Biodiversity

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We are concerned with the ways in which agroforestry affects biodiversity in ‘working landscapes’—landscape mosaics that integrate protected areas with agriculture and other resources. Three types of impact are important. First, the development, intensification or conservation of agroforestry systems can alter patterns of exploitation of protected areas. Second, the expansion and intensification of agroforestry systems can affect biodiversity across the landscape. Third, agroforestry can change the within- and between-species diversity of trees in agroforestry systems.

Lead scientists: Tom Tomich and Meine Van- Noordwijk

As much as 90 percent of the biodiversity resources in the tropics are located in landscape mosaics in which significant numbers of people live and use the resource base to earn their livelihoods. Here we refer to those landscapes as “multi-functional landscapes.” ICRAF programmes consider the two-way relationships between agroforestry, livelihoods and biodiversity in multi-functional landscapes.

First, biodiversity affects tree domestication and the introduction of improved germplasm into agroforestry systems. Quantitative assessments of tree biodiversity and the contributions of those trees to livelihoods can help to identify indigenous trees that should be domesticated, or if suitable germplasm already exists, promoted through agroforestry development programmes.

Second, agroforestry can maintain and contribute to tree diversity in human modified landscapes. Comparative studies by the Alternatives to Slash and Burn Programme and similar studies conducted in East Africa and the Western Africa Sahel show that agroforestry systems usually contain more than half of the tree species that are found in nearby primary forests. It is also hypothesized that agroforestry outside of protected areas can reduce pressure for harvesting tree products from the protected areas.

Third, research by ICRAF and others has shown that agroforestry can contribute to wild animal diversity. Agroforestry in areas around protected areas can extend the habitat of forest dwelling animals further toward the boundaries of the protected. Agroforestry can also contribute to landscape conservation of biodiversity by creating corridors and landscape heterogeneity in multi-functional landscapes.

Biodiversity Results Chain

Goal: Agroforestry systems contribute to the conservation and enrichment of biodiversity in landscape mosaics that integrate protected areas with agriculture and other resource uses
Indicator: Landscape and farm-level biodiversity are simultaneously enriched in priority areas through the expansion of agroforestry systems in multi-functional landscape mosaics that integrate protected areas with agriculture and other resource uses

Outputs

Indicators of outputs

Outcomes

Indicators of outcomes

Impacts

Indicators of Impacts

Validated principles and guidelines on how agroforestry can contribute to biodiverse landscapes.

Validated principles and guidelines on how tree diversity and domestication contributes to the livelihoods of the rural poor.

Validated principles and guidelines for agroforestry to minimize the risks associated with potentially invasive species.

Successful pilot activities of agroforestry and domestication boosting biodiversity and rural livelihoods in priority agroecosystems.

Critical mass of planners and researchers with skills in tree biodiversity management.

Synthesis papers and volumes published and disseminated; research and policy briefs published and disseminated.

Project reports and evaluations.

Number of priority landscapes in which ICRAF has worked cooperatively or has trained at least 5 researchers and planners in tree biodiversity management.

International and regional biodiversity and conservation agreements recognize the potential of agroforestry to contribute to conservation, sustained use and benefit sharing objectives.

National and regional forestry, environment and poverty reduction plans explicitly address the contributions of agroforestry to biodiversity.

Text of work plans, protocols and scientific reports for the conventions.

Environment, forestry and poverty reduction action plans in priority countries.

Agroforestry contributes to biodiversity conservation in pilot sites.

Agroforestry contributes to enhancement of livelihoods and conservation of biodiversity with acceptable tradeoffs.

Impact assessment studies in pilot sites.

Sources of knowledge about agroforestry and environmental services

The centre point for international interest in biological diversity is the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, including the UNCBD Secretariat and its SBSTTA (Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice). The UNCBD Decision VI/22 on Forest Biological Diversity presents an expanded programme of work on forestry that contains important implications for agroforestry research and development.

Agroforestry has potential to contribute to biodiversity within agricultural systems, within landscape mosaics including agriculture and protected areas, and in protected areas themselves. Biodiversity within agricultural systems is often referred to as agrobiodiversity: ICRAF’s work on domestication and expanded production of indigenous tree species is directly relevant to the in situ and ex situ conservation of tree agrobiodiversity. The contribution of agriculture to conservation of wild biodiversity within multi-function landscape mosaics has recently been dubbed Ecoagriculture by Sarah Scherr and Jeff McNeely. Ecoagriculture is consistent with the ecosystem and landscape approaches to conservation now being promoted within the environmental conventions. Multi-strata agroforestry systems are often considered to be the classic example of Ecoagriculture. The potential contribution of agroforestry to the conservation of biodiversity in protected areas, largely through relieving harvesting pressure on protected areas, is promoted by conservationists such as Jane Goodall, despite that fact that there is relatively little evidence about its real benefits.

It must also be recognized that agroforestry has potential to threaten biodiversity. The introduction and colonization of invasive alien tree species has the potential to replace less aggressive indigenous plant species.

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