Carbon Stocks in Silvopastoral Systems: A Study from Four Communities in Southeastern Ecuador

McGroddy, Megan; Lerner, Amy M.; Burbano, Diana V.; Schneider, Laura; Rudel, Tom

doi:10.1111/btp.12225

Cited by 32 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Trees that were managed for regeneration in a spontaneous silvopastoral system in Ecuador did not reduce cattle productivity [61], which is an obvious advantage. A higher proportion of legume trees and shrubs in forage banks would increase soil nitrogen and nutrient uptake due to their deep root systems [62, 63].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-Smart Livestock Systems: An Assessment of Carbon Stocks and GHG Emissions in Nicaragua

Gaitán¹,

Läderach²,

Graefe

et al. 2016

PLoS ONE

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Livestock systems in the tropics can contribute to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increasing carbon accumulation. We quantified C stocks and GHG emissions of 30 dual-purpose cattle farms in Nicaragua using farm inventories and lifecycle analysis. Trees in silvo-pastoral systems were the main C stock above-ground (16–24 Mg ha-1), compared with adjacent secondary forests (43 Mg C ha-1). We estimated that methane from enteric fermentation contributed 1.6 kg CO2-eq., and nitrous oxide from excreta 0.4 kg CO2-eq. per kg of milk produced. Seven farms that we classified as climate-smart agriculture (CSA) out of 16 farms had highest milk yields (6.2 kg cow-1day-1) and lowest emissions (1.7 kg CO2-eq. per kg milk produced). Livestock on these farms had higher-quality diets, especially during the dry season, and manure was managed better. Increasing the numbers of CSA farms and improving CSA technology will require better enabling policy and incentives such as payments for ecosystem services.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-Smart Livestock Systems: An Assessment of Carbon Stocks and GHG Emissions in Nicaragua

Gaitán¹,

Läderach²,

Graefe

et al. 2016

PLoS ONE

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“…Because agroforests are often implemented at a small scale, they can be strategically positioned in the landscape to maximize services; for example, in watersheds to protect water resources, in erosion-prone areas, in buffer zones alongside primary forest fragments to conserve biodiversity, and in silvopastoral systems to increase pasture productivity (Nair and Garrity 2012, Calle et al 2013, McGroddy et al 2015.…”

Section: Agroforests and On-farm Treesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest ecosystem-service transitions: the ecological dimensions of the forest transition

Wilson¹,

Schelhas²,

Grau³

et al. 2017

E&S

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ABSTRACT. New forests are expanding around the world. In many regions, regrowth rates are surpassing deforestation rates, resulting in "forest transitions," or net gains in forest cover. Typically measured only in terms of aggregate"'forest cover" change, these new forests are ecologically distinct from each other and from those originally cleared. We ask, what are the ecological attributes, goods, and services we might expect from different pathways of forest recovery? To address this question, we proposed a typology of forest transitions that reflects both their social drivers and ecological outcomes: tree plantation, spontaneous regeneration, and agroforestry transitions. Using case studies, we illustrate how the ecological outcomes of each transition type differ and change over time. We mapped the global distribution of forest-transition types to identify global epicenters of each, and found that spontaneous transitions are most common globally, especially in Latin America; agroforestry transitions predominate in Europe and Central America; and plantation transitions occur in parts of Europe and Asia. We proposed a conceptual framework to understand and compare the ecological services arising from different types of forest transitions over time: forest ecosystem-service transition curves. This framework illustrates that carbon sequestration tends to be comparatively lower in agroforestry transitions, and biodiversity recovery is lower in industrial plantations. Spontaneously regenerating forests tend to have relatively high biodiversity and biomass but provide fewer provisioning and economically valuable services. This framework captures the dynamism that we observe in forest transitions, thus illustrating that different social drivers produce different types of ecosystem-service transitions, and that as secondary forests grow, these services will change over time at rates that differ among transition types. Ultimately, this framework can guide future research, describe actual and potential changes in ecosystem services associated with different types of transitions, and promote management plans that incorporate forest cover changes with the services and benefits they provide.

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“…However, other studies report higher values if we only take into account what is stored in the upper layers (Ruiz et al 2004;McGroddy et al 2015).…”

Section: Diversity and Total Carbon Storage In The Silvopastoral Landmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…The consequences of such deforestation are devastating and represent an ongoing environmental degradation (McGroddy et al 2015;Kaimowitz 1996).…”

Section: Fragmented Livestock Landscapes As a Results Of Deforestationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…such as global warming mitigation(Noble et al 2000;Andrade and Ibrahim 2003) due to their greater capacity for carbon sequestration(McGroddy et al 2015) or biodiversity conservation(Jose 2009). Traditional silvopastoral systems are an old practice and are very well spread in tropical countries as Argentina, Brazil, Chile New Zealand, United states of America, Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia, and throughout the Central American isthmus (Cubbage et al 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Land use changes and vegetation dynamics in a silvopastoral system : effect on their ecological structure and carbón storage

Velásquez¹,

Yorlene²

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Carbon Stocks in Silvopastoral Systems: A Study from Four Communities in Southeastern Ecuador

Cited by 32 publications

References 30 publications

Climate-Smart Livestock Systems: An Assessment of Carbon Stocks and GHG Emissions in Nicaragua

Climate-Smart Livestock Systems: An Assessment of Carbon Stocks and GHG Emissions in Nicaragua

Forest ecosystem-service transitions: the ecological dimensions of the forest transition

Land use changes and vegetation dynamics in a silvopastoral system : effect on their ecological structure and carbón storage

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