“…Additionally, environmental conditions like hydrothermal variations, topographic landscape differences, soil quality, and slope orientations play a crucial role in determining the quality of agroforestry's ecological assets [122]. For instance, Mokondoko et al (2022) [123,124] discovered that both temperature and precipitation negatively impact pest and disease control in coffee agroforestry systems, with increased incidence at higher altitudes and rainfall levels. As research continues to expand, some scholars have integrated climate, topography, elevation, slope, and other characteristics to explore the drivers of ecological assets in agroforestry ecosystems [124,125].…”
Section: Influencing Factorsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…For instance, Mokondoko et al (2022) [123,124] discovered that both temperature and precipitation negatively impact pest and disease control in coffee agroforestry systems, with increased incidence at higher altitudes and rainfall levels. As research continues to expand, some scholars have integrated climate, topography, elevation, slope, and other characteristics to explore the drivers of ecological assets in agroforestry ecosystems [124,125]. This research has established that these assets are influenced not by a single element, but by myriad natural environmental factors.…”
Section: Influencing Factorsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The management of plant density not only influences water infiltration and availability but also inversely affects pollinator richness, with higher densities typically resulting in lower richness [136]. Furthermore, the composition and age of tree species critically determine the biodiversity and ecological functionality of agroforestry ecosystems [124].…”
The ongoing degradation of fragile ecosystems increasingly diminishes the availability of natural resources. Consequently, the conservation and utilization of ecosystem assets have emerged as a focal point of global research. This study focuses on integrating agroforestry ecosystem assets (AEA) with their capacity to provide ecosystem services, aiming to explore their interconnections and enhance their optimization. We employed a comprehensive literature review method, utilizing the Scopus database to select, analyze, and include 61 pertinent studies on AEA globally. The systematic literature review results show the following: (1) The overall number of published papers is showing an upward trend, indicating that research in this field is gradually expanding. The geographical focus of the literature is primarily in Europe and Asia, with academic institutions being the main contributors to this research. (2) Landmark research findings are mainly concentrated in the areas of identification, quantitative assessment, and decision management. Among these, quantitative assessment is the main focus, while the research on identification, decision management, and influencing factors is relatively limited and explores the relevant key scientific questions. (3) The above information highlights the key areas for improvement in the karst desertification control agroforestry ecosystem, focusing on two aspects: fragile habitats and human–land relationships. Furthermore, this review furnishes essential recommendations for agroforestry practitioners and policymakers across various regions, emphasizing the critical need to thoroughly evaluate and leverage the connections between the quantity and quality of ecosystem assets. Such an approach is pivotal for facilitating the strategic restructuring and optimization of agroforestry ecosystems. This, in turn, aims to elevate the sustainability of AEA utilization and enhance their ability to provide ecosystem services (ES).
“…Additionally, environmental conditions like hydrothermal variations, topographic landscape differences, soil quality, and slope orientations play a crucial role in determining the quality of agroforestry's ecological assets [122]. For instance, Mokondoko et al (2022) [123,124] discovered that both temperature and precipitation negatively impact pest and disease control in coffee agroforestry systems, with increased incidence at higher altitudes and rainfall levels. As research continues to expand, some scholars have integrated climate, topography, elevation, slope, and other characteristics to explore the drivers of ecological assets in agroforestry ecosystems [124,125].…”
Section: Influencing Factorsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…For instance, Mokondoko et al (2022) [123,124] discovered that both temperature and precipitation negatively impact pest and disease control in coffee agroforestry systems, with increased incidence at higher altitudes and rainfall levels. As research continues to expand, some scholars have integrated climate, topography, elevation, slope, and other characteristics to explore the drivers of ecological assets in agroforestry ecosystems [124,125]. This research has established that these assets are influenced not by a single element, but by myriad natural environmental factors.…”
Section: Influencing Factorsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The management of plant density not only influences water infiltration and availability but also inversely affects pollinator richness, with higher densities typically resulting in lower richness [136]. Furthermore, the composition and age of tree species critically determine the biodiversity and ecological functionality of agroforestry ecosystems [124].…”
The ongoing degradation of fragile ecosystems increasingly diminishes the availability of natural resources. Consequently, the conservation and utilization of ecosystem assets have emerged as a focal point of global research. This study focuses on integrating agroforestry ecosystem assets (AEA) with their capacity to provide ecosystem services, aiming to explore their interconnections and enhance their optimization. We employed a comprehensive literature review method, utilizing the Scopus database to select, analyze, and include 61 pertinent studies on AEA globally. The systematic literature review results show the following: (1) The overall number of published papers is showing an upward trend, indicating that research in this field is gradually expanding. The geographical focus of the literature is primarily in Europe and Asia, with academic institutions being the main contributors to this research. (2) Landmark research findings are mainly concentrated in the areas of identification, quantitative assessment, and decision management. Among these, quantitative assessment is the main focus, while the research on identification, decision management, and influencing factors is relatively limited and explores the relevant key scientific questions. (3) The above information highlights the key areas for improvement in the karst desertification control agroforestry ecosystem, focusing on two aspects: fragile habitats and human–land relationships. Furthermore, this review furnishes essential recommendations for agroforestry practitioners and policymakers across various regions, emphasizing the critical need to thoroughly evaluate and leverage the connections between the quantity and quality of ecosystem assets. Such an approach is pivotal for facilitating the strategic restructuring and optimization of agroforestry ecosystems. This, in turn, aims to elevate the sustainability of AEA utilization and enhance their ability to provide ecosystem services (ES).
“…1 ). However, the ecological quality will vary depending on the complexity of the agroforestry system (De Beenhouwer et al 2013 ; Mokondoko et al 2022 ). Fig.…”
As both coffee quality and sustainability become increasingly important, there is growing interest in understanding how ecological quality affects coffee quality. Here we analyze, for the first time, the state of evidence that ecological quality, in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem functions, impacts the quality of
Coffea arabica
and
C. canephora
, based on 78 studies. The following ecosystem functions were included: pollination; weed, disease, and pest control; water and soil fertility regulation. Biodiversity was described by the presence, percentage, and diversity of shade trees. Coffee quality was described by the green bean physical characteristics, biochemical compounds, and organoleptic characteristics. The presence and diversity of shade trees positively impacted bean size and weight and reduced the percentage of rejected beans, but these observations were not consistent over different altitudes. In fact, little is known about the diversity of shade trees and their influence on biochemical compounds. All biochemical compounds varied with the presence of shade, percentage of shade, and elevation. Coffee beans from more diverse tree shade plantations obtained higher scores for final total organoleptic quality than simplified tree shade and unshaded plantations. Decreasing ecological quality diminished ecosystem functions such as pollination, which in turn negatively affected bean quality. Shade affected pests and diseases in different ways, but weeds were reduced. High soil quality positively affected coffee quality. Shade improved the water use efficiency, such that coffee plants were not water stressed and coffee quality was improved. While knowledge on the influence of shade trees on overall coffee quality remains scarce, there is evidence that agroecosystem simplification is negatively correlated with coffee quality. Given global concerns about biodiversity and habitat loss, we recommend that the overall definition of coffee quality include measures of ecological quality, although these aspects are not always detectable in certain coffee quality characteristics or the final cup.
“…While several meta-analyses have investigated agroforestry effects on yields and quality of high-value crops that mainly proceed to be manufactured into luxury goods in the Global North, such as coffee or cocoa (Niether et al, 2020;Koutouleas et al, 2022;Mokondoko et al, 2022), insights on staple crops that play a major role in diets of the Global South are less comprehensively summarised. Addressing this gap, our meta-analysis investigated the effects of agroforestry on grain yields of maize (Zea mays L.) at a global scale.…”
Maize cropping systems, the world's most important cropping systems in terms of production volume, are responsible for many environmental problems, such as soil degradation and erosion. This calls for sustainable practises that enable environment-friendly production while generating sufficient output, as farmers and consumers worldwide depend on adequate yields. Agroforestry can offer solutions to both of these pressing concerns—food insecurity and adverse environmental impacts of intensive maize cultivation. This meta-analysis investigated the effects of agroforestry on maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield under different environmental and management regimes on a global scale. It is based on 1,215 pairwise data entries from 95 peer-reviewed studies. Overall, agroforestry increased median maize yields by 0.24 Mg ha−1 (7%) compared to tree/hedgerow-free maize monocultures. In subtropical and tropical regions, the median yield increment under agroforestry was 0.30 Mg ha−1 (+16%), and the best results were achieved using broadleaved trees (+0.42 Mg ha−1, +53%), especially N-fixing tree species (+0.56 Mg ha−1, +60%). Maize yields responded very well to the addition of tree prunings to the soil of the maize crop (+0.48 Mg ha−1, +24%). Rotating maize with other crops was beneficial if the intermediate crop is able to fix atmospheric N (+0.28 Mg ha−1, +13%). We found that hedgerow planting densities of at least 5,000 woody perennials ha−1 are required for the positive impacts of agroforestry on maize yields to take effect, and these effects increased with both tree age (+1.17 Mg ha−1, +48% under trees 11–15 years of age) and time under agroforestry (+0.85 Mg ha−1, 81% in response to >15 continuous maize seasons under agroforestry). In addition, they were particularly pronounced on sandy soils (+0.46 Mg ha−1, +23%), moderately acidic soils of pH 5–6 (+0.67 Mg ha−1, +35%), soils with <0.5 g kg−1 N (+1.19 Mg ha−1, +81%), soils with a plant-available water holding capacity <10 mm dm−1 (+1.10 Mg ha−1, +44%), and hyper-arid conditions (+0.60 Mg ha−1, +35%). These findings prove that if designed with due regard for local conditions and crop/tree species characteristics, agroforestry can be a powerful tool to increase food security and the sustainability of maize production systems.
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