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Data extracted in June 2020
Note to the reader: This general fiche summarises all the environmental and climate impacts of AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS found in a systematic review of 32 synthesis research papers[1]. These papers were selected, according to our inclusion criteria, from an initial number of 57 yielded by a systematic literature search strategy .
As each synthesis research paper involves a number of individual papers ranging from 21 to 287, the assessment of impacts relies on a large number of results obtained mainly in field experiments (carried out in situations close to real farming environment).
1. DESCRIPTION OF THE FARMING PRACTICE
Description | Agroforestry is a particular type of land-use system and technology where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land management unit as agricultural crops and/or animals. There are many types of Agroforestry. In Europe, six agroforestry practices are identified: Silvoarable agroforestry, Forest farming, Riparian buffer strips, Improved fallow, Multipurpose trees and Silvopasture (Mosquera-Losada et al., 2009)[2]. Agroforestry can be considered as a “farm practice”, a group of farm practices, or in some rare cases as a “farming system” (den Herder et al, 2015)[3]. |
Key descriptors | Agroforestry is a form of multiple cropping which satisfies at least three basic conditions: 1. There are at least two species that interact biologically; 2. At least one of the species is a woody perennial; 3. At least one of the plant species is managed for forage, annual or perennial crop production. Agroforestry can be considered at a range of scales: field-scale, farm-scale and landscape scale. |
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPACTS OF THE FARMING PRACTICE ON ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
The table below shows the number of synthesis papers reporting positive, negative or no effect, based on the statistical comparison of the intervention and the control. In addition, we include the number of synthesis papers reporting relevant results, but without statistical test of the effects (uncertain). The numbers between parentheses indicate the number of synthesis papers with a quality score of at least 50%. Details on quality criteria can be found in the methodology section of this WIKI.
Out of the 32 synthesis papers selected, 12 reported studies conducted in Europe and 22 have a quality score higher than 50%. Some synthesis papers reported more than one impact.
Agroforestry impacts are overall compared to two comparators: land use without trees -including cropland, pastureland and sometimes fallow land; or forests - either natural or planted -. Depending on the chosen comparator, different questions can be addressed. For example, Comparator 1: Does agroforestry perform better than croplands without trees? Comparator 2: Does agroforestry perform better than forest?
We differentiate between the effects based on all available synthesis papers - even those including no trial in Europe- (all studies), and synthesis papers including European trials (only studies including EU).
|
| Effects (all studies) | Effects (only studies including EU) | ||||||
Impact | Comparator | Positive | Negative | No effect | Uncertain | Positive | Negative | No effect | Uncertain |
Increase soil nutrients
| Land use without trees | 4 (3) | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Forests | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Increase carbon sequestration | Land use without trees | 10 (8) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Forests | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
Increase Soil biological quality | Land use without trees | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Decrease soil erosion | Land use without trees | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Forests | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Decrease GHG emissions
| Croplands without trees | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Decrease pests and diseases
| Croplands without trees | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Increase pollination
| Croplands without trees | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Increase soil water retention | Land use without trees | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Forests | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Increase biodiversity | Land use without trees | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Forests | 1 | 6 | 2 | 1 (0) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (0) | |
Increase crop yield
| Land use without trees | 4 (3) | 2 (1) | 3 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Forests | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
3. DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPACTS OF THE FARMING PRACTICE ON ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE
Only the factors explicitly studied in the selected synthesis papers are reported below. Details regarding the factors can be found in the Summaries of the meta-analyses.
IMPACTS | FACTORS |
Increase soil nutrients | Pre-existing soil nutrient richness (ref2); distance from tree trunk (ref2); Climate (precipitation, temperature) (ref3); agroforestry type (ref6); presence of N-fixing species (ref5); soil type (ref6,7); soil organic matter (ref6). |
Increase carbon sequestration | Agroforestry type (ref3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10); Land use before agroforestry (ref9,10,11); Tree age (ref1, 3, 6, 9, 10); Soil depth (ref1, 10, 11); Climate/agroecological zone (ref9,10); Soil type (ref4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13); Soil nutrient content (ref4); Distance from tree trunk (ref4); complex interactions among these factors: soil properties (texture, pH and P and N content), climate (temperature and precipitation) and vegetation (tree density and cover percentage) (ref6, 10); perennial species (ref11); tree management (e.g. pruning) (ref6, 7, 9). |
Soil biological quality | No factors reported |
Decrease soil erosion
| Climate (ref2); Soil type (ref1); type of perennials (ref1). |
Decrease GHG emissions
| Agroforestry type (ref1); Soil structure (ref1). |
Decrease pests and diseases
| Pest type (ref1); Crop type(ref1); Agroforestry type (ref1); perennial species (ref1); Presence of insectivorous species (birds) (ref2); Proximity of landscape features (forests or border hedgerows) (ref3); Soil type (ref3); Alley width (ref3). |
Increase pollination
| Proximity of landscape features (forests or border hedgerows) (ref1); Soil type (ref1); Alley width (ref1). |
Increase soil water retention
| Climate zone (ref6); Aridity index (ref5); Soil type/structure (ref4, 5); seasonal variations (ref2); tree management (e.g. ramial wood amendments) (ref3). |
Increase biodiversity | Geographic location (ref1, 4, 6, 10); Habitat heterogeneity (ref1, 2, 9); Land use before agroforestry (ref8); Taxa (ref3, 4, 6); Climate/ecosystem zone (ref1, 6, 7, 9); Type of agroforestry (ref2, 4, 10, 11); landscape structure (ref7, 9); tree age (ref8). |
Increase crop yield
| Type of agroforestry (ref2,9);Tree age (ref1); type of perennials (ref3, 8); Climate and soil type (ref1, 3, 8, 9); Type of crop (ref2, 4); Distance from tree trunk (ref5); Soil nutrient richness (ref5, 9). |
4. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW SEARCH STRATEGY
Keywords | TOPIC: (agroforestry OR "agro-forestry") AND TOPIC: (meta-analy*) TI_KEY_ABS: (agroforestry OR "agro-forestry") AND TI_KEY_ABS: (meta-analy*) |
Search dates | No time restrictions |
Databases | Web of Science and Scopus, run on 15 May 2020 |
Selection criteria | Three main criteria led to the exclusion of a study: (1) the study does not deal with agroforestry; (2) the study does not assess the environmental and climate impacts of the farming practice on biodiversity; (3) the study is neither a meta-analysis nor a systematic review. Studies that passed the relevance criteria were subject to critical appraisal carried out on article by article basis. We finally selected 11 meta-analysis. |
5. LIST OF REFERENCES
Ref. number | Doi | Authors | Year | Title | Reference |
1 | 10.1016/j.agee.2020.106899 | Muchane, MN; Sileshi GW; Gripenberg, S; Jonsson, M; Pumariño, L; Barrios, E. | 2020 | Agroforestry boosts soil health in the humid and sub-humid tropics: A meta-analysis. | Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 295, 106899. |
2 | 10.1002/ldr.3478 | Bohada-Murillo, M; Castano-Villa, GJ; Fonturbel, FE. | 2019 | The effects of forestry and agroforestry plantations on bird diversity: A global synthesis. | Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 3, 83. |
3 | 10.1007/s13593-019-0589-8 | Kuyah, S; Whitney, CW; Jonsson, M; Sileshi, GW; Oborn, I; Muthuri, CW; Luedeling, E. | 2019 | Agroforestry delivers a win-win solution for ecosystem services in sub-Saharan Africa. A meta-analysis. | Agronomy for Sustainable Development 39, 47. |
4 | 10.1016/j.agsy.2019.102676 | Staton, T; Walters, RJ; Smith, J; Girling, RD. | 2019 | Evaluating the effects of integrating trees into temperate arable systems on pest control and pollination. | Agricoltural systems 176, 102676. |
5 | 10.1016/j.foreco.2018.10.064 | Santos, PZF; Crouzeilles, R; Sansevero, JBB. | 2019 | Can agroforestry systems enhance biodiversity and ecosystem service provision in agricultural landscapes? A meta-analysis for the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. | Forest Ecology and Management 433, 140-145. |
6 | 10.1371/journal.pone.0215702 | Basche, AD; DeLonge, MS. | 2019 | Comparing infiltration rates in soils managed with conventional and alternative farming methods: A meta-analysis, | PloS one, 14 (9): e0215702. |
7 | 10.1002/ldr.3136 | Shi, LL; Feng, WT; Xu, JC; Kuzyakov, Y. | 2018 | Agroforestry systems. Meta_analysis of soil carbon stocks, sequestration processes, and future potentials. | Land degradation and development 29 3886-3897. |
8 | 10.1007/978-3-319-58789-9_4 | Bayala, J; Kalinganire, A; Sileshi, GW; Tondoh, JE. | 2018 | Soil Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Agroforestry Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. A Review. | In: Improving the Profitability, Sustainability and Efficiency of Nutrients Through Site Specific Fertilizer Recommendations in West Africa Agro-Ecosystems pp. 51-61, Springer, Cham. |
9 | 10.1007/s10457-017-0147-9 | De Stefano, A; Jacobson, MG. | 2018 | Soil carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems: a meta-analysis. | Agroforestry Systems, 92, 285-299. |
10 | 10.1007/s13593-018-0533-3 | Felix, GF; Scholberg, JMS; Clermont-Dauphin, C; Cournac, L; Tittonell, P. | 2018 | Enhancing agroecosystem productivity with woody perennials in semi-arid West Africa. | Agronomy for Sustainable Development 38, 57. |
11 | 10.1016/j.agee.2017.11.032 | Feliciano, D; Ledo, A; Hillier, J; Nayak, DR. | 2018 | Which agroforestry options give the greatest soil and above ground carbon benefits in different world regions? | Agricolture, Ecosystem and enviroment, 254, 117-129. |
12 | 10.1016/j.agee.2018.07.014 | Chatterjee, N; Nair, PKR; Chakraborty, S; Nair, VD. | 2018 | Changes in soil carbon stocks across the Forest-Agroforest-Agriculture/Pasture continuum in various agroecological regions: A meta-analysis | Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 266, 55-67 |
13 | 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2017.11.017 | Plexida, S; Solomou, A; Poirazidis, K; Sfougaris, A. | 2018 | Factors affecting biodiversity in agrosylvopastoral ecosystems with in the Mediterranean Basin: A systematic review. | Journal of arid environments, 151, 125-133. |
14 | 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.01.104 | Sun, D; Yang, H; Guan, DX; Yang, M; Wu, JB; Yuan, FH; Jin, CJ; Wang, AZ; Zhang, YS. | 2018 | The effects of land use change on soil infiltration capacity in China: A meta-analysis. | Science of the total enviroment, 626, 1394-1401. |
15 | 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.04.019 | Rosalien, EJ; Pita, AV; Maria, JS; Rene, GAB | 2017 | Shaded Coffee and Cocoa - Double Dividend for Biodiversity and Small-scale Farmers | Ecological economics, 140, 136-145. |
16 | 10.1007/s40725-016-0032-1 | Norgrove, L; Beck, J. | 2016 | Biodiversity Function and Resilience in Tropical Agroforestry Systems Including Shifting Cultivation | Current Forestry Reports volume 2, 62–80. |
17 | 10.1016/j.agee.2016.04.011 | Kim, DG; Kirschbaum, MU; Beedy, TL. | 2016 | Carbon sequestration and net emissions of CH4 and N2O under agroforestry. Synthesizing available data and suggestions for future studies. | Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 226: 65-78. |
18 | 10.1016/j.agee.2016.06.002 | Torralba, M; Fagerholm, N; Burgess, PJ; Moreno, G; Plieninger, T. | 2016 | Do European agroforestry systems enhance biodiversity and ecosystem services? A meta-analysis. | Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 230: 150-161. |
19 | 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.03.002 | Sileshi, GW. | 2016 | The magnitude and spatial extent of influence of Faidherbia albida trees on soil properties and primary productivity in drylands. | Journal of Arid Environments 132: 1-14. |
20 | 10.1038/srep23954 | Chaudhary, A; Burivalova, Z; Koh, LP; Hellweg, S. | 2016 | Impact of Forest Management on Species Richness: Global Meta-Analysis and Economic Trade-Offs. | Scientific reports 6:2394. |
21 | 10.1016/j.agee.2014.11.009 | Sinare, H; Gordon, LJ. | 2015 | Ecosystem services from woody vegetation on agricultural lands in Sudano-Sahelian West Africa. | Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 200, 186-199. |
22 | 10.1016/j.baae.2015.08.006 | Pumarino, L; Sileshi, GW; Gripenberg, S; Kaartinen, R; Barrios, E; Muchane, MN; Midega, C; Jonsson, M. | 2015 | Effects of agroforestry on pest, disease and weed control: a meta-analysis. | Basic and applied ecology 16:573-582. |
23 | 10.1007/s10457-012-9571-z | Palacios, CP; Aguero, B; Simonetti, JA. | 2013 | Agroforestry systems as habitat for herpetofauna: is there supporting evidence? | Agroforest Syst 87:517-523. |
24 | 10.1007/s10457-013-9603-3 | Poch, TJ; Simonetti, JA. | 2013 | Ecosystem services in human-dominated landscapes: insectivory in agroforestry systems. | Agroforest Syst 87:871-879. |
25 | 10.1016/j.agee.2012.12.010 | Rivest D; Paquette, A; Moreno, G; Messier C. | 2013 | A meta-analysis reveals mostly neutral influence of scattered trees on pasture yield along with some contrasted effects depending on functional groups and rainfall conditions. | Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 165: 74-79. |
26 | 10.1016/j.agee.2013.05.003 | De Beenhouwer, M; Aerts, R; Honnay, O. | 2013 | A global meta-analysis of the biodiversity and ecosystem service benefits of coffee and cacao agroforestry | Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 175, 1-7. |
27 | 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2011.10.011 | Bayala, J; Sileshi, GW; Coe, R; Kalinganire, A; Tchoundjeu, Z; Sinclair, F; Garrity, D. | 2012 | Cereal yield response to conservation agriculture practices in drylands of West Africa: A quantitative synthesis. | Journal of Arid Environments 78: 13-25. |
28 | 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2012.02747.x | Ziegler, AD; Phelps, J; Yuen, JQ; Webb, EL; Lawrence, D; Fox, JM; Bruun, TB; Leisz, SJ; Ryan, CM; Dressler, W; Mertz, O; Pascual, U; Padoch, C; Koh, LP. | 2012 | Carbon outcomes of major land-cover transitions in SE Asia: great uncertainties and REDD+ policy implications. | Global Change Biology 18: 3087–3099. |
29 | 10.1007/978-94-007-0394-0_9 | Akinnifesi, FK; Ajayi, OC; Sileshi, G; Chirwa, PW; Chianu, J. | 2011 | Fertiliser Trees for Sustainable Food Security in the Maize-Based Production Systems of East and Southern Africa. | Sustainable Agriculture 2: 129-146 |
30 | 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01350.x | Najera, A; Simonetti, JA. | 2010 | Enhancing Avifauna in Commercial Plantations. | Conservation Biology 24: 319–324. |
31 | 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.01.023 | Nichols, E; Larsen, T; Spector, S; Davis, AL; Escobar, F; Favila, M; Vuline, K. | 2007 | Global dung beetle response to tropical forest modification and fragmentation: A quantitative literature review and meta-analysis. | Biological Conservation 137 : 1-19. |
32 | 10.1016/j.foreco.2007.06.014 | Ilstedt, U; Malmer, A; Elke, V; Murdiyarso, D. | 2007 | The effect of afforestation on water infiltration in the tropics: A systematic review and meta-analysis. | Forest Ecology and Management 251: 45–51. |
[1] Synthesis research papers include either meta-analysis or systematic reviews with quantitative results.
[2] Mosquera-Losada M.R., McAdam J.H., Romero-Franco R., Santiago-Freijanes J.J., Rigueiro-Rodríguez A. (2009) Definitions and Components of Agroforestry Practices in Europe. In: Rigueiro-Rodríguez A., McAdam J., Mosquera-Losada M.R. (eds) Agroforestry in Europe. Advances in Agroforestry, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-8272-6_1
[3] den Herder, M., Burgess, P.J., Mosquera-Losada, M.R., Herzog, F., Hartel, T., Upson, M., Viholainen, I., Rosati, A., 2015a. Preliminary stratification and quantification of agroforestry in Europe. Milestone Report 1.1 for EU FP7 AGFORWARD Research Project (613520). http://agforward.eu/index.php/en/preliminary-stratification-and-quantification-of-agroforestry-in-europe.html