Landscape

Implications of changes in land cover and landscape structure for the biocontrol potential of stemborers in Ethiopia

The land cover and structure of agricultural landscapes may influence the abundance and diversity of natural enemies of crop pests. However, these landscapes are continuously evolving due to changing land uses and agricultural practices. Here we …

Retaining forests within agricultural landscapes as a pathway to sustainable intensification: Evidence from Southern Ethiopia

There are increasing calls in Africa for 'sustainable intensification' of agriculture with the aim of increasing productivity whilst minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts. This paper questions whether adopting a landscape approach …

Soil organic matter underlies crop nutritional quality and productivity in smallholder agriculture

Global crop yield gains have not be associated with increases in the many macro- and micro-nutrients needed for a balanced human diet. There is thus growing interest in improving agricultural practices to increase nutrient availability to people. …

Unpacking the push-pull system: Assessing the contribution of companion crops along a gradient of landscape complexity

The push-pull system, a stimulo-deterrent cropping strategy consisting of intercropping cereals with herbaceous legumes and surrounded by fodder grasses, is presented as a promising crop diversification strategy for small- holder farmers in Africa as …

A methodological approach for assessing cross-site landscape change; Understanding socio-ecological systems

The expansion of agriculture has resulted in large-scale habitat loss, the fragmentation of forests, significant losses in biological diversity and negative impacts on many ecosystem services. In this paper, we highlight the Agrarian Change Project, …

Indirect contributions of forests to dietary diversity in Southern Ethiopia

We assess whether forests contribute indirectly to the dietary diversity of rural households by supporting diverse agricultural production systems. We applied our study in a landscape mosaic in Southern Ethiopia that was divided into three zones of …

Understanding people and forest interrelations along an intensification gradient in Arsi-Negele, Ethiopia

This chapter presents the results of a scoping study conducted along an agricultural intensification and forest cover gradient from Arsi-Negele town to Munessa Forest in southern Ethiopia. It summarizes preliminary research in the study area led by …

Impact of farmland exclosure on the productivity and sustainability of a mixed crop-livestock system in the central rift valley of Ethiopia

Livestock provides numerous benefits to smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa, but also represents a potential agent of environmental degradation. Exclosures have been implemented in grazing areas for the past decades in Ethiopia and have been effective …

Response options across the landscape

This chapter presents potential landscape-scale responses that attempt to reconcile the oft- competing demands for agriculture, forestry and other land uses. While there is no single configuration of land-uses in any landscape that can optimise the …

On the edge of state and the economy