Aim: Past land use legacy effects-extinction debts and immigration credits-might be particularly pronounced in regions characterized by complex and dynamic landscape change. The aim of this study was to evaluate how current woody plant species distribution, composition and richness related to historical and present land uses.Location: A smallholder farming landscape in south-western Ethiopia. Methods:We surveyed woody plants in 72 randomly selected 1-ha sites in farmland and grouped them into forest specialist, generalist and pioneer species. First, we investigated woody plant composition and distribution using non-metric multidimensional scaling. Second, we modelled species richness in response to historical and current distance from the forest edge. Third, we examined diameter class distributions of trees in recently converted vs. permanent farmland.Results: Historical distance was a primary driver of woody plant composition and distribution. Generalist and pioneer species richness increased with historical distance. Forest specialists, however, did not respond to historical distance. Only few old individuals of forest specialist species remained in both recently converted and permanent farmlands.Main conclusions: Our findings suggest that any possible extinction debt for forest specialist species in farmland at the landscape scale was rapidly paid off, possibly because farmers cleared large remnant trees. In contrast, we found substantial evidence of immigration credits in farmland for generalist and pioneer species. This suggests that long-established farmland may have unrecognized conservation values, although apparently not for forest specialist species. We suggest that conservation policies in south-western Ethiopia should recognize not only forests, but also the complementary value of the agricultural mosaic-similar to the case of European cultural landscapes. A possible future priority could be to better reintegrate forest species in the farmland mosaic.
In environmental conservation, academics and practitioners articulate a wide range of values to convey attributes of nature to decisionmakers. The diversity regarding theoretical conceptualisations related to values is high (Horcea-Milcu et al., 2019)-from individual, shared or social values to monetary values, or held and assigned values, as well as intrinsic or instrumental values (Dietz et al., 2005; Kenter et al., 2015; Rawluk et al., 2018). One debate stemming from this diversity is between the acknowledgement of intrinsic and instrumental values (Tallis & Lubchenco, 2014). To bridge intrinsic and instrumental values of nature, a new framing has emergedrelational values (Muraca, 2011). Relational values can be defined as preferences and principles about human-nature relationships (Chan
of farm households not only during periods of food shortage but also on a daily basis and provide a number of important dietary elements that the normal agricultural production fails to provide adequately. For instance, edible wild plants have been reported to have higher fat, proteins, minerals, and vitamin contents than cultivated species. They provide in particular vitamins A and C, zinc, iron, calcium, iodine, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folacin (Ohiokpehai 2003). Hence, edible wild plants are important for achieving nutritional balance in the diet and are particularly important for ensuring food security for women, children, and the poor, who heavily rely on them (Guijt et al. 1995, Teketay et al. 2010).In addition to these, during times of stress-such as crop failure, pest attack, and drought-edible wild plants serve as major sources of food. This implies that the consumption of wild plants is a necessary part of the strategies adopted by people in order to survive in harsh environ- Edible Wild Fruit Trees and Shrubs and Their Socioeconomic Significance in Central EthiopiaYigremachew Seyoum, Demel Teketay, Girma Shumi, and Melaku Wodafirash Research AbstractAn ethnobotanical study was conducted to investigate indigenous knowledge and socioeconomics of edible wild fruit trees and shrubs (EWFTSs) in Arsi Zone, Central Ethiopia. A total of 90 respondents were interviewed and consisted of men, women, and children who were selected by stratified random sampling. A total of 30 EWFTSs bearing species that belong to 20 families were identified. Age and gender distribution of respondents on the choice of four of the top five species were homogeneous indicating that promotion can be planned indifferently to all households. Indigenous knowledge on EWFTSs varied significantly (P < 0.05) with age groups and gender as well as area of respondents. Elder males appeared more familiar with EWFTSs. Income generated from sales of EWFTSs is, however, marginal. A considerable proportion of the community acknowledged food values of EWFTSs, and more than half preferred EWFTSs over cultivated commercial fruit, suggesting that efforts towards their integration into the current farming system are appealing. Realizing the resource depletion, about 54% of the respondents planted EWFTSs while 87% showed interest to participate in domestication programs. The study explored a great potential of promoting EWFTSs in Arsi Zone and assisting the country's efforts of ensuring food security.
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