Crop-livestock integration determines the agroecological performance of mixed farming systems in Latino-Caribbean farms

Abstract

Characterizing and understanding the complexity of numerous interactions occurring in mixed farming systems is still a methodological challenge. We hypothesize that farm functioning features in terms of crop-livestock integration practices impact the agroecological performance of the system, which will be also affected by the farm context. In order to analyze crop-livestock integration in a holistic way, a set of seventeen mixed farming systems from three contrasting socioeconomic regions of the humid tropics (Guadeloupe, Brazilian Amazonia, and Cuba) was selected in order to cover a wide range of crop-livestock integration situations. The ecological network analysis was applied to each farm in order to study the nutrient flow networks, expressed in nitrogen. The activity and flow organization of crop-livestock integration practices were characterized and the agroecological performance has been evaluated in terms of efficiency, resilience, productivity, and dependency of N flow networks. Here, we show for the first time that the range of crop-livestock integration is well characterized by the activity and organization of flows. Gradients of crop-livestock integration were well detected and described. Some agroecological performances were related to a particular socioeconomic context. Resource endowment influenced efficiency, according to the intensification level. The crop-livestock integration however contributed partially to the productivity of the system, being especially effective in promoting resilience. This study applies a suitable framework to analyze complex farming systems while linking their functioning and performance in an agroecological approach. Thus, comparison of contrasting systems was feasible here with the support of numerical and tangible figures for interpreting complex indicators (e.g., resilience), representing a useful tool for monitoring sustainability of agricultural systems in a dynamic and holistic way.

Crop–livestock diversification in the mixed farming systems: implication on food security in Northern Ghana

“…The study's conceptual framework is derived from the two-compartment network model developed by Stark et al [49] in order to examine the input and output flows within an integrated crop-livestock system in Latino-Caribbean farms. However, in this study, the framework has been modified to show the two-way interaction between the two farming systems (i.e., crop farming or system 1 and livestock farming or system 2).…”

“…(1 Fig. 1 The conceptual framework adapted from Stark et al [49] where D i denotes diversification, N i is the total number of household-managed units of diversity options in the sample, and S i is the number of household-managed units of diversity for the ith household. Hence, for this study, the definitions of N i and S i regarding the various systems are shown in Table 1.…”

Agroecology in Mediterranean Europe: Genesis, State and Perspectives

“…The existence of livestock makes it necessary to have grasslands that, where permanent, increase biodiversity at field level. Crop/livestock integration is especially effective in promoting resilience of farming systems and contributes partially to system productivity in Latin America [101]. Mediterranean farms are characterized by forage availability across the year mainly linked to woody vegetation or costly irrigated systems to overcome water shortage.…”

Perspectives for multifunctional landscapes in the Amazon : Analyzing farmers’ strategies, perceptions, and scenarios in an agricultural frontier

“…A second example includes pastures that are integrated into silvo-pastoral systems to increase the production of meat and timber, while at the same time increasing CS and HB. Tree-livestockcrop integrated systems may foster positive interactions between different ecosystem services and resource-use efficiency in the Amazon and the Cerrado (Campos et al, 2015;da Conceição et al, 2017;Stark et al, 2017;Gil et al, 2018). Considering the supply matrix (Figure 2.3), this pathway means that within a landscape unit (e.g., mechanized agriculture on clayey plateaus) the supply of all ecosystem services can be increased (i.e., the size of the bubbles) by adopting management practices that modify soil properties as well as energy, nutrient and water fluxes at the field and farm level.…”