaneously, while less common domains, such as governance and place, are rather isolated. A suite of methods was used to assess well-being domains, ranging from basic surveys to in-depth participant observation. Yet, we identify gaps in the methods for deriving farmer well-being indicators. Specifically, methods that refer to farmer-expressed values were rare and domains identified through a place-based approach were often not recorded, but, arguably, critical in developing multidimensionality of farmer well-being. We show that while the translocal approach is well represented in established well-being frameworks, farmer expression is not foundational in well-being assessments but is needed in order to center farmer values when generating indicators of well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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We explore changes in agricultural practices on Pantelleria, a small volcanic island off Sicily, and connections among humans, barley, grapevines, and animals using anthropological and sociolinguistic approaches. We analyse key features of the decline and recent revitalization of Pantescan agriculture focussing on the intercropping of barley cultivated along elevated ridges between grapevines to protect against strong winds. We also assess the use of equines, including the now-extinct Pantescan donkey, and the role of dried food products, such as viscottu (barley "biscuit"), in food security and easing of women's household responsibilities, to understand how these legacies affect today's agricultural practices and Pantescans' values. We conclude that human and non-human connectedness, and farmers' knowledge of micro topo-climatic management, including land shaping, may contribute to the formulation of agricultural strategies in a context of environmental and societal crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of African Journal of Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of People & Nature is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

For thousands of years, humans have domesticated different plants by selecting for particular characters, often affecting less-known traits, including the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by these plants for defense or reproduction. The fig tree Ficus carica has a very wide range of varieties in the Mediterranean region and is selected for its traits affecting fruits, including pollination, but the effect of human-driven diversification on the VOCs emitted by the receptive figs to attract their pollinator (Blastophaga psenes) is not known. In the present study, VOCs from receptive figs of eight varieties in northern Morocco, were collected at different times within the manual pollination period and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Genetic analyses using microsatellite loci were performed on the same varieties. Despite strong inter-varietal differences in the quantity and relative proportions of all VOCs, the relative proportions of the four pollinator-attractive VOCs showed limited variation among varieties. There was no significant correlation between genetic markers and chemical profiles of the different varieties. While diversification driven by humans has led to differences between varieties in VOC profiles, this paper suggests that throughout the process of domestication and varietal diversification, stabilizing selection has maintained a strong signal favoring pollinator attraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Convention on Biological Diversity is defining the goals that will frame future global biodiversity policy in a context of rapid biodiversity decline and under pressure to make transformative change. Drawing on the work of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, we argue that transformative change requires the foregrounding of Indigenous peoples' and local communities' rights and agency in biodiversity policy. We support this argument with four key points. First, Indigenous peoples and local communities hold knowledge essential for setting realistic and effective biodiversity targets that simultaneously improve local livelihoods. Second, Indigenous peoples' conceptualizations of nature sustain and manifest CBD's 2050 vision of "Living in harmony with nature." Third, Indigenous peoples' and local communities' participation in biodiversity policy contributes to the recognition of human and Indigenous peoples' rights. And fourth, engagement in biodiversity policy is essential for Indigenous peoples and local communities to be able to exercise their recognized rights to territories and resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge, values, and practices of Indigenous peoples and local communities offer ways to understand and better address social-environmental problems. The article reviews the state of the literature on this topic by focusing on six pathways by which Indigenous peoples and local communities engage with management of and relationships to nature. These are (a) undertaking territorial management practices and customary governance, (b) contributing to nature conservation and restoration efforts with regional to global implications, (c) co-constructing knowledge for assessments and monitoring, (d) countering the drivers of unsustainable resource use and resisting environmental injustices, (e) playing key roles in environmental governance across scales, and (f) offering alternative conceptualizations of the interrelations between people and nature. The review shows that through these pathways Indigenous peoples and local communities are making significant contributions to managing the health of local and regional ecosystems, to producing knowledge based in diverse values of nature, confronting societal pressures and environmental burdens, and leading and partnering in environmental governance. These contributions have local to global implications but have yet to be fully recognized in conservation and development polices, and by society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Declining biodiversity and ecosystem functions put many of nature's contributions to people at risk. We review and synthesize the scientific literature to assess 50-y global trends across a broad range of nature's contributions. We distinguish among trends in potential and realized contributions of nature, as well as environmental conditions and the impacts of changes in nature on human quality of life. We find declining trends in the potential for nature to contribute in the majority of material, nonmaterial, and regulating contributions assessed. However, while the realized production of regulating contributions has decreased, realized production of agricultural and many material commodities has increased. Environmental declines negatively affect quality of life, but social adaptation and the availability of substitutes partially offset this decline for some of nature's contributions. Adaptation and substitutes, however, are often imperfect and come at some cost. For many of the contributions of nature, we find differing trends across different countries and regions, income classes, and ethnic and social groups, reinforcing the argument for more consistent and equitable measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Applied Ecology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Madagascar, biodiversity, local livelihoods and agroecosystems are increasingly threatened. It is critical to understand and support local social–ecological systems that sustain livelihoods and value biodiversity. This study investigates why Betsileo communities in Ambendrana and Sahabe protect isolated individuals and clusters of Ficus species in their rural landscapes. Ficus trees have multiple values and sustain webs of ecological interactions that favor biodiversity. We show that spontaneous seedlings of Ficus are protected and that people also actively propagate Ficus by stem cuttings. Their multiple values and uses and the distribution patterns of each species, are linked to social–ecological dynamics and to the historical construction of local landscapes. Both past and present uses associated with each Ficus species define how they are protected. Different sets of practices associated with each species are governed by both material and symbolic considerations. Ficus reflexa, a boundary marker of zebu corrals, has a symbolic role in protecting humans and livestock and checks erosion; F. lutea is a marker of residences of ancient noble classes and F. tiliifolia is a remnant of swidden agriculture and a marker of the memory of ancestors, but its numbers are shrinking. Ficus trees are protected but there is no strict taboo against cutting them when they hinder crop production. Their potential role for biodiversity conservation is linked to these social–ecological dynamics. Based on these findings, we propose some rules of thumb for developing collaborative approaches which consider synergies between local and scientific knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes sociohistorical and biological factors that shape olive-oleaster agroecosystems (hereafter OOAs), in northern Morocco and their continuing roles in olive domestication, diversification and food security. Forests are cleared and oleasters (wild olive trees) are preserved by farmers for their valuable oil and for use as rootstocks to graft olive. This practice is among those that have shaped olive domestication in the Mediterranean region. It contributes to the creation of forest-based olive agroecosystems and favors olive intraspecific diversity that is highly adapted to heterogeneous mountain environments. Productions contribute to food security, short trade circuits, land tenure and cultural identity. Ethnobiological studies show a continuity of classification, naming and uses between selected oleaster types and olive varieties suggesting an ongoing domestication process. This is supported by genetic analyses which show a higher concentration of genotypes selected from seedlings that propagate through sexual propagation in OOAs as compared to areas where management of oleasters for oil and as rootstocks is absent. Photointerpretation of aerial images corroborated with field-based observations, show the impacts of exogenous projects since the French and Spanish Protectorate periods to contemporary projects of the state policy 'Plan Maroc Vert.' We discuss the importance of OOAs for the preservation of on-farm genetic resources, food security and as models for future agroecosystems within the context of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I Ambio i . https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01663-2 In our work (Reyes-García et al. [7]), we primarily address the current moment of international negotiations of the new post-2020 biodiversity framework that will directly affect Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC). We argue that current biodiversity negotiations and ensuing policies should be grounded on respecting IPLC rights and agency, including the recognition of Indigenous and local knowledge (ILK) in environmental governance. [Extracted from the article]

1. Despite significant interest in the sustainable use of medicinal plants, the population ecology of many medicinal plant species remains unstudied. Also, few demographic studies have compared effects of harvesting across habitats. We studied the demography of a highly threatened perennial Himalayan medicinal herb, Nardostachys grandiflora, in two habitats and examined effects of indigenous harvesting regimes on its population dynamics. 2. In a rocky-outcrop population in 1998, different levels of rhizome harvesting were applied directly by the local users. In meadows, we sampled an unharvested population and another population that was commercially harvested. Data on recruitment, growth and survival of individuals classified by size were gathered over 4 years. 3. Population growth rate (λ) was significantly higher in the unharvested meadow population than in control subplots of the outcrop population. Harvesting significantly reduced λ. Matrix model projections revealed that the size of outcrop populations would return to initial values within ≈5 years, only after 10% rhizome harvesting. In other treatments, recovery time varied from 17 (25% harvesting) to 33 (75%) years. In contrast, in the commercially harvested meadow population (with harvesting levels >25%), projected recovery time was 6 years. 4. Higher growth rates and faster recovery in meadow populations appear to be due to higher recruitment and faster vegetative growth. In outcrops, slow growth and low fecundity slow down recovery after harvesting. 5. Synthesis and application. Nardostachys grandiflora is extremely sensitive to harvesting of rhizomes, but this sensitivity is higher in outcrop than in meadow habitats. Given the constraints on its population growth and its high sensitivity to harvesting, N. grandiflora should be strictly managed, with low harvest rates (<10% in outcrop and <25% in meadow) and fairly long rotations (at least 5 years) between successive harvests. This work shows the importance of considering demographic variation across habitats when formulating specific management plans for threatened medicinal plants. It also demonstrates the importance of integrating local harvesting practices in ecological research for informing management. A large proportion of high-altitude perennial medicinal plants may be expected to be similarly sensitive to exploitation, requiring careful management to achieve sustainable harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]