Ecological Services of Agroforestry Landscapes in Selected Watershed Areas in the Philippines and Indonesia

Abstract

This article argues that the practice of agroforestry provides ecological contributions to the smallholder farmers cultivating in the watershed areas. Specifically, this farming system provides contribution to carbon sequestration potential of the woody perennials and the biodiversity conservation of the other components of the system. This argument is based on the research conducted in Molawin-Dampalit Sub-Watershed, Mt. Makiling Forest Reserve in the Philippines and Way Betung Watershed in Indonesia. The research involved an interview session of 106 and 261 smallholder farmers and an assessment of 27 and 14 agroforesty plots for carbon stock assessment and biodiversity assessment, respectively. Results indicated that the total carbon found among the crop components was 52.32 MgC/ha in Molawin-Dampalit Sub-Watershed and 244.26 MgC/ha in Way Betung Watershed, which suggested the high carbon sequestration potential of the woody perennials and understory crops in an agroforestry system. The farm lots being cultivated by the smallholder farmers were found to contribute to biodiversity conservation having a moderate biodiversity index of 2.59 and 2.53, respectively. With these findings, promotion of desired agroforestry systems in suitable portions of the watershed areas should be intensified and heightened to contribute to ecological balance across the landscape. Agroforestry should always be an integral part of all initiatives toward ecological restoration with the cultivators/smallholder farmers as potential partners. The agroforestry system should consider all the technical and socioeconomic considerations toward having diverse components and ensure food security among the smallholder farmers throughout the year.

Traditional Subsistence Farming of Smallholder Agroforestry Systems in Indonesia: A Review

“…Agroforestry has contributed to strengthening smallholder farmers' resilience to climate change in Indonesia by offering 20% more food variety in the traditional pattern and a fivefold income increase in the commercial pattern [22]. Agroforestry systems also provide environmental service benefits, such as increasing soil organic content; improving soil health through nutrient repair and fertility processes; improving soil biological dynamics; improving soil carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation; and improving water quality, climate change mitigation, and adaptation [39,45,46]. Some of the benefits related to soil nutrients and fertility, as well as soil carbon sequestration, can be obtained from minimal or no-tillage practices, even without trees.…”

“…However, the presence of trees in agroforestry systems can add more benefits. The presence of trees and perennial plants in agroforestry produces the highest aboveground carbon stocks, including belowground carbon stocks, thereby improving carbon sequestration and mitigating climate change [23,39]. Trees in agroforestry also enhance soil organic content, increase soil nutrients and fertility, and increase soil microbial dynamics, which have a positive effect on soil health [45].…”

“…[35][36][37][38], even though some are already at either the subsistence or commercial levels, e.g., Refs. [3,20,39]. Studies on subsistence farming in agroforestry practices seem to be scattered in case studies that are probably site-specific to a region and only emphasize certain topics.…”

Local knowledge and practices towards the ecological restoration of selected landscape in Atok, Benguet, Philippines

“…This local knowledge is validated by science. Besides providing as additional food and income source, trees, in general, provide ecological services, such as carbon sequestration (Casas et al 2014;Palma and Carandang 2014;Marin et al 2015;Baliton et al 2017;Tabal and Mendoza 2020;Sharma et al 2021), and enhancement of biological diversity (Amoroso et al 2012;Malabrigo 2013;Baliton et al 2017).…”

Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Livelihood Assets of Smallholder Agroforestry Farmers in Selected Upland Farming Communities in the Philippines

“…In their study, Maraseni et al (2022) revealed that agroforestry practices in home gardens were among the key alternatives for smallholders during COVID-19. This could be because agroforestry has always been recognized for its ecological services (Baliton, et al, 2017;Baliton et al, 2020;Palma & Carandang, 2014;and socioeconomic contributions (Tolentino et al, 2010;Landicho et al, 2017). However, the livelihoods of some agroforestry farmers were negatively affected by the pandemic because of the reduced farm income brought about by the difficulty in marketing their products, and the reduction in farm productivity in communities in Indonesia (Pieter et al, 2022).…”