Journal ArticleDOI
Ecological interactions, management lessons and design tools in tropical agroforestry systems
L. García-Barrios,C. K. Ong +1 more
TLDR
In this paper, the authors synthesize positive and negative effects of trees on crops, and discuss how these effects interact under different environmental resource conditions and how this imposes tradeoffs, biophysical limitations and management requirements in simultaneous agroforestry systems.Abstract:
During the 1980s, land- and labor-intensive simultaneous agroforestry systems (SAFS) were promoted in the tropics, based on the optimism on tree-crop niche differentiation and its potential for designing tree-crop mixtures using high tree-densities. In the 1990s it became clearer that although trees would yield crucial products and facilitate simultaneous growing of crops, they would also exert strong competitive effects on crops. In the meanwhile, a number of instruments for measuring the use of growth resources, exploratory and predictive models, and production assessment tools were developed to aid in understanding the opportunities and biophysical limits of SAFS. Following a review of the basic concepts of interspecific competition and facilitation between plants in general, this chapter synthesizes positive and negative effects of trees on crops, and discusses how these effects interact under different environmental resource conditions and how this imposes tradeoffs, biophysical limitations and management requirements in SAFS. The scope and limits of some of the research methods and tools, such as analytical and simulation models, that are available for assessing and predicting to a certain extent the productive outcome of SAFS are also discussed. The review brings out clearly the need for looking beyond yield performance in order to secure long-term management of farms and landscapes, by considering the environmental impacts and functions of SAFS.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Mixing plant species in cropping systems: concepts, tools and models. A review
Eric Malézieux,Yves Crozat,Christian Dupraz,Marilyne Laurans,David Makowski,H. Ozier-Lafontaine,Bruno Rapidel,S. de Tourdonnet,Muriel Valantin-Morison +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, a literature survey shows potential advantages such as higher overall productivity, better control of pests and diseases, enhanced ecological services and greater economic profitability for mixed species cropping systems.
Journal ArticleDOI
Mixed-species plantations of Eucalyptus with nitrogen-fixing trees: A review
David I. Forrester,David I. Forrester,Jürgen Bauhus,Jürgen Bauhus,Annette Cowie,Jerome K. Vanclay +5 more
TL;DR: It appears as though eucalypts can benefit from fixed N as early as the first or second year following plantation establishment, and a meta-analysis of 18 published studies revealed several trials in which mixtures were significantly 15 (P<0.001) more productive than monocultures.
Journal ArticleDOI
Interspecific interactions in temperate agroforestry
TL;DR: The review shows that information on ecological interactions in several temperate agroforestry systems is inadequate and it is recommended that the future research should focus on exploring new species and systems that have received little attention in the past.
Journal ArticleDOI
Ecology of tree intercropping systems in the North temperate region: Experiences from southern Ontario, Canada
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the experience from several years of research on this aspect at the University of Guelph, in southern Ontario, Canada are presented, and suggest that this land-management option can be placed above conventional agriculture in terms of long term productivity and sustainability.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
The Limiting Similarity, Convergence, and Divergence of Coexisting Species
TL;DR: The total number of species is proportional to the total range of the environment divided by the niche breadth of the species, which is reduced by unequal abundance of resources but increased by adding to the dimensionality of the niche.
Book
The ecology of intercropping
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an approach for planning intercrops based on the competitive production principle and a mechanistic approach for the planning of inter-crops in the field of ecology.
BookDOI
Nitrogen fixation in tropical cropping systems.
TL;DR: Tropical environments - climates, soils and cropping systems nitrogen fixing organisms in the tropics nitrogen fixation process and its role in the tropical crops and Cropping systems - cereal crops and grasses, wetland rice, grain legumes, legumes as animal fodder, plantation crops, agroforestry optimizing contributions from nitrogen fixation as discussed by the authors.