Agroforestry for Ecosystem Services and Environmental Benefits

Agroforestry for Ecosystem Services and Environmental Benefits

Author: Shibu Jose

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2012-03-14

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789400730489

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Agroforestry systems are believed to provide a number of ecosystem services; however, until recently evidence in the agroforestry literature supporting these perceived benefits has been lacking. This volume brings together a series of papers from around the globe to address recent findings on the ecosystem services and environmental benefits provided by agroforestry. Specifically, this volume examines four major ecosystem services and environmental benefits: (1) carbon sequestration, (2) biodiversity conservation, (3) soil enrichment and (4) air and water quality. Past and present evidence clearly indicates that agroforestry, as part of a multifunctional working landscape, can be a viable land-use option that, in addition to alleviating poverty, offers a number of ecosystem services and environmental benefits. This realization should help promote agroforestry and its role as an integral part of a multifunctional working landscape the world over. The book should be particularly useful to students, professionals, researchers and policy makers involved in natural resource management, agroforestry, biodiversity conservation, and environmental management. Reprinted from Agroforestry Systems, Volume 76, No. 1 (2009)


Book Synopsis Agroforestry for Ecosystem Services and Environmental Benefits by : Shibu Jose

Download or read book Agroforestry for Ecosystem Services and Environmental Benefits written by Shibu Jose and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-03-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroforestry systems are believed to provide a number of ecosystem services; however, until recently evidence in the agroforestry literature supporting these perceived benefits has been lacking. This volume brings together a series of papers from around the globe to address recent findings on the ecosystem services and environmental benefits provided by agroforestry. Specifically, this volume examines four major ecosystem services and environmental benefits: (1) carbon sequestration, (2) biodiversity conservation, (3) soil enrichment and (4) air and water quality. Past and present evidence clearly indicates that agroforestry, as part of a multifunctional working landscape, can be a viable land-use option that, in addition to alleviating poverty, offers a number of ecosystem services and environmental benefits. This realization should help promote agroforestry and its role as an integral part of a multifunctional working landscape the world over. The book should be particularly useful to students, professionals, researchers and policy makers involved in natural resource management, agroforestry, biodiversity conservation, and environmental management. Reprinted from Agroforestry Systems, Volume 76, No. 1 (2009)

Agroforestry and Ecosystem Services

Agroforestry and Ecosystem Services

Author: Ranjith P. Udawatta

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-10-22

Total Pages: 517

ISBN-13: 3030800601

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This book is a state-of-the-art compilation of the latest information on ecosystem services of agroforestry. The last two decades have seen a surge in literature on the ecosystem services of sustainable agriculture practices, including that of agroforestry; however, compilation and synthesis of such information from agroforestry have been limited. This book fills that void by bringing in a number of experts from around the world. In addition to presenting the multiple dimensions of ecosystem services provided by major agroforestry practices, the book also offers case studies from both tropical and temperate regions of the world. Information from this book can be used to design land management practices for climate change mitigation, ecosystem benefits, agricultural productivity and sustainability, and for survival and profitability of family farms and to conserve biodiversity. While synthesizing information of the biophysical aspects of ecosystem services, the book also outlines the socioeconomic and policy dimensions, including appropriate incentive models to enhance adoption of agroforestry so that society at large can enjoy these important benefits


Book Synopsis Agroforestry and Ecosystem Services by : Ranjith P. Udawatta

Download or read book Agroforestry and Ecosystem Services written by Ranjith P. Udawatta and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-10-22 with total page 517 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a state-of-the-art compilation of the latest information on ecosystem services of agroforestry. The last two decades have seen a surge in literature on the ecosystem services of sustainable agriculture practices, including that of agroforestry; however, compilation and synthesis of such information from agroforestry have been limited. This book fills that void by bringing in a number of experts from around the world. In addition to presenting the multiple dimensions of ecosystem services provided by major agroforestry practices, the book also offers case studies from both tropical and temperate regions of the world. Information from this book can be used to design land management practices for climate change mitigation, ecosystem benefits, agricultural productivity and sustainability, and for survival and profitability of family farms and to conserve biodiversity. While synthesizing information of the biophysical aspects of ecosystem services, the book also outlines the socioeconomic and policy dimensions, including appropriate incentive models to enhance adoption of agroforestry so that society at large can enjoy these important benefits

Ecosystem Services from Agriculture and Agroforestry

Ecosystem Services from Agriculture and Agroforestry

Author: Bruno Rapidel

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-06-25

Total Pages: 449

ISBN-13: 1136537619

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Agricultural systems are no longer evaluated solely on the basis of the food they provide, but also on their capacity to limit impacts on the environment, such as soil conservation, water quality and biodiversity conservation, as well as their contribution to mitigating and adapting to climate change. In order to cope with these multiple service functions, they must internalize the costs and benefits of their environmental impact. Payments for ecosystem services are hoped to encourage and promote sustainable practices via financial incentives. The authors show that while the principle is straightforward, the practice is much more complicated. Whereas scenic beauty and protection of water sources provide benefits to the local population, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation can be considered international public goods, rendering potential payment schemes more complex. Few examples exist where national or international bodies have been able to set up viable mechanisms that compensate agricultural systems for the environmental services they provide. However this book provides several examples of successful programs, and aims to transfer them to other regions of the world. The authors show that a product can be sold if it is clearly quantified, there exists a means to determine the service's values, and there is a willing buyer. The first two sections of the book present methodological issues related to the quantification and marketing of ecosystem services from agriculture, including agroforestry. The third and final section presents case studies of practical payments for ecosystem services and experiences in Central and South America, and draws some lessons learnt for effective and sustainable development of ecosystem services compensation mechanisms.


Book Synopsis Ecosystem Services from Agriculture and Agroforestry by : Bruno Rapidel

Download or read book Ecosystem Services from Agriculture and Agroforestry written by Bruno Rapidel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-06-25 with total page 449 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agricultural systems are no longer evaluated solely on the basis of the food they provide, but also on their capacity to limit impacts on the environment, such as soil conservation, water quality and biodiversity conservation, as well as their contribution to mitigating and adapting to climate change. In order to cope with these multiple service functions, they must internalize the costs and benefits of their environmental impact. Payments for ecosystem services are hoped to encourage and promote sustainable practices via financial incentives. The authors show that while the principle is straightforward, the practice is much more complicated. Whereas scenic beauty and protection of water sources provide benefits to the local population, carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation can be considered international public goods, rendering potential payment schemes more complex. Few examples exist where national or international bodies have been able to set up viable mechanisms that compensate agricultural systems for the environmental services they provide. However this book provides several examples of successful programs, and aims to transfer them to other regions of the world. The authors show that a product can be sold if it is clearly quantified, there exists a means to determine the service's values, and there is a willing buyer. The first two sections of the book present methodological issues related to the quantification and marketing of ecosystem services from agriculture, including agroforestry. The third and final section presents case studies of practical payments for ecosystem services and experiences in Central and South America, and draws some lessons learnt for effective and sustainable development of ecosystem services compensation mechanisms.

Agroforestry Systems

Agroforestry Systems

Author: Scott X. Chang

Publisher: MDPI

Published: 2020-05-13

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 303928164X

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Planting trees in the agricultural landscape, in the form of establishing agroforestry systems, has a significant role to play in potentially improving ecosystem services, such as increased biodiversity, reduced soil erosion, increased soil carbon storage, improved food security and nutrition, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. While the role of trees in agroforestry systems in improving ecosystem services has been researched, studies in new systems/regions and new agroforestry system designs are still emerging. This Special Issue includes selected papers presented at the 4th World Congress on Agroforestry, Montpellier, France 20–22 May 2019, and other volunteer papers. The scope of articles includes all aspects of agroforestry systems.


Book Synopsis Agroforestry Systems by : Scott X. Chang

Download or read book Agroforestry Systems written by Scott X. Chang and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2020-05-13 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Planting trees in the agricultural landscape, in the form of establishing agroforestry systems, has a significant role to play in potentially improving ecosystem services, such as increased biodiversity, reduced soil erosion, increased soil carbon storage, improved food security and nutrition, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. While the role of trees in agroforestry systems in improving ecosystem services has been researched, studies in new systems/regions and new agroforestry system designs are still emerging. This Special Issue includes selected papers presented at the 4th World Congress on Agroforestry, Montpellier, France 20–22 May 2019, and other volunteer papers. The scope of articles includes all aspects of agroforestry systems.

Climate Change-Resilient Agriculture and Agroforestry

Climate Change-Resilient Agriculture and Agroforestry

Author: Paula Castro

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2019-01-24

Total Pages: 520

ISBN-13: 3319750046

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This book collects wide-ranging contributions such as case studies, reviews, reports on technological developments, outputs of research/studies, and examples of successful projects, presenting current knowledge and raising awareness to help the agriculture and forestry sectors find solutions for mitigating climate variability and adapting to change. It brings the topic of ecosystem services closer to education and learning, as targeted by the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. Climate change and its impacts on agriculture and agroforestry have been observed across the world during the last 50 years. Increasing temperatures, droughts, biotic stresses and the impacts of extreme events have continuously decreased agroforestry systems’ resilience to the effects of climate change. As such, there is a need to adapt farming and agroforestry systems so as to make them better able to handle ever-changing climate conditions, and to preserve habitats and ecosystems services.


Book Synopsis Climate Change-Resilient Agriculture and Agroforestry by : Paula Castro

Download or read book Climate Change-Resilient Agriculture and Agroforestry written by Paula Castro and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-01-24 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book collects wide-ranging contributions such as case studies, reviews, reports on technological developments, outputs of research/studies, and examples of successful projects, presenting current knowledge and raising awareness to help the agriculture and forestry sectors find solutions for mitigating climate variability and adapting to change. It brings the topic of ecosystem services closer to education and learning, as targeted by the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020. Climate change and its impacts on agriculture and agroforestry have been observed across the world during the last 50 years. Increasing temperatures, droughts, biotic stresses and the impacts of extreme events have continuously decreased agroforestry systems’ resilience to the effects of climate change. As such, there is a need to adapt farming and agroforestry systems so as to make them better able to handle ever-changing climate conditions, and to preserve habitats and ecosystems services.

Agroforestry-Based Ecosystem Services

Agroforestry-Based Ecosystem Services

Author: Meine van Noordwijk

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages: 476

ISBN-13: 9783036517414

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As a dynamic interface between agriculture and forestry, agroforestry has only recently been formally recognized as a relevant part of land use with 'trees outside forest' in important parts of the world--but not everywhere yet. The Sustainable Development Goals have called attention to the need for the multifunctionality of landscapes that simultaneously contribute to multiple goals. In the UN decade of landscape restoration, as well as in response to the climate change urgency and biodiversity extinction crisis, an increase in global tree cover is widely seen as desirable, but its management by farmers or forest managers remains contested. Agroforestry research relates tree-soil-crop-livestock interactions at the plot level with landscape-level analysis of social-ecological systems and efforts to transcend the historical dichotomy between forest and agriculture as separate policy domains. An 'ecosystem services' perspective quantifies land productivity, flows of water, net greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity conservation, and combines an 'actor' perspective (farmer, landscape manager) with that of 'downstream' stakeholders (in the same watershed, ecologically conscious consumers elsewhere, global citizens) and higher-level regulators designing land-use policies and spatial zoning.


Book Synopsis Agroforestry-Based Ecosystem Services by : Meine van Noordwijk

Download or read book Agroforestry-Based Ecosystem Services written by Meine van Noordwijk and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a dynamic interface between agriculture and forestry, agroforestry has only recently been formally recognized as a relevant part of land use with 'trees outside forest' in important parts of the world--but not everywhere yet. The Sustainable Development Goals have called attention to the need for the multifunctionality of landscapes that simultaneously contribute to multiple goals. In the UN decade of landscape restoration, as well as in response to the climate change urgency and biodiversity extinction crisis, an increase in global tree cover is widely seen as desirable, but its management by farmers or forest managers remains contested. Agroforestry research relates tree-soil-crop-livestock interactions at the plot level with landscape-level analysis of social-ecological systems and efforts to transcend the historical dichotomy between forest and agriculture as separate policy domains. An 'ecosystem services' perspective quantifies land productivity, flows of water, net greenhouse gas emissions, and biodiversity conservation, and combines an 'actor' perspective (farmer, landscape manager) with that of 'downstream' stakeholders (in the same watershed, ecologically conscious consumers elsewhere, global citizens) and higher-level regulators designing land-use policies and spatial zoning.

Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes

Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes

Author: Götz Schroth

Publisher: Island Press

Published: 2013-03-22

Total Pages: 537

ISBN-13: 1597267449

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Agroforestry -- the practice of integrating trees and other large woody perennials on farms and throughout the agricultural landscape -- is increasingly recognized as a useful and promising strategy that diversifies production for greater social, economic, and environmental benefits. Agroforestry and BiodiversityConservation in Tropical Landscapes brings together 46 scientists and practitioners from 13 countries with decades of field experience in tropical regions to explore how agroforestry practices can help promote biodiversity conservation in human-dominated landscapes, to synthesize the current state of knowledge in the field, and to identify areas where further research is needed. Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes is the first comprehensive synthesis of the role of agroforestry systems in conserving biodiversity in tropical landscapes, and contains in-depth review chapters of most agroforestry systems, with examples from many different countries. It is a valuable source of information for scientists, researchers, professors, and students in the fields of conservation biology, resource management, tropical ecology, rural development, agroforestry, and agroecology.


Book Synopsis Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes by : Götz Schroth

Download or read book Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes written by Götz Schroth and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2013-03-22 with total page 537 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroforestry -- the practice of integrating trees and other large woody perennials on farms and throughout the agricultural landscape -- is increasingly recognized as a useful and promising strategy that diversifies production for greater social, economic, and environmental benefits. Agroforestry and BiodiversityConservation in Tropical Landscapes brings together 46 scientists and practitioners from 13 countries with decades of field experience in tropical regions to explore how agroforestry practices can help promote biodiversity conservation in human-dominated landscapes, to synthesize the current state of knowledge in the field, and to identify areas where further research is needed. Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes is the first comprehensive synthesis of the role of agroforestry systems in conserving biodiversity in tropical landscapes, and contains in-depth review chapters of most agroforestry systems, with examples from many different countries. It is a valuable source of information for scientists, researchers, professors, and students in the fields of conservation biology, resource management, tropical ecology, rural development, agroforestry, and agroecology.

Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems

Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems

Author: Yale University

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2006-03-03

Total Pages: 152

ISBN-13: 9781560221319

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Get cutting-edge agroforestry research and data Deforestation and the rampant use of fossil fuels are major contributors to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and are enormous influences on global warming. Agroforestry systems and tree plantations can help mitigate the resulting climate change and degradation of biodiversity and accelerating climate change. Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems addresses these global concerns with an essential collection of presentations on biodiversity and climate change from the First World Congress in Agroforestry (Orlando, Florida, 2004). Respected experts discuss the latest research and data on how agroforestry systems can help solve environmental problems through carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. Years ago, agroforestry’s environmental benefits were mainly seen as being soil amelioration, erosion control, microclimate control, and the alleviation of the effects of drought in semiarid areas. Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems goes beyond the regional considerations of years past to focus on the challenges of today’s most pressing global environmental concerns. The contributors describe the latest research and concepts in agroforestry systems, reforestation efforts, soils, vegetation, and agriculture while reviewing their economic aspects. Incentives for reforestation and agroforestry are explored in detail. Each chapter is carefully referenced and includes tables to clarify ideas and data. Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems addresses: advantages of mixed-species plantations tropical pasture and silvo-pastoral systems tropical forest ecosystem management research on the economic feasibility of various land-use systems socio-economic considerations of coffee-growing ecosystems agroforestry systems in Costa Rica Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems is essential reading for researchers and scientists, as well as professionals in agroforestry, forestry, soils, global change, climate change, and environmental studies, educators, and graduate and undergraduate students.


Book Synopsis Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems by : Yale University

Download or read book Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems written by Yale University and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2006-03-03 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get cutting-edge agroforestry research and data Deforestation and the rampant use of fossil fuels are major contributors to increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide and are enormous influences on global warming. Agroforestry systems and tree plantations can help mitigate the resulting climate change and degradation of biodiversity and accelerating climate change. Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems addresses these global concerns with an essential collection of presentations on biodiversity and climate change from the First World Congress in Agroforestry (Orlando, Florida, 2004). Respected experts discuss the latest research and data on how agroforestry systems can help solve environmental problems through carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation. Years ago, agroforestry’s environmental benefits were mainly seen as being soil amelioration, erosion control, microclimate control, and the alleviation of the effects of drought in semiarid areas. Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems goes beyond the regional considerations of years past to focus on the challenges of today’s most pressing global environmental concerns. The contributors describe the latest research and concepts in agroforestry systems, reforestation efforts, soils, vegetation, and agriculture while reviewing their economic aspects. Incentives for reforestation and agroforestry are explored in detail. Each chapter is carefully referenced and includes tables to clarify ideas and data. Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems addresses: advantages of mixed-species plantations tropical pasture and silvo-pastoral systems tropical forest ecosystem management research on the economic feasibility of various land-use systems socio-economic considerations of coffee-growing ecosystems agroforestry systems in Costa Rica Environmental Services of Agroforestry Systems is essential reading for researchers and scientists, as well as professionals in agroforestry, forestry, soils, global change, climate change, and environmental studies, educators, and graduate and undergraduate students.

Agroforestry in Europe

Agroforestry in Europe

Author: Antonio Rigueiro-Rodríguez

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2008-11-09

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 140208272X

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Agroforestry has come of age during the past three decades. The age-old practice of growing trees and crops and sometimes animals in interacting combinations – that has been ignored in the single-commodity-oriented agricultural and forestry development paradigms – has been brought into the realm of modern land-use. Today agroforestry is well on its way to becoming a specialized science at a level similar to those of crop science and forestry science. To most land-use experts, however, agroforestry has a tropical connotation. They consider agroforestry as something that can and can only be identified with the tropics. That is a wrong perception. While it is true that the tropics, compared to the temperate regions, have a wider array of agroforestry systems and hold greater promise for potential agroforestry interventions, it is also true that agroforestry has several opportunities in the temperate regions too. Indeed, the role of agroforestry is now recognized in Europe as exemplified by this book, North America, and elsewhere in the temperate zone. Current interest in ecosystem management in industrialized countries strongly suggests that there is a need to embrace and apply agroforestry principles to help mitigate the environmental problems caused or exacerbated by commercial agricultural and forestry production enterprises.


Book Synopsis Agroforestry in Europe by : Antonio Rigueiro-Rodríguez

Download or read book Agroforestry in Europe written by Antonio Rigueiro-Rodríguez and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2008-11-09 with total page 455 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroforestry has come of age during the past three decades. The age-old practice of growing trees and crops and sometimes animals in interacting combinations – that has been ignored in the single-commodity-oriented agricultural and forestry development paradigms – has been brought into the realm of modern land-use. Today agroforestry is well on its way to becoming a specialized science at a level similar to those of crop science and forestry science. To most land-use experts, however, agroforestry has a tropical connotation. They consider agroforestry as something that can and can only be identified with the tropics. That is a wrong perception. While it is true that the tropics, compared to the temperate regions, have a wider array of agroforestry systems and hold greater promise for potential agroforestry interventions, it is also true that agroforestry has several opportunities in the temperate regions too. Indeed, the role of agroforestry is now recognized in Europe as exemplified by this book, North America, and elsewhere in the temperate zone. Current interest in ecosystem management in industrialized countries strongly suggests that there is a need to embrace and apply agroforestry principles to help mitigate the environmental problems caused or exacerbated by commercial agricultural and forestry production enterprises.

Integrating Landscapes: Agroforestry for Biodiversity Conservation and Food Sovereignty

Integrating Landscapes: Agroforestry for Biodiversity Conservation and Food Sovereignty

Author: Florencia Montagnini

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2018-01-24

Total Pages: 501

ISBN-13: 3319693719

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Agroforestry systems (AFS) are becoming increasingly relevant worldwide as society has come to recognize their multiple roles and services: biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, adaptation and mitigation of climate change, restoration of degraded ecosystems, and tools for rural development. This book summarizes advances in agroforestry research and practice and raises questions as to the effectiveness of AFS to solve the development and environmental challenges the world presents us today. Currently AFS are considered to be a land use that can achieve a compromise among productive and environmental functions. Apparently, AFS can play a significant role in rural development even in the most challenging socioeconomic and ecological conditions, but still there is a lot of work to do to reach these goals. Considerable funding is spent in projects directed to enhancing productivity and sustainability of smallholders forestry and agroforestry practices. These projects and programs face many questions and challenges related to the integration of traditional knowledge to promote the most suitable systems for each situation; access to markets for AFS products, and scaling up of successful AFS. These complex questions need innovative approaches from varying perspectives and knowledge bases. This book gathers fresh and novel contributions from a set of Yale University researchers and associates who intend to provide alternative and sometimes departing insights into these pressing questions. The book focuses on the functions that AFS can provide when well designed and implemented: their role in rural development as they can improve food security and sovereignty and contribute to provision of energy needs to the smallholders; and their environmental functions: contribution to biodiversity conservation, to increased connectivity of fragmented landscapes, and adaptation and mitigation of climate change. The chapters present conceptual aspects and case studies ranging from traditional to more modern approaches, from tropical as well as from temperate regions of the world, with examples of the AFS functions mentioned above.


Book Synopsis Integrating Landscapes: Agroforestry for Biodiversity Conservation and Food Sovereignty by : Florencia Montagnini

Download or read book Integrating Landscapes: Agroforestry for Biodiversity Conservation and Food Sovereignty written by Florencia Montagnini and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-01-24 with total page 501 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agroforestry systems (AFS) are becoming increasingly relevant worldwide as society has come to recognize their multiple roles and services: biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration, adaptation and mitigation of climate change, restoration of degraded ecosystems, and tools for rural development. This book summarizes advances in agroforestry research and practice and raises questions as to the effectiveness of AFS to solve the development and environmental challenges the world presents us today. Currently AFS are considered to be a land use that can achieve a compromise among productive and environmental functions. Apparently, AFS can play a significant role in rural development even in the most challenging socioeconomic and ecological conditions, but still there is a lot of work to do to reach these goals. Considerable funding is spent in projects directed to enhancing productivity and sustainability of smallholders forestry and agroforestry practices. These projects and programs face many questions and challenges related to the integration of traditional knowledge to promote the most suitable systems for each situation; access to markets for AFS products, and scaling up of successful AFS. These complex questions need innovative approaches from varying perspectives and knowledge bases. This book gathers fresh and novel contributions from a set of Yale University researchers and associates who intend to provide alternative and sometimes departing insights into these pressing questions. The book focuses on the functions that AFS can provide when well designed and implemented: their role in rural development as they can improve food security and sovereignty and contribute to provision of energy needs to the smallholders; and their environmental functions: contribution to biodiversity conservation, to increased connectivity of fragmented landscapes, and adaptation and mitigation of climate change. The chapters present conceptual aspects and case studies ranging from traditional to more modern approaches, from tropical as well as from temperate regions of the world, with examples of the AFS functions mentioned above.