Tag: degraded land
The economics of land degradation and resource conservation in Northern Thailand: challenging the assumptions
Leveraging change in ecosystem restoration: from planting trees to regenerating people-nature systems
Despite calls for more integrated ecosystem restoration approaches, many restoration projects continue to focus on simple metrics capturing isolated ecological or social system dimensions. To realize the potential of ecosystem restoration to generate a multitude of desirable social-ecological outcomes, we argue that a change in mindsets is needed to move from planting trees to regenerating people-nature systems. Drawing on a leverage points perspective, we propose that changing the paradigms that underpin restoration could shift the modus operandi from an instrumental perspective of ‘nature for people’ to a relational perspective of ‘people with nature’. Following three interacting realms of leverage for transformational change, we use the case study of western Rwanda to exemplarily illustrate how restoration can serve as a critical entry point for re-connecting people and nature in degraded landscapes, re-structuring the time scales considered in natural resource management, and re-thinking the use of diverse types of knowledge in this context. Combining these three realms in place-based restoration efforts can inform new avenues for ecosystem restoration that are rooted in genuine social-ecological relationships. This, in turn, could trigger regenerative dynamics in restoration landscapes – i.e., mutually reinforcing dynamics that support both human and non-human wellbeing. This approach reflects a broader transition from repairing fragmented landscape elements to regenerating integrated social–ecological systems.
Tree diversity and soil fertility interactions drive carbon storage in degraded cocoa landscapes of Côte d’Ivoire
Introduction: Understanding the ecological functioning of degraded cocoa landscapes is critical for restoring productivity and ecosystem services in West Africa. This study investigated how climate, geography, and land-use systems interact to shape tree diversity, soil fertility, and aboveground carbon (AGC) stocks across six cocoa-producing sites in Côte d’Ivoire.
Methods: Field inventories and soil sampling to 50 cm depth were conducted across gradients of climate (1,150–1,650 mm rainfall) and land-use systems (fallow, cocoa agroforestry, and monocropping). Mixed effects ANOVA, regression, and redundancy analyses were applied to test three hypotheses linking environmental gradients, tree diversity, and soil–carbon relationships.
Results: Land-use system had the strongest effect on tree diversity (P< 0.0001), with fallows supporting significantly higher richness (7.2 ± 0.51) and Shannon diversity (1.7 ± 0.05) than agroforestry or monocrop systems. Climate and site nested within climate also significantly influenced species abundance and evenness. Soil fertility indicators were primarily controlled by climate and geographic site, with significant effects on pH, exchangeable bases, and structural stability. Interactions between climate and land-use significantly affected soil pH, organic carbon, calcium, and cation exchange capacity. Stepwise regression identified aluminum, potassium, boron, and magnesium as key soil predictors of AGC (R² = 0.14; P< 0.0001), while species richness was the only diversity metric significantly associated with AGC (R² = 0.12; P< 0.0001).
Discussion: These results highlight the dominant role of species richness over evenness and abundance in sustaining soil fertility and carbon storage, emphasizing biodiversity conservation as a cornerstone of cocoa landscape restoration.
Integrating tenure and governance into assessments of forest landscape restoration opportunities
Key messages
- Many countries have adopted the Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) to guide the development of national and subnational restoration strategies.
- This study analyzes ROAM reports for eight countries to determine the extent to which tenure and related governance considerations were incorporated.
- Although all of the reports found that lack of rights or weak rights impeded efforts to scale up forest landscape restoration (FLR), none provided robust descriptions of the rights and responsibilities of individuals or communities to trees, forests or land under statutory or customary law.
- We propose a rights actualization framework as a diagnostic that can provide a solid foundation to identify policy reforms needed to address rights-related barriers to FLR implementation.
- FLR initiatives informed by a robust tenure rights assessment will enhance the likelihood of achieving their twin goals of improving ecological functionality and human well-being.
Integrating bioenergy and food production on degraded landscapes in Indonesia for improved socioeconomic and environmental outcomes
Growing bioenergy crops on degraded and underutilized land is a promising solution to meet the requirement for energy security, food security, and land restoration. This paper assesses the socioeconomic and environmental benefits of agroforestry systems based on nyamplung (tamanu) (Calophyllum inophyllum L.) in the Wonogiri district of Central Java, Indonesia. Data were collected through field observations and focus group discussions involving 20 farmers who intercrop nyamplung with maize, rice, and peanuts and utilize the species in honey production. Calculating each crop’s net present value (NPV) demonstrates that when grown as monocultures, staple crops rice and peanuts lead to negative profitability, while maize generates only a marginal profit; yet honey production utilizing nyamplung produces a NPV nearly 300 times greater than maize. However, when utilizing nyamplung, honey is also the commodity most sensitive to decreases in production, followed by nyamplung–peanut and nyamplung–rice combinations. While decreases in production have little effect on the NPVs of rice, peanuts, and maize, these annual crops can only be cultivated for a maximum of 6 years within the nyamplung’s 35-year cycle, due to canopy closure after this time. Nyamplung-based agroforestry systems can provide economic, social, and environmental gains on different scales. However, when considering the high profit potential of nyamplung combined with honey production, further research is needed to improve and develop bee husbandry practices so this becomes a viable option for local farmers.
Integrating bioenergy and food production on degraded landscapes in Indonesia
Performance of forest plantations in small and medium-sized farms in the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica
Exotic tree species predominate in reforestation in tropical regions worldwide. However, some native species are suitable for plantations, providing a wider variety of products. Adequate government programs of incentives, coupled with good technical advice to farmers, are needed to stimulate reforestation, especially among small and medium-sized farmers with limited financial resources. This project evaluates growth of native and exotic tree species on plantations in small and medium-sized farms in the Atlantic humid lowlands of Costa Rica, Central America. A total of 210 pure plantations, ranging in age from 6 to 11 years, were evaluated on 123 farms that had used government incentives for reforestation, and had received technical advice from local non-government organizations. For each species, seven plantations were chosen at random for study. In each plantation, plots of 15 trees each were chosen systematically for evaluation of diameter at breast height (dbh), total height, number of trees per hectare, tree form and spacing. Terminalia amazonia (J.F. Gmel) Exell, Hieronyma alchorneoides Allemao, and Vochysia guatemalensis Donn. Sm. were the most frequent species found in plantations in the region of study. Gmelina arborea Roxb. (exotic) and V. guatemalensis (native) had the highest mean annual diameter increment with 2.90 and 2.59 cm, respectively. Calophyllum brasiliense Cambess. (native) had the lowest mean annual diameter increment (1.48 cm). G. arborea and V. guatemalensis had the highest mean annual volume increment, followed by Tectona grandis (L.f) Lam. (exotic), and T. amazonia and Cordia alliodora (R&P) Cham. (both native). Although G. arborea had the greatest mean annual diameter increment, it had the lowest plantation density and problems with form. V. guatemalensis and T. amazonia, two native species, were the most promising species for reforestation, due to good growth in volume, good form, and adaptability to a variety of sites. The poor form of exotic species was related to the low intensity management methods of small farmers. Exotic species had the highest performance variability between sites, while native species showed relatively high growth homogeneity. Therefore, native species seem more promising than exotics for general use across varying ecological conditions.
Taking to Scale Tree-Based Systems in Rwanda to Enhance Food Security, Restore Degraded Land, Improve Resilience to Climate Change and Sequester Carbon
The purpose of this study was to improve understanding of the key factors that drive the adoption of tree-based systems (TBS) at scale in Rwanda in order to increase the effectiveness of agroforestry interventions designed to help poor rural farmers enhance their food, income, and energy security. The study assessed differences between and within six land use systems across Rwanda, with a mix of survey, mapping, and focus group methodologies. It also proposed an improved pathway for increased adoption at scale of tree-based systems.
Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration: A user’s guide for practitioners in Uganda
Since its introduction to Uganda in 2012, the Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR) approach has been spreading in Uganda, as a fast and affordable option for reforestation. The spread of the FMNR approach has translated into a loose network of organizations which have adopted and are promoting FMNR. This guide is a response to the demand from the members of the FMNR network (to which ICRAF belongs as a founder member), for FMNR knowledge materials which are specific to the Ugandan context.