Agroforestry Systems for Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Systems and Global Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2450

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Florence, Italy
Interests: cultural landscape; agroforestry; sustainable forest management; agricultural heritage; agrobiodiversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Via San Bonaventura 13, 50145 Florence, Italy
Interests: agroforestry; cultural landscape; landscape changes; forest; spatial analyses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agroforestry systems are recognized as being of fundamental importance for the wide range of ecosystem services they are able to provide to rural communities all over the world. One of the most important roles of Agroforestry Systems is linked to the creation and preservation of different habitats and microhabitats, as the result of the continuous application of traditional human practices, representing refuge areas, nesting areas, food reservoirs, or ecological networks for different species. In addition, these systems have often contributed to the creation of unique cultural landscapes.

In the last century, the intensification of agricultural practices and, on the other side, their abandonment in marginal rural areas, have led to the decrease of traditional Agroforestry Systems in many regions of the world, with negative consequences for the associated biodiversity and cultural landscapes.

The aim of the Special Issue is to collect papers dealing with biodiversity and landscape assessments, conservation and planning, in areas characterized by the presence of Agroforestry Systems, in particular in those areas affected by the abandonment of traditional practices.

All research articles dealing with Agroforestry Systems are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Biodiversity assessment and conservation;
  • Landscape planning and/or monitoring;
  • Landscape analyses through GIS software with innovative methodologies;
  • Land use/cover changes mapping;
  • Landscape perception;
  • Experiences of public participation for territorial management and planning.

Dr. Antonio Santoro
Guest Editor

Francesco Piras
Guest Editor Assistant

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • agroforestry systems
  • biodiversity
  • cultural landscape
  • landscape conservation
  • agricultural heritage

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 1420 KiB  
Article
Productivity, Soil Health, and Tree Diversity in Dynamic Cacao Agroforestry Systems in Ecuador
by Summer L. Allen, Lenin Alejandro Robayo, Carla D. Martin and José Lopez Ganem
Land 2024, 13(7), 959; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070959 - 29 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1784
Abstract
Agroforestry has the potential to support more resilient livelihoods, soil health, and biodiversity, when compared to monocropping. In Ecuador, the Union of Cacao Peasant Organizations (UNOCACE) has been working with producers since 2016 to transition cacao plots to a dynamic agroforestry system that [...] Read more.
Agroforestry has the potential to support more resilient livelihoods, soil health, and biodiversity, when compared to monocropping. In Ecuador, the Union of Cacao Peasant Organizations (UNOCACE) has been working with producers since 2016 to transition cacao plots to a dynamic agroforestry system that includes timber and fruit species as well as ground cover in addition to cacao. This study evaluates the application of this model and its implications for agricultural production, livelihoods, and soil health through producer surveys and field-based sampling. The program is resulting in significantly more timber and fruit trees on the cacao plots. Despite this, cacao production and income have not decreased in a significant way, once accounting for the number of producing trees on the plots. In addition, while additional labor is utilized on the dynamic agroforestry plots, after utilizing a matching procedure, no significant difference is seen in total crop productivity for each day of labor utilized. Over time, total productivity could increase for the dynamic agroforestry plots as the companion crops and trees mature. As the program is relatively new and has undergone some changes, additional studies are needed to understand the benefits or challenges, especially for soil health, that might be realized further in the lifespan of the program. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agroforestry Systems for Biodiversity and Landscape Conservation)
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