Trees on farms: an update and reanalysis of agroforestry’s global extent and socio-ecological characteristics

Abstract

is a landscape ecologist with a broad interest in plant community, forest and agricultural ecology, and using geographic information systems, remote sensing, and environmental modeling for landscape-level spatial analysis. He has many years experience working in the Himalayas, East Africa, South America and throughout Asia, including positions at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development in Nepal, the International Water Management Institute in Sri Lanka, and the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry in Kenya. He is currently a visiting professor at Kunming Institute of Botany and a Senior Landscape Ecologist with the World Agroforestry Centre East and Central Asia Region. His current interests focus on the application of advanced spatial tools at global to local levels, ecosystem management, and the impacts of climate change on terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity conservation. Antonio Trabucco is a landscape ecologist with a strong background in global information systems and a wide scientific interest in the interactions between climate, natural/semi-natural ecosystems and human needs. He currently works as a junior scientist at the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, investigating the impact of climate change on ecosystem services and agricultural production at Mediterranean and global scale. Richard Coe is a principal scientist and research methods specialist at the World Agroforestry Centre, Kenya, and the University of Reading, UK. He helps teams engaged in agricultural and environmental research improve the quality and effectiveness of their research through application of statistical principles during conception and design and in the analysis and interpretation of data. He has been doing this for many years. Frank Place is a senior economist at the World Agroforestry Centre headquarters in Nairobi, where he has been for 17 years. He currently heads the impact assessment unit which also oversees rural advisory services. In this capacity, he supports regional teams in impact assessment through the co-designing and implementation of research on the adoption and impacts of agroforestry as well as the impact of the Centre's research. He also undertakes policy research and support through the Agroforestry Policy Initiative. He received a PhD in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and worked with the World Bank and the Land Tenure Center prior to joining the World Agroforestry Centre. Meine van Noordwijk, in addition to being Chief Science Advisor for the World Agroforestry Centre, and principle ecologist, leads the landscape and environmental services research of the CGIAR Research program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (FTA). He also serves as part-time professor in agroforestry at Wageningen UR. From 2002 to 2008, he was regional coordinator for Southeast Asia. Before joining the Centre in 1993, Meine was a senior research officer in the Root Ecology Section at the DLO Institute for Soil Fertility Research in Haren, the Netherlands, concentrating ...

Trees in the Agricultural Matrix: Reforestation Processes in a Tropical Dry Landscape in Chinandega, Nicaragua

“…The increase of trees on farms in areas that have simultaneously experienced up to 10% population growth negates the assumption that humans crowd out trees. This trend of increasing tree cover demonstrates that while on-going deforestation for agriculture is a serious issue, there is forest recovery in some regions and there are other possible paradigms for growth (Zomer et al 2014). A study of TDF patches in Honduras and Mexico also found that forest fallows, fragments, and other anthropogenically disturbed landscape elements can host species diversity levels comparable to forests, as well as species of considerable conservation importance, emphasizing the capacity of some land-use practices to contribute to conservation and restoration initiatives within the agricultural landscape (Gordon 2004).…”

“…Studies are reluctant to define appropriate or inappropriate levels of tree cover, as environmental, social and economic necessities vary across regions, but the very existence of agroforestry systems, found in a wide variety of ecological conditions throughout the globe, demonstrate their advantageous and adaptable viability (Zomer et al 2014).…”

“…Ninety-six percent of the agricultural land in Central America has retained tree cover of >10%, representing an increase of 1.6% from 2000, with 47% showing substantial tree cover of >30% perhaps attributed more to increased canopy cover of maturing trees rather than new trees (Zomer et al 2014). The increase of trees on farms in areas that have simultaneously experienced up to 10% population growth negates the assumption that humans crowd out trees.…”

“…Ninety-six percent of the agricultural land in Central America has retained tree cover of >10%, representing an increase of 1.6% from 2000, with 47% showing substantial tree cover of >30% (Zomer et al 2014). This increase of trees on farms in areas that have simultaneously experienced up to 10% population growth negates the assumption that humans crowd out trees, demonstrating that while on-going deforestation for agriculture is a serious issue, there is forest recovery in some regions and there are other possible paradigms for growth (Zomer et al 2014).…”

“…Ninety-six percent of the agricultural land in Central America has retained tree cover of >10%, representing an increase of 1.6% from 2000, with 47% showing substantial tree cover of >30% (Zomer et al 2014). This increase of trees on farms in areas that have simultaneously experienced up to 10% population growth negates the assumption that humans crowd out trees, demonstrating that while on-going deforestation for agriculture is a serious issue, there is forest recovery in some regions and there are other possible paradigms for growth (Zomer et al 2014). Studies of TDF patches in Honduras and Mexico, live fences in Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and remnant trees in pasture in Costa Rica, have found that forest fallows, fragments, and other anthropogenically-disturbed landscape elements can host species diversity levels comparable to forests, as well as species of considerable conservation importance, emphasizing the capacity of some land-use practices to contribute to conservation and restoration initiatives within the agricultural landscape (Gordon 2004, Harvey et al 2005, Sandor and Chazdon 2014.…”