Agroforestry Practices Promote Biodiversity and Natural Resource Diversity in Atlantic Nicaragua.

ABSTRACT: Tropical forest conversion to pasture, which drives greenhouse gas emissions, soil degradation, and biodiversity loss, remains a pressing socio-ecological challenge. This problem has spurred increased interest in the potential of small-scale agroforestry systems to couple sustainable agriculture with biodiversity conservation, particularly in rapidly developing areas of the tropics. In addition to providing natural resources (i.e. food, medicine, lumber), agroforestry systems have the potential to maintain higher levels of biodiversity and greater biomass than lower diversity crop or pasture systems. Greater plant diversity may also enhance soil quality, further supporting agricultural productivity in nutrient-limited tropical systems. Yet, the nature of these relationships remains equivoc

SUBMITTER: Sistla SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5015841 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature