Dataverse World Agroforestry (ICRAF)
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Replication Data for: The Role of Rural organizations in the promotion of sustainable land management in Uganda. A case of Masindi district.
No full textThe study aimed at assessing the role of farmer associations in enhancing the adoption of sustainable land management practices in two districts of Uganda. The study employed purposive sampling procedure of the key informants and a combination of cluster and systematic random sampling of the representatives of the farming households with membership to a farmer group/association. Data was collected through key informant interviews, focus group discussions, document review, and face to face structured interviews using semi-structured questionnaires. Descriptive statistics of the respondents’ demographic characteristics, classification of the farmer associations, and of the adopted sustainable land management technologies is presented. Logistic binary regression was used to assess the determinants and predict the adoption of sustainable land management by the farming households. With respect to gender disparities, there was less female participation in land management. This was attributed to the lack of control by the females of key production inputs necessary for production like land, and to the heavy domestic workload that women bear that makes it difficult for them to attend group activities. Agricultural production and subsequent produce marketing was the major service offered by the farmer associations in both districts. These farmer groups facilitate collective marketing of agricultural produce and this has helped reduce transaction costs related to inputs marketing and small marketable surplus emanating from a large number of the usually widely dispersed producers. Farmer groups in Masindi district impose high registration and subscription fees which frustrating their performance. Farm size, membership/subscription fees, and household size, were the major established determinants of farmer participation in the farmer groups.</p
Replication data for: Aptitude des fruits de Dacryodes macrophylla à la germination
No full textThe study was carry out to determine the germination altitude of the fruit of Dacryodes macrophylla in the nursery. The substrate use for the experiment were sawdust, sawdust and sand, ground and sand and also with 3 repetition. Data was collected after a week of planting whereby the germination rate was recorded
Replication Data for: Identification of endophytic fungi from leaves of Pandanaceae based on their morphotypes and DNA sequence data from southern Thailand
No full textThe authors established the taxonomic status of endophytic fungi associated with leaves of Pandanaceae collected from southern Thailand. Morphotypes were initially identified based on their characteristics in culture and species level identification was done based on both morphological characteristics and phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data. Twenty-two isolates from healthy leaves were categorised into eight
morphotypes. Appropriate universal primers were used to amplify specific gene regions and phylogenetic analyses were performed to identify these endophytes and established relationship with extant fungi. The authors identified both ascomycete and basidiomycete species, including one new genus, seven new species and nine known species. Morphological descriptions, colour plates and phylogenies are given for each taxon
Land and Soil Health Assessment in the Nicaragua-Honduras Sentinel Landscape
No full textThe LDSF was carried out at four-100 km2 sites within the Nicaragua-Honduras Sentinel Landscape. El Tuma and Columbus Mine sites in Nicaragua and Rio Platano and Rio Banano sites in Honduras. Field teams were trained by Tor Vågen and Leigh Winowiecki in 2013. Field surveys were completed in January 2014.
The LDSF is a spatially stratified, randomized sampling design, developed to provide a biophysical baseline at landscape level and a monitoring and evaluation framework for assessing processes of land degradation and effectiveness of rehabilitation measures over time.
Measured variables include: land cover, tree and shrub densities, tree biodiversity, erosion prevalence, infiltration capacity, along with an assessment of impact to habitat and occurrence of soil conservation structures. Soil samples were also collected (320 top (0-20 cm) and sub (20-50 cm) soil samples per site) and were processed in Managua. Processed samples were shipped to Nairobi and subjected to infrared spectroscopy and wet chemistry analysis. These combined data sets will be used to assess soil and ecosystem health for the landscape in more detail
Spatial and seasonal variation in soil respiration 1 along a slope in a rubber plantation and a natural forest in Xishuangbanna, SW China
No full textSoil respiration is a key component of the global carbon cycle, and even small changes in soil respiration rates could result in significant changes in atmospheric CO2 levels. The conversion of tropical forests to rubber plantations in SE Asia is increasingly common, and there is a need to understand the impacts of this land-use change on soil respiration in order to revise CO2 budget calculations. This study focused on the spatial variability of soil respiration along a slope in a natural tropical rainforest and a terraced rubber plantation in Xishuangbanna, SW China. In each land-use type, we inserted 105 collars for soil respiration measurements. Research was conducted over one year in Xishuangbanna during May, June, July and October 2015 (wet season) and January and March 2016 (dry season). The mean annual soil respiration rate was 30% higher in natural forest than in rubber plantation and mean fluxes in the wet and dry season were 15.1 and 9.5 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 in natural forest and 11.7 and 5.7 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 in rubber plantation. Using a linear mixed effects model to assess the effect of changes in soil temperature and moisture on soil respiration, we found that soil temperature was the main driver of variation in soil respiration, explaining 48% of its seasonal variation in rubber plantation and 30% in natural forest. After including soil moisture, the model explained 70% of the variation in soil respiration in natural forest and 76% in rubber plantation. In the natural forest slope position had a significant effect on soil respiration, and soil temperature and soil moisture gradients only partly explained this correlation. In contrast, soil respiration in rubber plantation was not affected by slope position, which may be due to the terrace structure that resulted in more homogeneous environmental conditions along the slope. Further research is needed to determine whether or not these findings hold true at a landscape level
Interactive Suitable Tree Species Selection and Management Tool for East Africa- Rwanda
No full text1. The tool aims at promoting tree diversity on farm and in landscapes, including useful exotic tree species that the existing vegetation maps do not capture. The tool currently consists of 115 (54 native and 61 exotic) tree species in Rwanda, disaggregated according to agro-ecological zone suitability. The database enables the user to easily access information either based on tree species, their agro-ecological zone suitability, products, environmental services, origin (native or exotic) and niche. The tool also provides specific details on the trees’ biophysical growth conditions and management requirements as well as links to other agroforestry databases.
2. The tool contains rich information from knowledge-intensive and detailed tree diversity studies: The tool is a composite of different studies and surveys done by working with different stakeholders such as researchers, farmers, extension workers and local partner organizations. These include:
o Tree diversity studies- shows the current tree diversity trends
o Local knowledge studies- captures tree species according to niche locations, most important tree and preferred tree niches. Historical timelines captures tree species that have been lost or are close to extinction, as well as reasons for these trends.
o Baseline studies- captures patterns of tree adoption on farms
o Seed and Seedling System surveys- captures what tree species farmers are planting currently, including the most popular tree species, which implies future trends
o Land Degradation Surveillance Framework: presents biophysical assessment of tree distribution, including tree density
o Literature review- such as the Useful trees and shrubs for Ethiopia- was used to provide additional information such as: biophysical growth conditions, management practices etc and in addition to triangulate information already captured through the other approaches
3. Tracking tree species’ trends: The tools provide an insight into the past, present and future tree species trends on landscapes. Source of information for each tree species, which is guided by the studies named in 2 above is provided (by an asterisk). Double asterisk signifies trees that are deemed most important by farmers in a given area.
4. Scalability: Information provided in the tool can be easily used to select suitable tree species for scaling up and scaling out agroforestry interventions to similar agro-ecologies.
5. Further it is possible to update information on the tool as more tree species are encountered.
Science with grass-root impacts: The tool is interactive and targets a wider audience for promoting ‘Research in Development’ agenda: The tool is easy to use and targets not only researchers but also local extension workers, who are key in scaling up and out agroforestry in interventions. It provides local names of tree species that can easily guide the users at the local level to identify the tree species. We hope to explore ways of packaging the information in forms that can be readily available to local partners like CDs etc
Replication Data for Flight initiation distance as behavioral indicator of hunting pressure: a case study of the Sooty-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus aurigaster) in Xishuangbanna, SW China
No full textTraditional assessments of anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity often ignore hunting pressure or use subjective categories (e.g. high, medium or low) that cannot be readily understood by readers or replicated in other studies. Although animals often appear tame in habitats without hunting compared to habitats with hunting, few studies have demonstrated such effects. We determined the flight initiation distance (FID; i.e. human-animal distance when the animal begins to flee) of a common frugivorous bird of Southeast Asia, Sooty-headed Bulbul (Pycnonotus aurigaster) across a gradient of hunting pressures in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, SW China. Controlling for confounding
effects, we show that FID increased with hunting pressure, which was quantitatively measured through encounters with hunters. As FIDs respond more specifically to hunting than other defaunation metrics, we suggest they can be used as behavioral indicators of hunting pressure in developing conservation strategies
An ecosystem service perspective on benefits that people derive from biodiversity of coastal forests in Lamu County, Kenya
No full textNatural resources provide a foundation for economic development today. However, global biodiversity is under threat due to among other things, increasing population over the years leading to an increased demand for natural goods and services such as fuel, timber, and medicine. High demand for natural resources has led to increased degradation of ecosystems thereby threatening the sustainability of ecosystem services. Involvement of people living in the vicinity of such ecosystems in conservation activities becomes integral ensuring that the resources are not only well utilized but also properly managed.In this report we test two assumptions; one, that people living in the vicinity of Witu and Boni Dodori forests derive their food, energy, medicine and construction material from these forests, and second, that since they benefit from the ecosystem services provided by biodiversity from the forest, they then have the self-interest to secure the benefits that they derive from biodiversity and participate in preventing forest destruction and degradation.Next, we investigated the second assumption that people living closer to natural forest ecosystems would be more inclined to conserve the biodiversity that they depend on
Replication Data for: Suitability Analysis and Projected Climate Change Impact on Banana and Coffee Production Zones in Nepal
No full textThe Government of Nepal has identified opportunities in agricultural commercialization, responding to a growing internal demand and expansion of export markets to reduce the immense trade deficit. Several cash crops, including coffee and bananas, have been identified in the recently approved Agriculture Development Strategy. Both of these crops have encouraged smallholder farmers to convert their subsistence farming practices to more commercial cultivation. Identification of suitable agro-ecological zones and understanding climate-related issues are important for improved production and livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Here, the suitability of coffee and banana crops is analyzed for different agro-ecological zones represented by Global Environmental Stratification (GEnS). Future shifts in these suitability zones are also predicted. Plantation sites in Nepal were geo-referenced and used as input in species distribution modelling. The multi-model ensemble model suggests that climate change will reduce the suitable growing area for coffee by about 72% across the selected emission scenarios from now to 2050. Impacts are low for banana growing, with a reduction in suitability by about 16% by 2050. Bananas show a lot of potential for playing an important role in Nepal as a sustainable crop in the context of climate change, as this study indicates that the amount of area suited to banana growing will grow by 40% by 2050. Based on our analysis we recommend possible new locations for coffee plantations and one method for mitigating climate change-related problems on existing plantations. These findings are expected to support planning and policy dialogue for mitigation and support better informed and scientifically based decision-making relating to these two crops