Abstract

Agricultural landscapes are increasingly being managed with the aim of enhancing the provisioning of multiple ecosystem services and sustainability of production systems. However, agricultural management that maximizes provisioning ecosystem services can often reduce both regulating and maintenance services. We hypothesized that agroforestry reduces trade-offs between provisioning and regulating/maintenance services. We conducted a quantitative synthesis of studies carried out in sub-Saharan Africa focusing on crop yield (as an indicator of provisioning services), soil fertility, erosion control, and water regulation (as indicators of regulating/maintenance services). A total of 1106 observations were extracted from 126 peer-reviewed publications that fulfilled the selection criteria for meta-analysis of studies comparing agroforestry and non-agroforestry practices (hereafter control) in sub-Saharan Africa. Across ecological conditions, agroforestry significantly increased crop yield, total soil nitrogen, soil organic carbon, and available phosphorus compared to the control. Agroforestry practices also reduced runoff and soil loss and improved infiltration rates and soil moisture content. No significant differences were detected between the different ecological conditions, management regimes, and types of woody perennials for any of the ecosystem services. Main trade-offs included low available phosphorus and low soil moisture against higher crop yield. This is the first meta-analysis that shows that, on average, agroforestry systems in sub-Saharan Africa increase crop yield while maintaining delivery of regulating/maintenance ecosystem services. We also demonstrate how woody perennials have been managed in agricultural landscapes to provide multiple ecosystem services without sacrificing crop productivity. This is important in rural livelihoods where the range of ecosystem services conveys benefits in terms of food security and resilience to environmental shocks.

Keywords

Available phosphorus; Infiltration; Runoff; Soil erosion; Soil organic carbon; Soil moisture content; Trade-off

Published in

Agronomy for Sustainable Development
2019, Volume: 39, number: 5, article number: 47
Publisher: SPRINGER FRANCE

SLU Authors

• Kuyah, Shem

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology
  • University of Bonn

• Jonsson, Mattias

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Öborn, Ingrid

  • Department of Crop Production Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)

Sustainable Development Goals

End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns


UKÄ Subject classification

Agricultural Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-019-0589-8

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/101742