Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes

About the book:

Agroforestry systems contribute to the maintenance of biodiversity in tropical landscapes. In the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania, conservational functional group richness was significantly higher in an agrosilvopastoral system than that of an agrisilvicultural or aquasilvicultural system or monoculture plantation. A compilation of nine studies undertaken in Africa, Latin America and Asia indicated that animal diversity is highest in cocoa agroforests that have high plant diversity, structurally complex canopies, and abundant surrounding forest cover. Three assumptions support expected agroforestry effects on biodiversity conservation. First, it is assumed that the adoption of agroforestry practices by farmers induces a reduction of the pressure of deforestation on additional land. Second, agroforestry systems provide new habitats and resources for local plant and animal species that are in part dependent on the forest for survival, and could not survive in a purely agricultural landscape. Third, the value of the conservation of remnants of natural vegetation is greater if the remains are embedded in a landscape dominated by agroforestry elements. This only holds true if the surrounding matrix consists of crop fields or pastureland largely enriched with tree cover.

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