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Win-win opportunities combining high yields with high multi-taxa biodiversity in tropical agroforestry.

ABSTRACT: Resolving ecological-economic trade-offs between biodiversity and yields is a key challenge when addressing the biodiversity crisis in tropical agricultural landscapes. Here, we focused on the relation between seven different taxa (trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and ants) and yields in vanilla agroforests in Madagascar. Agroforests established in forests supported overall 23% fewer species and 47% fewer endemic species than old-growth forests, and 14% fewer endemic species than forest fragments. In contrast, agroforests established on fallows had overall 12% more species and 38% more endemic species than fallows. While yields increased with vanilla vine density and length, non-yield related variables largely determined biodiversity. Nonetheless, trade-offs existed between yields and butterflies as well as reptiles. Vanilla yields were generally unrelated to richness of trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and ants, opening up possibilities for conservation outside of protected areas and restoring degraded land to benefit farmers and biodiversity alike.

SUBMITTER: Wurz A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9325886 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Win-win opportunities combining high yields with high multi-taxa biodiversity in tropical agroforestry.

Wurz Annemarie A Tscharntke Teja T Martin Dominic Andreas DA Osen Kristina K Rakotomalala Anjaharinony A N A AANA Raveloaritiana Estelle E Andrianisaina Fanilo F Dröge Saskia S Fulgence Thio Rosin TR Soazafy Marie Rolande MR Andriafanomezantsoa Rouvah R Andrianarimisa Aristide A Babarezoto Fenohaja Soavita FS Barkmann Jan J Hänke Hendrik H Hölscher Dirk D Kreft Holger H Rakouth Bakolimalala B Guerrero-Ramírez Nathaly R NR Ranarijaona Hery Lisy Tiana HLT Randriamanantena Romual R Ratsoavina Fanomezana Mihaja FM Raveloson Ravaomanarivo Lala Harivelo LH Grass Ingo I

Nature communications 20220726 1

Resolving ecological-economic trade-offs between biodiversity and yields is a key challenge when addressing the biodiversity crisis in tropical agricultural landscapes. Here, we focused on the relation between seven different taxa (trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and ants) and yields in vanilla agroforests in Madagascar. Agroforests established in forests supported overall 23% fewer species and 47% fewer endemic species than old-growth forests, and 14% fewer e ...[more]

PMID: 35882849

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Project description: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 equivocal. To better understand how different land use strategies impact ecosystem services, we characterized the relationships between plant diversity (including species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and natural resource diversity), and soil quality within pasture, agroforests, and secondary forests, three common land use types maintained by small-scale farmers in the Pearl Lagoon Basin, Nicaragua. The area is undergoing accelerated globalization following the 2007 completion of the region's first major road; a change which is expected to increase forest conversion for agriculture. However, farmer agrobiodiversity maintenance in the Basin was previously found to be positively correlated with affiliation to local agricultural NGOs through the maintenance of agroforestry systems, despite these farmers residing in the communities closest to the new road, highlighting the potential for maintaining diverse agroforestry agricultural strategies despite heightened globalization pressures. We found that agroforestry sites tended to have higher surface soil %C, %N, and pH relative to neighboring to secondary forest, while maintaining comparable plant diversity. In contrast, pasture reduced species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and natural resource diversity. No significant relationships were found between plant diversity and the soil properties assessed; however higher species richness and phylodiversity was positively correlated with natural resource diversity. These finding suggest that small, diversified agroforestry systems may be a viable strategy for promoting both social and ecological functions in eastern Nicaragua and other rapidly developing areas of the tropics.

Project description:BackgroundMicroendemic species are species with very small geographic distributions (ranges). Their presence delimitates areas with microendemic species (AMs), denoting a spatial unit comprising at least one population of at least one microendemic species. AMs are assumed to be distributed distinctively and associated with specific ecological, historical, and anthropogenic attributes. However, the level of influence of these factors remains unclear. Thus, we studied the distribution patterns of microendemic species within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest to (a) identify the region's AMs; (b) evaluate whether ecological (latitude, altitude, distance from the coastline), historical (climate stability), and anthropogenic (ecological integrity) attributes distinguish AMs from non-AMs; and (c) assess the conservation status of the Atlantic Forest's AMs.MethodsWe mapped the ranges of 1,362 microendemic species of angiosperms, freshwater fishes, and terrestrial vertebrates (snakes, passerine birds, and small mammals) to identify the region's AMs. Further, spatial autoregressive logit regression models were used to evaluate whether latitude, altitude, distance from the coastline, Climate Stability Index, and ecological integrity can be used to discern AMs from non-AMs. Moreover, the AMs' conservation status was assessed by evaluating the region's ecological integrity and conservation efforts (measured as the proportion of AMs in protected areas).ResultsWe identified 261 AMs for angiosperm, 205 AMs for freshwater fishes, and 102 AMs for terrestrial vertebrates in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, totaling 474 AMs covering 23.8% of the region. The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is a large and complex biogeographic mosaic where AMs represent islands or archipelagoes surrounded by transition areas with no microendemic species. All local attributes help to distinguish AMs from non-AMs, but their impacts vary across taxonomic groups. Around 69% of AMs have low ecological integrity and poor conservation efforts, indicating that most microendemic species are under threat. This study provides insights into the biogeography of one of the most important global biodiversity hotspots, creating a foundation for comparative studies using other tropical forest regions.

Project description:Along many decades, protected environments were targeted by the scientific community for ecological research and for the collection of scientific information related to environmental aspects and biodiversity. However, most of the territory in hotspot regions with weak or even non legal protection has been left aside. These non-protected areas (NPA) could host high biodiversity values. This paper addresses how scientific effort on a NPA (CIAR) of 700 ha from the Atlantic Rain Forest, generates new information and tools for large-scale environmental and biodiversity management in NPAs. Information published during the last decade was summarized and complemented with subsequent novel data about biodiversity (new species, first records, DNA and chemical analyses, etc.). The results showed: 1 new genus (arachnid), 6 new species and several putative new species (fish and arthropod), 6 vulnerable species (bird and mammal) and 36 first records for Argentina (fish, arthropod, platyhelminth and fungi). When compared with protected natural areas of the same biome, the CIAR showed highly valuable aspects for fauna and environment conservation, positioning this NPA as a worldwide hotspot for some taxa. Indeed, when compared to international hotspots in a coordinated Malaise trap program, the CIAR showed 8,651 different barcode index numbers (∼species) of arthropods, 80% of which had not been previously barcoded. Molecules like Inoscavin A, with antifungal activity against phytopathogens, was isolated for the first time in Phellinus merrillii fungi. The study of major threats derived from anthropic activities measured 20 trace elements, 18 pesticides (i.e. endosulfans, chlorpyrifos, DDTs, HCHs) and 27 pharmaceuticals and drugs (i.e. benzoylecgonine and norfluoxetine) in different biotic and abiotic matrices (water, sediment, fish and air biomonitors). This integrated data analysis shows that biodiversity research in NPA is being undervalued and how multidisciplinary and multi-taxa surveys creates a new arena for research and a pathway towards sustainable development in emerging countries with biodiversity hotspots.

Dataset Information

Win-win opportunities combining high yields with high multi-taxa biodiversity in tropical agroforestry.

Publications

Win-win opportunities combining high yields with high multi-taxa biodiversity in tropical agroforestry.

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