The role of indigenous trees for the conservation of biocultural diversity in traditional agroforestry land use systems: The Bungoma case study: In-situ conservation of indigenous tree species

In order to precisely assess the role of agroforestry for the conservation of (agro-)biological diversity there is a need to adjust sampling methods used in plant sociology. This study is on the contribution of agroforestry land use to the in-situ conservation of indigenous trees within a typical East-African smallholder farming system in Western Kenya. A modified approach to measuring species richness and abundance is presented. The selection of tree-rich structures was done according to management patterns rather than considering syntaxonomic classifications from the vegetation science point of view. This approach, which is better suited to the strongly human-influenced vegetation of agroecosystems, employs between-management unit diversity measures to help evaluate abundance and constancy of species in particular management units. The predominant off-farm vegetation patterns are riverine forests, rocky hillsides, hedgerows, wooded grassland relicts, woodlands or colline forest relicts and tree groves whereas the noticeable tree-rich on-farm management units are homegardens, homesteads, life fences, coffee- and banana-groves and annual cropping fields. 98% out of all indigenous tree species known from Bungoma, occur in off-farm lands. 53% of the indigenous tree species occur in tree rich on-farm management units while 47% of the indigenous trees are dependent on the maintenance of off-farm lands. Hedgerows embody the most promising secondary vegetation structure that shows ample potential to accommodate a wide range of indigenous perennial species outside the natural vegetation formations. The pattern of distribution of various vegetation structures, and the mixture with diverse tree-based on-farm plots are interesting features in regard to floristic and eco-diversity on a landscape level. In this respect, three areas that show different population densities and distinct agro-historical conditions were compared. In regions of particular high population density the degree of association of various functional land use forms and woodland structures – each characterised by its own floristic make-up – is comparatively high. In contrast, in regions with less population but that were settled at a later date, one encounters fewer stands of woody plants with lower numbers of species. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

黄土丘陵区牧草篱对坡耕地土壤抗侵蚀性的影响

以苜蓿、红豆草2种牧草篱为研究对象,对黄土丘陵区坡耕地布设牧草篱前后及牧草篱形成初期草带内、带间坡耕地土壤物理性质、抗蚀性、抗冲性、抗剪性的差异及各相关性进行了研究.结果表明:1)牧草篱可以明显改善土壤容重、总孔隙度、饱和含水量、水稳性团聚体含量等物理性质;2)牧草篱影响下土壤抗蚀性、抗冲性提高,牧草篱带内土壤抗剪强度小于带间坡耕地;3)牧草篱系统内土壤抗冲系数与土壤容重呈负相关关系,与总孔隙度、饱和含水量、水稳性团聚体含量呈正相关;崩解速率与土壤容重成正相关,与总孔隙度、饱和含水量、水稳性团聚体含量呈负相关;土壤抗剪强度与土壤容重呈正相关(p＜0.05),与总孔隙度、饱和含水量、水稳性团聚体呈负相关.     

Disease incidence and severity on beans in alleys between Leucaena hedgerows in Kenya

The effects of inter-row spacing of Leucaena leucocephala in an alley cropping system on the incidence and severity of diseases on intercropped beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and their yield were examined over two years (1993 and 1994) at Chepkoilel Campus in Kenya. Each experiment consisted of three randomized blocks with treatments of three alley widths (2 m,4 m and 8 m) and a treeless control with two intra-row spacings of Leucaena (0.5 m and 1.0 m). Hedgerows were coppiced at 1.0 m height and pruned subsequently at two-to-three months intervals. No fertilizer was applied but Leucaena loppings were incorporated as green leaf manure. Incidence of angular leaf spot (Phaeoisariopsis griseola) and anthracnose (Colletotrichum lindemuthianum) on beans were assessed at three growth stages in each season, using the Centro International de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) scales. Microclimate was monitored in treatments, in 1994. Angular leaf spot and anthracnose decreased with increasing alley width and were more severe in bean rows adjacent to hedgerows. Light availability and diurnal temperaturereaching the bean canopy increased with alley width but relative humidity and leaf wetness duration decreased. Proximity to hedgerows also had markedly reduced light levels, lower temperatures and higher relative humidity. Higher incidence and severity of angular leaf spot and anthracnose on beans in alleys than on beans in treeless plots were examined in relation to microclimate, inoculum survival and dispersal. The pattern of the diseases was best explained by microclimate changes induced by Leucaena hedgerows, especially effects of humidity. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

等高绿篱--坡地农业复合系统土壤N2O排放特征

N2O是一种重要的温室气体, 具有很强的温室效应。当前全球变化条件下, 人类活动和农业生产行为产生的N₂O排放增加是当前倍受关注的问题。本研究于2008年11月-2009年10月, 利用静态箱 气相色谱技术对亚热带地区紫穗槐(Amorpha fruticosa L.)绿篱枝叶还田条件下冬小麦 夏玉米轮作田土壤N₂O排放通量进行原位监测, 观测紫穗槐枝叶移出(AR)、翻施(AI)、表施(AC)及作物单作(CK)4种处理下整个生长季土壤N₂O的排放量, 对等高绿篱 坡地农业复合生态系统土壤N₂O排放通量变化及其影响机制进行研究。结果表明, 整个冬小麦 夏玉米轮作期, 4个处理土壤N₂O排放通量呈现出相似的季节变化特征, AR、AI、AC、CK处理全生长季的排放总量为127.62 mg·m^-2、209.66 mg·m^-2、208.73 mg·m^-2、77.52 mg·m^-2。作物不同生育阶段N₂O日均排放通量在冬小麦季表现为: 开花-成熟期>拔节-开花期>出苗-拔节期; 在夏玉米季表现为: 拔节-抽雄期>播种-拔节期>抽雄-成熟期。本试验综合评估了等高绿篱 坡地农业复合生态系统土壤N2O排放通量变化及其影响机制。研究显示, 土壤N₂O排放通量在冬小麦季与土壤温度相关性显著, 在夏玉米季与土壤水分相关性显著。在复合生态系统中紫穗槐复合种植及枝叶还田显著促进土壤N2O排放, 翻施处理产生的N2O量大于表施处理。     

等高植物篱种植模式及其应用中存在的问题

等高植物篱技术是一种坡耕地上低投入、高收益的保护性耕作和持续利用技术。坡耕地采用植物篱种植模式进行水土保持和生态环境治理,能达到明显的保水保土效果,同时能产生显著的经济效益和社会效益。但其推广应用效果不理想,这是因为实施前期收益不明显,作物产量提高滞后,农户管理水平低等因素阻碍了这项水土保持措施的实施。因此,要实施该项技术,应筛选经济价值高的植物篱品种,科学规划篱笆带间距和种植密度,立足山区实际开展技术培训,多渠道筹措资金等。     

Agroforestry in the management of sloping lands in Asia and the Pacific

Steeply sloping lands are widespread in the tropics. An estimated 500 million people practice subsistence agriculture in these marginal areas. Continued population growth has led to the intensified cultivation of large areas of the sloping lands, exacerbating the problem of soil erosion. Although research shows that alley cropping and other contour agroforestry systems can stabilize the sloping lands, these systems have not been widely adopted by farmers. The Framework for Evaluating Sustainable Land Management (FESLM) has been tested in sloping land areas in the Philippines. Sustainable land management must be productive, stable, viable, and acceptable to farmers, while protecting soil and water resources. Farms on which contour hedgerow intercropping has been adopted meet the multifaceted requirements of FESLM, whereas the farmers' current practice does not. Appropriate land management measures for particular locations depend on a complex suite of social, economic, and biophysical factors, and need to be developed in participation with farmers. The role of agroforestry in sustainable management of sloping lands is the subject of networks coordinated by the International Board for Soil Research and Management (IBSRAM) in seven countries in Asia (ASIALAND) and four countries in the Pacific (PACIFICLAND). We review selected outcomes from a wealth of network data. From these results the following conclusions about the sustainability of various agroforestry systems for sloping lands can be drawn: • In the Pacific, soil loss from sloping lands due to water erosion under farmers' current practices is episodic, unpredictable, and possibly not severe; • Agroforestry systems that utilize legume shrubs, fruit trees, coffee (Coffea spp.) or rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) provide useful economic returns, but are not an essential component in terms of soil protection because grass or pineapple (Ananas comosus) planted on the contour are equally effective in reducing erosion; • Agricultural intensification will lead to nutrient mining, reduction of aboveground biomass, declining yields, and less soil protection unless external sources of nutrients are used; • nitrogen can be effectively supplied using legumes; • Cash derived from hedgerow trees and/or shrubs may providean incentive for their adoption by farmers, as well as funds to purchase external inputs such as fertilizers; • Labor may be a major constraint to the adoption of complex agroforestry systems. We also discuss the information management systems required to effectively manage and utilize the extensive sets of experimental and indigenous data being accumulated. We believe such information systems can facilitate technology transfer across and between regions, and improve the efficiency of research into agroforestry and other land-management approaches. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Improving adoptability of farm forestry in the Philippine uplands: a linear programming model

In the Philippines, smallholder farmers have become major timber producers. But the systems of timber production practiced have several limitations. In intercropping systems, the practice of severe branch and/or root pruning reduces tree-crop competition and increases annual crop yields, but is detrimental to tree growth and incompatible with commercial timber production. In even-aged woodlots, lack of regular income and poor tree growth, resulting from farmers’ reluctance to thin their plantations, are major constraints to adoption and profitable tree farming. In the municipality of Claveria, Misamis Oriental, the recent practice of planting trees on widely spaced (6–8 m) contour grass strips established for soil conservation suggests ways to improve the adoptability (i.e., profitability, feasibility and acceptability) of timber-based agroforestry systems. Assuming that financial benefits are the main objective of timber tree farmers, we develop a simple linear programming (LP) model for the optimal allocation of land to monocropping and tree intercropping that maximizes the net present value of an infinite number of rotations and satisfies farmers’ resource constraints and regular income requirements. The application of the LP model to an average farmer in Claveria showed that cumulative additions of widely spaced tree hedgerows provides higher returns to land, and reduce the risk of agroforestry adoption by spreading over the years labour and capital investment costs and the economic benefits accruing to farmers from trees. Therefore, incremental planting of widely spaced tree hedgerows can make farm forestry more adoptable and thus benefit a larger number of resource-constrained farmers in their evolution towards more diverse and productive agroforestry systems.     

The potential of alley farming in humid West Africa — a re-evaluation

Previously published hypothesis concerning the potential impact of alley farming on maize yields are re-examined relative to the humid regions of West Africa. When more realistic assumptions regarding the availability of organic nitrogen are used, it is concluded that alley farming may have potential in a wider range of maize yield environments in West Africa than previously proposed. A pragmatic approach to alley farming research is proposed, and the importance of on-farm research in the development of ‘farmer friendly’ alley farming is stressed. (Former Agronomist, International Livestock Centre for Africa, P.M.B. 5320, Ibadan, Nigeria)     

Alley cropping of sorghum with Leucaena during the post-rainy season on Vertisols in semi-arid India

A field experiment was conducted for two years (1989– 1991) on a Vertisol in Bijapur, India in a split-plot design, replicated four times, to evaluate the potential of alley cropping post-rainy season sorghum between Leucaena hedgerows. Leucaena produced on average 2.74 t per ha of prunings and 1.57 t per ha of wood annually. Alley cropping decreased sorghum yields by 28 to 45% when all Leucaena prunings were removed from the system and by 21 to 24%, when on average 1.92 t per ha prunings were applied to the soil annually. The reduction of sorghum yield increased as higher rates of N were applied to sorghum. Although alley cropping increased organic carbon by 21% and available N by 19% at the time of crop sowing, it did not result in increased crop yields because of competition for water between hedgerows and crops. Calculation of land equivalent ratios based on total Leucaena biomass indicated that alley cropping was more productive than sole cropping of sorghum only in one year, and that, too, when no N was applied to sorghum. Therefore, alley cropping of Vertisols with post-rainy season sorghum is not likely to have any advantage in the short term. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

元阳梯田红米百年不衰的原因及特性探析——以月亮谷为例

在实地考察的基础上,结合近年来对元阳梯田红米研究的文献,分析了元阳梯田红米的种性和百年不衰的原因,认为元阳梯田红米的适应性强,耐贫瘠、需肥量小,抗病性强和产量稳定的品质特性是其内在的原因;而元阳哈尼梯田红米的独特栽培方式,是保证其种性百年不衰的技术保障.在元阳月亮谷独特的地理和气候环境下,保持物种的多样性的栽培方式和顺应自然的耕作制度,有效地保护和发展了元阳梯田红米群体种性,使之成为今天生态农业和可持续发展农业的典范.