Agroforestry : an appropriate and sustainable response to a changing climate in Southern Africa?
Jonathan Sheppard,Rafael Bohn Reckziegel,Lars Borrass,Paxie W. Chirwa,Claudio J. Cuaranhua,Sibylle Hassler,Svenja Hoffmeister,Florian Kestel,Rebekka Maier,Mirko Mälicke,Christopher Morhart,Nicholas. P. Ndlovu,Maik Veste,Roger Funk,Friedericke Lang,Thomas Seifert,Ben du Toit,Hans-Peter Kahle +17 more
TLDR
In this article, the authors review the current literature to investigate if agroforestry systems (AFS) are a suitable response to the challenges besetting traditional agricultural caused by a changing climate.Abstract:
Agroforestry is often discussed as a strategy that can be used both for the adaptation to and the mitigation of climate change effects. The climate of southern Africa is predicted to be severely affected by such changes. With agriculture noted as the continent’s largest economic sector, issues such as food security and land degradation are in the forefront. In the light of such concerns we review the current literature to investigate if agroforestry systems (AFS) are a suitable response to the challenges besetting traditional agricultural caused by a changing climate. The benefits bestowed by AFS are multiple, offering ecosystem services, influence over crop production and positive impacts on rural livelihoods through provisioning and income generation. Nevertheless, knowledge gaps remain. We identify outstanding questions requiring further investigation such as the interplay between trees and crops and their combination, with a discussion of potential benefits. Furthermore, we identify deficiencies in the institutional and policy frameworks that underlie the adoption and stimulus of AFS in the southern African region. We uphold the concept that AFS remains an appropriate and sustainable response for an increased resilience against a changing climate in southern Africa for the benefit of livelihoods and multiple environmental values.read more
Citations
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The Future of Food: Domestication and Commercialization of Indigenous Food Crops in Africa over the Third Decade (2012–2021)
Roger R. B. Leakey,Marie-Louise Tientcheu Avana,Nyong Princely Awazi,Achille Ephrem Assogbadjo,Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi,Prasad S. Hendre,Ann Degrande,Sithabile Hlahla,Leonard Manda +8 more
TL;DR: A review of progress in the third decade is restricted to progress in Africa, where multi-disciplinary research on over 59 species has been reported in 759 research papers in 318 science publications by scientists from over 833 research teams in 70 countries around the world (532 in Africa) as discussed by the authors .
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Agroforestry Systems and Their Contribution to Supplying Forest Products to Communities in the Chure Range, Central Nepal
TL;DR: In this article, the adoption of various agroforestry practices contributed to people's livelihoods in the Bakaiya rural municipality of Makawanpur District, where Agri-silviculture was found to be the dominant form.
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A Scientometric Analysis of Worldwide Intercropping Research Based on Web of Science Database between 1992 and 2020
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the research status and evolution of intercropping, identify the influential authors, research centers, and articles, and reveal the main research topics between 1992 and 2020 based on the Web of Science Core Collection database.
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Modelling and Comparing Shading Effects of 3D Tree Structures with Virtual Leaves
TL;DR: In this paper, a leaf creation algorithm was presented to generate realistic leaves to be placed upon quantitative structure models (QSMs) of real trees, and an enhanced approach of a 3D model capable of quantifying shading effects of a tree, at a high temporal and spatial resolution.
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Competition, stress and benefits: Trees and crops in the transition zone of a temperate short rotation alley cropping agroforestry system
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated various climatic and plant growth parameters of a temperate short rotation alley cropping agroforestry system (SRACS) with fast growing poplars in northern Germany.
References
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