Dataverse World Agroforestry (ICRAF)
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Replication Data for The fig wasp followers and colonists of awidely introduced fig tree, Ficus microcarpa
No full textThe transportation of plants and insects between countries often has negative consequences, but also provides opportunities to study community processes. Fig trees are a species-rich group of largely tropical and subtropical plants, characterised by their unusual inflorescences (figs).
Ficus microcarpa is a native of Asia and Australasia and frequently planted elsewhere. Widespread introductions of its pollinator fig wasp, Eupristina verticillata, have allowed the tree to reproduce and become increasingly invasive. Non-pollinating fig wasps (NPFW) are also widely introduced.
Here, we combine previously published records of the distributions of fig wasps associated with F. microcarpa with the results of our extensive surveys across much of its introduced and native ranges. At least 43 morpho-species of fig wasps are associated with figs of F. microcarpa, most of which have only been recorded from this host. Twenty-one NPFW have become established outside their native ranges, but there has been only limited colonisation by locally native fig wasps within countries of introduction.
Fig wasp communities in colonised areas are less species-rich and contain a lower proportion of parasitoids. The pollinator and two phytophagous NPFW are the most widely introduced species, and usually the first species to arrive in countries where the host fig has become established. The pace of colonisation appears to be accelerating.
The rarity of faunal acquisition on introduced F. microcarpa contrasts strongly with that of introduced gall wasps on oaks and chestnuts
Replication Data for: Limited long-term effects of moderate livestock grazing and prescribed early fire on soil and root processes in Sudanian savanna-woodlands, West Africa
No full textSavanna ecosystems are mainly shaped by climate, soil properties and ecological disturbances such as fire and grazing. The biophysical effects of fire and grazing depend both on their intensities and season of occurrence. The long-term effects of fire and grazing on key soil parameters are still largely unknown in West African savanna ecosystems; yet the knowledge of these effects is crucial to our understanding and sustainable management of savanna ecosystems. This study provides scientific evidence of soil responses to both fire and grazing management, and their interactions, based on field-data from two case-studies. The data are drawn from a long-term factorial experiment that has been established since 1992 in two State Forest reserves in Burkina Faso that mainly differ in their soil attributes (i.e. shallow or deep soil). Root biomass, soil CO2 efflux, organic matter content and C/N ratio, and soil water properties were assessed on plots subjected to two different treatments (i.e. moderate grazing and prescribed burning) over a 20 year period. The results indicated that at the site with shallow soil, for both root density and organic matter content there was no significant difference between the studied soil depths (i.e. 0–5 cm and 5–10 cm) nor a significant effect of treatment (both p > 0.05). In contrast, at the site with deep soil, root density increases with soil depth (p = 0.011); it is 5 times higher at depths of between 5 and 10 cm (3.26 ± 1.24 g/dm3) compared to the top 5 cm (0.67 ± 0.20 g/dm3). The organic matter content marginally decreases (p = 0.048) with soil depth. The C/N ratio is higher (p < 0.05) under an annual early fire treatment compared to the grazing treatments and control, particularly at the deep soil site. In addition, the CO2 efflux varies significantly with the treatment at the two sites (p < 0.004); grazed plots have higher respiration rates than control and burnt plots. Finally, water infiltration rates do not vary significantly with fire and grazing after 20-years of treatment. Our results provide an insight into the long-term effects of fire and grazing on soil water infiltration and soil CO2 fluxes in savanna ecosystems. We conclude that effects of fire and grazing on savanna soil processes are limited. We also highlight our contrasting results between the studied soil attributes across the two sites, providing evidence that depending on site differences, the effects of fire and grazing on soil chemical and water properties might change, suggesting caution when making extrapolation in the context of savanna land use planning and management
Capacitating African Smallholders with Climate Advisories and Insurance Development (CASCAID)
No full textCASCAID aims to capacitate African smallholders and their boundary partners (NHMS, NGOs, CSOs, private sector) with actionable climate advisories, index insurance and integrated climate services that reduce the impact of seasonal climate risk from farm to country levels
Effect of the grafting techniques on Success probability of young grafted Theobroma cacao
No full textThis study was carried out to determine the effect of the grafting techniques on success probability of young grafted Theobroma cacao. 3 grafting methods were used whereby 150 plants were sampled producing a total number of grafted plants 50. The grafted plants were assess as alive, dead and success
Ag-Biodiversity Project Data Collection Tools: Nutrition and Consumption
No full textExcel Form used to author the survey in ODK for the Ag Biodiversity Project for the Nutrition and Consumption dat
Database
No full textThe Database.accdb contains the information collected during the sampling of 5 coverings and land uses, carried out on farms of 41 producers of cocoa of Irazola district in Padre Abad province in Per
Assessment of tree species, diversity distribution pattern and socioeconomic uses on farmland in Oromia regional state: the case of East Shewa zone
No full textThe study presents analysis of farmland tree species composition diversity, distribution pattern and socioeconomic uses in East Shewa Zone of Oromia National Regional State. With the intention of well characterizing tree diversity in terms of crop/tree management systems five Kebeles were selected from five purposively selected Woredas of East Shewa Zone and 20 HHs in each Kebele were selected randomly. From the selected 20 households 4 of them were selected randomly to survey all plots owned by them and for the remaining 16 households, plots investigated were those with the main homestead. All trees and shrubs for all the farms owned by the selected households were surveyed. A total of 172 farm plots were surveyed in the study area and 76 woody plant species, representing 63 genera and 23 families were recorded. The Family Fabaceae with twenty species had the highest number of species. Homestead planting, boundary planting, mixed with crop, grazing land, small scale woodlot and hedge row planting were land use practices that were observed in the study sites. Maximum richness and abundance were recorded in homesteads followed by boundary plantings and on-farms having Shannon diversity index value of 3.05, 3.02 and 2.43 respectively. There were significance relationship between land holding and number of individual trees however; land holding with species richness, Shannon diversity and evenness index didn’t show significant relationship. Better management strategies and approaches would improve the existing agroforestry system
Replication data for: Assessing seed quality in 6 pilot nurseries in the western highland of Cameroon
No full textThis study was carried out to assess seed quality in 6 pilot nurseries of the west region of Cameroon. 180 seeds were sampled from ICRAF research and non ICRAF research sites. Parameters recorded were specie name, height of seedling, root collar diameter, root dry weight, shoot dry weight, sturdiness and root/shoot ratio
Replication Data for Phylogenetic clustering increases with succession for lianas in a Chinese tropical montane rain forest
No full textPrevious research found that phylogenetic clustering increased with disturbance for tropical trees, suggesting that community assembly is mainly influenced by abiotic factors during early succession. Lianas are an important additional component of tropical forests, but their phylogenetic community structure has never been investigated. Unlike tropical trees, liana abundance is often high in disturbed forests and diversity can peak in old secondary forest. Therefore, phylogenetic structure along a disturbance gradient might also differ from tropical tree communities. Here we determined phylogenetic community structure of lianas along a disturbance gradient in a tropical montane forest in China, using the net relatedness index (NRI) from 100 equivalent phylogenies with varying branch length that were constructed using DNA-barcode sequences. Three additional phylogenetic indices were also considered for comparison. When NRI was used as index phylogenetic clustering of liana communities decreased with decreasing tree basal area, suggesting that liana competitive interactions dominate during early succession, which is in contrast to the pattern reported for trees. Liana communities in mature forests, on the other hand, were phylogenetic clustered, which could be caused by dispersal limitation and/or environmental filtering. The three additional phylogenetic indices identified different, sometimes contradicting predictors of phylogenetic community structure, indicating that caution is needed when generalizing interpretations of studies based on a single phylogenetic community structure index. Our study provides a more nuanced picture of non-random assembly along disturbance gradients by focusing on a non-tree forest component
Replication Data for Environmental and geographic factors driving dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) diversity in the dipterocarp forests of Peninsular Malaysia
No full textDespite a good understanding of dung beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) ecology in Southeast Asia, little is known about dung beetles in Peninsular Malaysia. No general study of dung beetle diversity has been carried out in Peninsular Malaysia, and we lack an understanding of how environmental and geographic factors, such as floristic zone, affect dung beetle community diversity. We sampled dung beetle diversity at eight different sites distributed throughout Peninsular Malaysia that encompass primary and secondary lowland, hill, and upper hill dipterocarp forests. We collected 4,313 dung beetles of 64 different species that represent six tribes (Coprini, Oniticellini, Onthophagini, Gymnopleurini, Deltochilini, and Sisyphini) in the subfamily Scarabaeinae. The number of our sampling locations and the range of floristic zones and forest conditions represented by these sites allow us to present a general overview of dung beetle diversity in Peninsular Malaysia and to begin to analyse trends in dung beetle composition throughout the peninsula