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Benefits Enclosed in Agroforestry-Based Systems
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Benefits Enclosed in Agroforestry-Based Systems

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Forestry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 February 2022) | Viewed by 23827

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Elena Brunori

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department for Innovation in Biological, Agro-Food and Forest Systems (DIBAF), Tuscia University, S. Camillo de Lellis snc, 01100 Viterbo, Italy
Interests: agricultural landscape; eco physiological crop response; agro-forestry systems; ecosystems services; urban agriculture; green practices; agro-ecology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural systems are faced with new challenges and opportunities, from feeding an expanding global population, to producing more food on fewer hectares while increasing resilience and reducing the environmental footprint.

Sustainable agricultural intensification has attracted attention worldwide as an emerging paradigm of agricultural, biological, and environmental sciences. Sustainable intensification looks at whole landscapes, territories, and ecosystems to optimize resource utilization and management and to increase the “knowledge per hectare”.

Agroforestry systems can represent a form of agriculture “alternative” to the conventional one, capable of providing multi-functional environmental, agronomic, economic, and social benefits to support the sustainable improvement of food, nutrition, and economic security. Agroforestry systems work towards land protection and conservation, and can have immense benefits for both the environment and the farmer, and stimulate the whole rural economy.

This Special Issue will include selected papers from these ecologically based natural resource management systems, which have already been adopted in many parts of the world, combined with the smart-climate agriculture approach, through the adoption of new technological trends such as cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Special attention will be given to studies that analyze the viability of agroforestry as strategic systems that can provide a more balanced set of provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural ecosystem services.

Above all, this Special Issue aims to reap the significant economic and environmental benefits of agroforestry systems, able to increase resilience while contributing to support ecosystem functions and preserve natural resources.

Prof. Elena Brunori
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • greening practices
  • organic farming
  • precision farming
  • agro-ecology
  • landscape ecology
  • sustainability

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 2998 KiB  
Article
The Coffee Compromise: Is Agricultural Expansion into Tree Plantations a Sustainable Option?
by Alice Fitch, Rebecca L. Rowe, Niall P. McNamara, Cahyo Prayogo, Rizky Maulana Ishaq, Rizki Dwi Prasetyo, Zak Mitchell, Simon Oakley and Laurence Jones
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 3019; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14053019 - 4 Mar 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4083
Abstract
In tropical regions, land-use pressures between natural forest, commercial tree plantations, and agricultural land for rural communities are widespread. One option is to increase the functionality of commercial plantations by allowing agroforestry within them by rural communities. Such land-sharing options could address wider [...] Read more.
In tropical regions, land-use pressures between natural forest, commercial tree plantations, and agricultural land for rural communities are widespread. One option is to increase the functionality of commercial plantations by allowing agroforestry within them by rural communities. Such land-sharing options could address wider societal and environmental issues and reduce pressure on natural forest. To investigate the trade-offs involved, we used InVEST to model the ecosystem services provided by growing coffee under commercial pine plantations in Indonesia against other land-use options. Pine–coffee agroforestry provided worse supporting and regulating services (carbon, sediment and nitrogen retention, catchment runoff) than natural forest; however, it provided greater provisioning services (product yield) directly to smallholders. Converting pine monoculture into pine-coffee agroforestry led to increases in all ecosystem services, although there was an increased risk to water quality. Compared with coffee and root crop monocultures, pine–coffee agroforestry provided higher levels of supporting and regulating services; however, product yields were lower. Thus, opening up pine plantations for agroforestry realises additional income-generating opportunities for rural communities, provides wider ecosystem service benefits, and reduces pressure for land-use change. Lower smallholder yields could be addressed through the management of shade levels or through Payments for Ecosystem Services schemes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Benefits Enclosed in Agroforestry-Based Systems)
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18 pages, 3342 KiB  
Article
Family Farming Plays an Essential Role in Preserving Soil Functionality: A Study on Active Managed and Abandoned Traditional Tree Crop-Based Systems
by Rita Biasi, Roberta Farina and Elena Brunori
Sustainability 2021, 13(7), 3967; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073967 - 2 Apr 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2445
Abstract
In traditional agricultural areas, where traditional crops (TCs) are cultivated, small farms are still highly represented. Located prevalently in marginal and sensitive areas, agricultural areas have undergone deep transformation. Smallholders have maintained the traditional asset of cultivation (extensive and low input requirement management) [...] Read more.
In traditional agricultural areas, where traditional crops (TCs) are cultivated, small farms are still highly represented. Located prevalently in marginal and sensitive areas, agricultural areas have undergone deep transformation. Smallholders have maintained the traditional asset of cultivation (extensive and low input requirement management) only to some extent. In some cases they have adapted traditional orchards into more intensive planting systems. Frequently, they have abandoned agriculture. The land use and management influence soil functions, i.e., the capability of a specific soil to provide key functions in terrestrial ecosystems. In order to assess whether small farms are environmentally sustainable, we used a set of soil quality indicators in three traditional tree crops in the Latium region (central Italy), like hazelnut, grapevine, and Citrus. The soil parameters, chemical, biological, and biochemical, were quantified under three different management models: extensive cultivation, intensive cultivation, and abandonment. The selected set of indicators proved to be able to discriminate adequately between the management models and to be suitable for the soil health assessment. Results proved that hazelnut orchards stored more organic C, independently from farming management, while vineyard showed the lower total organic carbon (TOC). The microbial carbon vs. organic carbon ratio (Cmic-to Corg ratio) was higher for vineyards and Citrus groves, denoting a more active degradation of soil organic matter. Soil enzymes (ESs) involved in C cycle were variable along the different treatments and mainly influenced by the C inputs to soil and soil cover, whereas those involved in N, P, and S cycles were higher in abandoned and extensive TCs. Overall, extensive cultivation performed better in terms of soil quality than intensive or abandonment. This study suggests that a transition to an agriculture based on agroecological principles and toward extensification would provide significant soil-based environmental benefits in marginal sensitive areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Benefits Enclosed in Agroforestry-Based Systems)
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Review

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14 pages, 1119 KiB  
Review
Soil Organic Carbon in Alley Cropping Systems: A Meta-Analysis
by Vladimir Ivezić, Klaus Lorenz and Rattan Lal
Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1296; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031296 - 24 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5858
Abstract
Population growth and an increasing demand for food cause the intensification of agriculture leading to soil degradation and a decrease in the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. Agroforestry systems such as alley cropping are gaining more and more attention as a practice to [...] Read more.
Population growth and an increasing demand for food cause the intensification of agriculture leading to soil degradation and a decrease in the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. Agroforestry systems such as alley cropping are gaining more and more attention as a practice to maintain and/or increase SOC in agroecosystems. The aim of this study was to add to the knowledge on SOC in alley cropping systems and to evaluate the contribution of introducing trees into agricultural landscapes by conducting a meta-analysis of the available data. The soil carbon (C) input will increase with time. Our findings suggest that a beneficial effect on SOC occurs after approximately a decade of alley cropping practice adoption. Furthermore, the effect of alley cropping is more beneficial in regions with lower initial SOC concentration compared to that in regions rich in SOC. Higher relative SOC is observed in the tropical region compared to that in the temperate climate zone. The establishment of alley cropping systems on agricultural land needs to consider several parameters such as alley width and tree species when designing such systems to achieve the highest possible tree and crop productivity while increasing SOC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Benefits Enclosed in Agroforestry-Based Systems)
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32 pages, 1585 KiB  
Review
Agroforestry: An Appropriate and Sustainable Response to a Changing Climate in Southern Africa?
by Jonathan P. Sheppard, Rafael Bohn Reckziegel, Lars Borrass, Paxie W. Chirwa, Claudio J. Cuaranhua, Sibylle K Hassler, Svenja Hoffmeister, Florian Kestel, Rebekka Maier, Mirko Mälicke, Christopher Morhart, Nicholas P. Ndlovu, Maik Veste, Roger Funk, Friederike Lang, Thomas Seifert, Ben du Toit and Hans-Peter Kahle
Sustainability 2020, 12(17), 6796; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176796 - 21 Aug 2020
Cited by 44 | Viewed by 10333
Abstract
Agroforestry is often discussed as a strategy that can be used both for the adaptation to and the mitigation of climate change effects. The climate of southern Africa is predicted to be severely affected by such changes. With agriculture noted as the continent’s [...] Read more.
Agroforestry is often discussed as a strategy that can be used both for the adaptation to and the mitigation of climate change effects. The climate of southern Africa is predicted to be severely affected by such changes. With agriculture noted as the continent’s largest economic sector, issues such as food security and land degradation are in the forefront. In the light of such concerns we review the current literature to investigate if agroforestry systems (AFS) are a suitable response to the challenges besetting traditional agricultural caused by a changing climate. The benefits bestowed by AFS are multiple, offering ecosystem services, influence over crop production and positive impacts on rural livelihoods through provisioning and income generation. Nevertheless, knowledge gaps remain. We identify outstanding questions requiring further investigation such as the interplay between trees and crops and their combination, with a discussion of potential benefits. Furthermore, we identify deficiencies in the institutional and policy frameworks that underlie the adoption and stimulus of AFS in the southern African region. We uphold the concept that AFS remains an appropriate and sustainable response for an increased resilience against a changing climate in southern Africa for the benefit of livelihoods and multiple environmental values. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Benefits Enclosed in Agroforestry-Based Systems)
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