Can agroforestry systems thrive in the drylands? Characteristics of successful agroforestry systems in the arid and semi-arid regions of Latin America

An Aridamerican model for agriculture in a hotter, water scarce world

“…Indigenous populations are particularly vulnerable, with climate change exacerbating chronic stresses, such as extreme poverty and nutrition‐related diseases. Agroecosystem‐ and agroforestry‐based food production can restore self‐reliance, improve access to culturally relevant and healthy foods, provide economic stability, and enhance resilience to climate change (Altieri & Toledo, 2011; Krishnamurthy, Krishnamurthy, Rajagopal, & Peralta Solares, 2019). Communities are already benefiting from research and community outreach promoting desert food plants to control an epidemic of nutrition‐related diseases (e.g., diabetes) in Indigenous America (Brand et al., 1990; Nabhan, 2008).…”

Agricultural production system in arid and semi-arid regions

“…For example, [105] reported that the combination of soil moisture conservation, fertilizer input application and cropping systems resulted in increasing maize yield and yield components in arid and semi-arid lands. Agro-forestry systems that incorporate the cultivation of trees, often in combination with subsistence or cash crops as well as livestock, in the dry zones of Latin America have signifi cant potential to support livelihood resilience in areas that are considered to be highly marginalized, through contributions to economic well-being and environmental sustainability [106]. Additional income obtained from agro-forestry helped to cope with the adverse impacts of climate variability and to meet farmers' socio-economic needs and sustain their livelihoods when faced with low productivity from agricultural crops [19].…”

Integrating beef cattle on cropland affects net global warming potential

“…Abundant evidence supports the potential for large increases in SOC stocks under highly productive forage and/or biofeedstock grass species (Franzluebbers et al 2012;Schmer et al 2011), while there is complementary evidence for SOC stock increases when transitioning from cropland or pasture to silvopastural systems (De Stefano and Jacobson 2017), with potential for soil carbon storage in deeper soil depths ([ 0.75 m) (Howlett et al 2011). Moreover, incorporation of woody plant species can generate additional marketable products (e.g., nuts, fruit, timber), and create microenvironments that increase crop production while mitigating animal stress during weather extremes (Krishnamurthy et al 2019;Vallejo et al 2012). As such, expanding the number and diversity of enterprises in semiarid cropping systems may provide significant contributions to economic and environmental sustainability over the long-term, and could serve as an effective strategy to sustainably intensify agricultural production.…”