This manual provides a general conceptual framework for collecting and analyzing radionuclides related to the 210Pb dating method in mangrove ecosystems. The 210Pb radionuclide dating method applies alpha and/or gamma spectrometry. This guide outlines procedures for field sample collection, laboratory analyses and data analyses relating to these approaches.
Tag: Climate
Sustainable Farming in Tropical Asian Landscapes – Final project summary: Indonesia
The Sustainable Farming in Tropical Asian Landscapes (SFITAL) programme, coordinated by ICRAF and funded by IFAD, was created to address persistent structural challenges facing smallholder tree‑crop systems in Southeast Asia. Focusing on Indonesia and the Philippines, the programme strengthened the foundations of climate‑resilient and inclusive agroforestry landscapes by empowering farmers, supporting local institutions and catalysing innovation across cocoa and oil‑palm value chains. Over five years (2020–2025), SFITAL piloted a systems‑based, landscape‑level approach in South Sulawesi and North Sumatra, where smallholders face declining productivity, land degradation, climate pressures and market uncertainty. A core innovation was the development of jurisdictional strategies—such as sustainable palm‑oil action plans (RAD‑KSB) and cocoa roadmaps—that integrate spatial planning, environmental management and farmer support into official regional agendas. The programme trained more than 3,000 farmers, introduced digital tools for participatory monitoring and learning, and demonstrated scalable models for sustainable commodity production. This final brief synthesizes lessons, highlights success stories and outlines pathways for institutionalizing and scaling inclusive landscape transformation across Southeast Asia.
Advancing multifunctional agroforestry in Ethiopia: Evidence, innovation and policy pathways
Key messages
- The MAF4E project is pioneering Living Labs that generate real-world evidence while fostering community innovation and enterprise development.
- RRCs produce quality planting material and create green jobs for women and youth.
- Homestead agroforestry enhances inclusion, nutrition, biodiversity, and resilience.
- Scaling impact requires a National Agroforestry Strategy, long-term financing, PES mechanisms, and expansion into urban areas.
Weather and climate data for Philippines rice research
The climate and weather of Los Bafios are described with particular reference to the upland lowland difference. A complete file of daily upland weather data for the period 1959-1978 has been prepared and its contents, quality control, and means of access outlined. Current surface observations at Lcs Bafios are noted with comments on quality control. Climatic data for 47 Philippine synoptic weather stations have been collected and integrated file of weekly data for periods of up to 24 years has been prepared. Access to its contents is described.
Effect of climatic factors on the phenological phases of Mauritia flexuosa Lf. In low terrace plantations in Ucayali, Peru [Efecto de los factores climáticos en las fases fenológicas de Mauritia flexuosa Lf. en plantaciones de terraza baja en Ucayali, Per
The aim of this study was to determine the influence of air temperature and rainfall on the phenological development of Mauritia flexuosa in plantations located in Ucayali, Peru. For this, during a 24-month period, 191 19-year-old palm trees were evaluated, distributed in three plantations established on low terrace soils. The results showed that the 45% of palm trees did not manifest their sexual maturity, meanwhile, 42% and 13% of individuals with male and female sex, respectively, were verified. It was found that the phenological cycle was biannual, with overlapping phenophases and staggered events. In female individuals, maximum flowering was observed in phenophase FLA1 (4-5%) from September to November 2018 and maximum fruiting FRM1 (4-6%) from October 2018 to January 2019; In male individuals, the FLA2 flowering phenophase occurs in two periods between September 2018 and February 2020, meanwhile, the open flower phenophase of both sexes is synchronous in a higher proportion between September and November. It was determined that pluvial precipitation and air temperature (maximum and minimum) did not show correlation (p = 0.05) with the productive phenophases of Mauritia flexuosa. The pluvial precipitation, the maximum temperature and the minimum air temperature showed null association with each one of the phenological phases of the Mauritia flexuosa palm trees during the evaluation period. In order to obtain information for the planning of silvicultural management activities for the conservation of the species, it is recommended to evaluate for more years the influence of climatic elements on the productive development of Mauritia flexuosa. © 2021 Universidad Nacional de Trujillo. All rights reserved.
Light use efficiency (LUE) based bimonthly gross primary productivity (GPP) for global grasslands at 30 m spatial resolution (2000–2022)
The article describes production of a high spatial resolution (30 m) bimonthly light use efficiency (LUE) based gross primary productivity (GPP) data set representing grasslands for the period 2000 to 2022. The data set is based on using reconstructed global complete consistent bimonthly Landsat archive (400TB of data), combined with 1 km MOD11A1 temperature data and 1° CERES Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). First, the LUE model was implemented by taking the biome-specific productivity factor (maximum LUE parameter) as a global constant, producing a global bimonthly (uncalibrated) productivity data for the complete land mask. Second, the GPP 30 m bimonthly maps were derived for the global grassland annual predictions and calibrating the values based on the maximum LUE factor of 0.86 gCm−2d−1MJ−1. The results of validation of the produced GPP estimates based on 527 eddy covariance flux towers show an R-square between 0.48–0.71 and root mean square error (RMSE) below ~2.3 gCm−2d−1 for all land cover classes. Using a total of 92 flux towers located in grasslands, the validation of the GPP product calibrated for the grassland biome revealed an R-square between 0.51–0.70 and an RMSE smaller than ~2 gCm−2d−1. The final time-series of maps (uncalibrated and grassland GPP) are available as bimonthly (daily estimates in units of gCm−2d−1) and annual (daily average accumulated by 365 days in units of gCm−2yr−1) in Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF (~23TB in size) as open data (CC-BY license). The recommended uses of data include: trend analysis e.g., to determine where are the largest losses in GPP and which could be an indicator of potential land degradation, crop yield mapping and for modeling GHG fluxes at finer spatial resolution. Produced maps are available via SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (http://stac.openlandmap.org) and Google Earth Engine.
Balancing livestock free grazing and ecosystem functionality: investigating the carrying capacity of grazing land in the Eastern Savannah of Rwanda
This study focused on investigating the carrying capacity of individual grazing lands in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. We collected data on above-ground biomass of natural pasture from 63 farms during the wet and dry seasons to capture the seasonal variation of forages. Since the grazing system is based on individual farms, we clustered farm size into three clusters, namely ≤ 10.9 ha (small); 11–20.9 ha (medium) and ≥ 21 ha (large). Dry matter and chemical composition of biomass samples was determined. Additionally, as crop residues are a significant feed resource for farmers, we also estimated their production for the year 2023 because of the availability of reliable data over the corresponding two agricultural seasons. Dry matter exhibited significant difference (p < 0.0001) across both farm sizes and seasons. Similarly, crude protein showed significant difference (p < 0.0001) across farm sizes and seasons. The neutral detergent fibre (NDF) showed only significant difference across the seasons (p < 0.0001). Acid detergent fibre (ADF) showed significant difference (p < 0.05) across both farm sizes and seasons. The interaction between farm size and season was significant difference (p < 0.0001) for NDF and ADF (p = 0.0085). Furthermore, the tropical Livestock Unit (TLU), showed that the available biomass in the medium farm could feed only the TLU for a period of 58 days while the small farm could only feed for 42 days whilst the crop residues could meet the dry matter intake of 171,750 TLU annually. The findings suggest the effective crop residue utilization and highlight that proper grazing land management strategies should be applied for optimizing cattle productivity, ensuring sustainability, and climate resilience.
Integrating adaptation into REDD+: potential impacts and social return on investment in Sogod, Southern Leyte, Philippines
REDD+ interventions can help both people and forests adapt to climate change by conserving or enhancing biodiversity and forest ecosystem services. However, additional adaptation measures might be needed, such as the protection of agriculture and livelihoods and the development of fire management strategies. Such measures could support the sustainability of REDD+ interventions and the permanence of carbon stocks by preventing activity displacement and induced deforestation and by limiting or avoiding damage to the ecosystem from extreme weather events. To design community-based adaptation interventions and assess their potential outcomes within the Southern Leyte Province REDD+ project area in the Philippines, representatives from seven upland Barangays (villages) of Sogod Municipality were involved in a bottom-up, stakeholder-focused process. A social return on investment framework was applied. Community members discussed climate and non-climate challenges and the effectiveness of their current coping strategies. Adaptation interventions were then conceived and planned, using future visioning exercises. Two interventions were prioritized: securing land tenure and developing abaca agroforestry (Musa textilis inter-planted with different fruit trees). Challenges and adaptation interventions were also discussed with stakeholders from relevant local- and regionallevel organizations (e.g. provincial and municipal government agencies) during a participatory workshop. Projected future climate scenarios, the sensitivity of key resources and adaptive capacity were also discussed. This resulted in a holistic understanding of the costs, benefits, opportunities and challenges associated with implementing the selected adaptation strategies not only in the target area, but also in the province more broadly. The Southern Leyte Province REDD+ project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in collaboration with local government units and local communities under the Project ‘Climate-relevant Modernization of Forest Policy and Piloting of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) in the Philippines’, funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) under its International Climate Initiative. This study was conducted by CIFOR in collaboration with GIZ with a grant from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Integrating adaptation into REDD+: potential impacts and social return on investment in Setulang, Malinau District, Indonesia
REDD+ interventions can help both people and forests adapt to climate change by conserving or enhancing biodiversity and forest ecosystem services. However, additional adaptation measures might be needed, such as the protection of agriculture and livelihoods and the development of fire management strategies. Such measures could support the sustainability of REDD+ interventions and the permanence of carbon stocks by preventing activity displacement and induced deforestation and by limiting or avoiding damage to the ecosystem from extreme weather events. To design community-based adaptation interventions and assess their potential outcomes within the Community Forest (Hutan Desa) REDD+ project area in Setulang Village, Malinau District, Kalimantan,village representatives were involved in a bottom-up, stakeholder-focused process. A social return on investment framework was applied. Community members discussed climate and non-climate challenges and the effectiveness of their current coping strategies. Adaptation interventions were then conceived and planned, using future visioning exercises. Two interventions were prioritized: development of rattan handicraft enterprises and rubber agroforestry. Challenges and adaptation interventions were also discussed with stakeholders from relevant district organizations (e.g. local government agencies) through individual semi-structured interviews. Projected future climate scenarios, the sensitivity of key resources and adaptive capacity were also discussed. This resulted in a holistic understanding of the costs, benefits, opportunities and challenges associated with implementing the selected adaptation strategies not only in the target area, but also in the district more broadly. The Community Forest (Hutan Desa) project in Setulang, Malinau, is facilitated by the FORCLIME programme of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. This study was conducted by CIFOR in collaboration with the GIZ, with a grant from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) Germany.
Incentives and financing mechanisms for improved landscape management, biodiversity conservation, nature-based solutions and livelihood development
This study employed a multifaceted approach to evaluate existing incentives and provide financing mechanism recommendations for sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation in Rwanda. The approach used included a comprehensive literature review to gain a foundational understanding of the existing landscape; the administration of semi-structured questionnaires to 22 key actors; a stakeholder consultation workshop for district forest and natural resources officers from nine Congo-Nile Ridge (CNR) landscape districts; and focus group discussions with 15 sector forest officers and 21 lead farmers.
Synthesis report can be accessed: here