Landscape

Addressing agricultural labour issues is key to biodiversity-smart farming

There is an urgent need for agricultural development strategies that reconcile agricultural production and biodiversity conservation. This is especially true in the Global South where population growth is rapid and much of the world's remaining …

Commodity crops in biodiversity-rich production landscapes: Friends or foes? The example of cotton in the Mid Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe

The production and trade of agricultural commodities is a major driver of the loss of tropical biodiversity. In the Mid Zambezi Valley, Zimbabwe, which is home to many emblematic African mammals, cotton production has historically been a major driver …

Exploring the agricultural landscape diversity-food security nexus; an analysis in two contrasted parklands of Central Senegal

CONTEXT. Fostering diversity within agricultural systems can substantially contribute to improved food security among smallholder farmers. Agroforestry parklands are diverse agricultural landscapes where trees can provide an array of ecosystem …

Forest edges near farms enhance wheat productivity measures; a test using high spatial resolution remote sensing of smallholder farms in Southern Ethiopia

Staple crops are grown by millions of smallholder farmers yet estimating field-level yields over broad regions can be challenging. Furthermore, agricultural productivity can be impacted by nearby forests and trees. In an agricultural-forest mosaic in …

Conceptual links between landscape diversity and diet diversity: A roadmap for transdisciplinary research

Malnutrition linked to poor quality diets affects at least 2 billion people. Forests, as well as agricultural systems linked to trees, are key sources of dietary diversity in rural settings. In the present article, we develop conceptual links between …

Forest restoration scenarios produce synergies for agricultural production in southern Ethiopia

Understanding the factors influencing agricultural productivity is vital to food security, especially for food insecure smallholder farmers. Within agricultural landscape mosaics, the arrangement of tree cover such as forests, trees, and hedgerows …

Agriculturally productive yet biodiverse: Human benefits and conservation values along a forest-agriculture gradient in Southern Ethiopia

Context- It remains unclear how agricultural landscapes can best serve multiple purposes such as simultaneously maintaining agricultural productivity and conserving biodiversity. Objectives - Our objective was to assess how important components of …

Drivers, farmers' responses and landscape consequences of smallholder farming systems changes in southern Ethiopia

Ethiopia is now the second most populated country in Africa with more than 100 million people and an annual population growth rate of 3%. Here, we assess how the on-going expansion of arable land and urban areas is affecting the availability of …

Landscape composition overrides field level management effects on maize stemborer control in Ethiopia

Lepidopteran stemborers are a serious pest of maize in Africa. While farmers have adopted cultural control practices at the field scale, it is not clear how these practices affect stemborer infestation levels and how their efficacy is influenced by …

Excessive pruning and limited regeneration: Are Faidherbia albida parklands heading for extinction in the Central Rift Valley of Ethiopia?

Scattered Faidherbia albida trees provide multiple ecological and production benefits across the Sahel. The intensive management and use of this important tree may impede its regeneration. Regeneration bottlenecks were explored and population …