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► Journal BrowserSpecial Issue "Benefits Enclosed in Agroforestry-Based Systems"
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Forestry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 February 2022.
Special Issue Editor
Interests: agroforestry; agro-ecology; biodiversity; climate change; climate smart agriculture; landscape quality; resilience; soil functions, viticulture
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Agricultural systems are faced with new challenges and opportunities, from feeding an expanding global population, to producing more food on fewer hectares while increasing resilience and reducing the environmental footprint.
Sustainable agricultural intensification has attracted attention worldwide as an emerging paradigm of agricultural, biological, and environmental sciences. Sustainable intensification looks at whole landscapes, territories, and ecosystems to optimize resource utilization and management and to increase the “knowledge per hectare”.
Agroforestry systems can represent a form of agriculture “alternative” to the conventional one, capable of providing multi-functional environmental, agronomic, economic, and social benefits to support the sustainable improvement of food, nutrition, and economic security. Agroforestry systems work towards land protection and conservation, and can have immense benefits for both the environment and the farmer, and stimulate the whole rural economy.
This Special Issue will include selected papers from these ecologically based natural resource management systems, which have already been adopted in many parts of the world, combined with the smart-climate agriculture approach, through the adoption of new technological trends such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Special attention will be given to studies that analyze the viability of agroforestry as strategic systems that can provide a more balanced set of provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural ecosystem services.
Above all, this Special Issue aims to reap the significant economic and environmental benefits of agroforestry systems, able to increase resilience while contributing to support ecosystem functions and preserve natural resources.
Prof. Elena Brunori
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- greening practices
- organic farming
- precision farming
- agro-ecology
- landscape ecology
- sustainability
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Planned Papers 1:
Tentative Title: Is soil functionality affected by familiar farming? Testing active managed and abandoned traditional tree-crop based systems
Authors: Rita Biasi 1, Elena Brunori 1,* and Roberta Farina 2
Affiliations:
1. Department for Innovation in Biological Agrofood and Forest systems, Tuscia University, 01100 Viterbo, Italy; [email protected]
2. Department for Innovation in Biological Agrofood and Forest systems, Tuscia University, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
3. CREA-AA; [email protected]
Correspondence: [email protected]
Abstract: In traditional agricultural areas, where traditional crops are cultivated, small farms are still highly represented. Located prevalently in marginal and sensitive areas, agricultural surfaces have undergone deep transformation. Smallholders have only to a little extend maintained the traditional asset of cultivation (extensive and low input requirement management). In some cases the have adapted traditional orchards into more intensive planting systems or, frequently, they have abandoned agriculture. The soil management practices are highly influencing soil functionality. In order to asses whether small farms are environmentally sustainable we tested a set of soil quality indicators in three traditional tree crops in the Latium region (central Italy), like hazelnut, grapevine and Citrus. The soil parameter were quantified under three different management models: extensive cultivation, intensive cultivation and abandonment. Statistics proved that soil carbon balance was particularly positive in hazelnut orchards, independently from farming management, while vineyard showed the lower TOC. In general, extensive cultivation performed better in terms of soil quality than intensive or abandonment. This study suggests that a transition to an agriculture based on agroecological principles and in particular toward extensification would provide in marginal sensitive areas significant soil-based environmental benefits.
Keywords: abandoned land; traditional agricultural landscape; agro-forestry; Citrus x sinensis; Corylus avellana; intensification; extensification; Vitis vinifera
Planned Paper 2:
Tentative Title: Urban and Peri-urban Agrosilviculture in Mexico
Authors: Ana Isabel Moreno Calles, Ek del Val, Karla Guzmán, Vianey Rangel, Aldair Valencia, Katia Moreno, Tzitzi Delgado and Abelardo Peréz-Monroy
Tentative Abstract: The Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture and Agroforestry (AFUP) refer to the relationships of urban and peri-urban inhabitants (agroforestry) with the agricultural and forest diversity (wild and domesticated of animals, plants, and fungi) in the cities and their surroundings. The AFUP is consistent with the objectives, motivations, feelings, and actions of the human groups that develop it (peasants, rural migrants, native peoples, new agroforestry farmers) due to its integration and resistance to the urban and peri-urban fabric and its possibility of interaction with the rest of urban functions. This work articulates information from print and digital media, as well as fieldwork. These practices in large and intermediate cities (Mexico City and Morelia) favor the maintenance of ecological relationships, the satisfaction of food, health and recreation needs, and access to economic income, and the incorporation of ecotechnologies into urban life.
Planned Papers 3:
Title: The challenge of a sustainable crop and weed management in the era of Green Deal of EU
Authors: Dr. Ilias Travlos
Affiliation: Faculty of Crop Science, Agricultural University of Athens, 118 55 Athens, Greece
Abstract: Overreliance on pesticides has transformed agriculture in many cases into a vulnerable system that is degraded by the negative effects of climate change. Herbicides pose a major commodity in crop protection and are highly needed in the context of sustainable agricultural production. Recently, EU citizens’ ambitions and needs for safer, healthier, and more ecologically friendly products and practices shift modern agriculture towards a more resilient type of production and consumption. Several strategic plans and directives have been released in global scale to meet the demands for less chemical reliant agriculture. EU Green Deal aims to reduce by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 2030. The introduction of non-chemical alternatives for weed management refers to the principles of Integrated Pest Management (IPM), including novel cultivation techniques (such as stale seedbed, conservation tillage, or sowing densities and dates adjustments), crop rotation, biological agents and natural substances, cover crops, and new technologies and precision agriculture tools (such as Decision Support Systems). This review aims to provide a holistic framework for a sustainable weed management to reduce gas emissions and ensure plant protection by enhancing the biodiversity and securing farmer income in the era of Green Deal of EU.