Biodiversity

Forest edges near farms enhance wheat productivity measures; a test using high spatial resolution remote sensing of smallholder farms in Southern Ethiopia

Staple crops are grown by millions of smallholder farmers yet estimating field-level yields over broad regions can be challenging. Furthermore, agricultural productivity can be impacted by nearby forests and trees. In an agricultural-forest mosaic in …

Landscape diversity and diet diversity. A roadmap for transdisciplinary research.

Malnutrition linked to poor quality diets affects at least 2 billion people. Forests, as well as agricultural systems linked to trees, are key sources of dietary diversity in rural settings. In the present article, we develop conceptual links between …

Forest restoration scenarios produce synergies for agricultural production in southern Ethiopia

Understanding the factors influencing agricultural productivity is vital to food security, especially for food insecure smallholder farmers. Within agricultural landscape mosaics, the arrangement of tree cover such as forests, trees, and hedgerows …

Fixing our global agricultural system to prevent the next COVID-19

While the world's attention is focused on controlling COVID-19, evidence points at the biodiversity crisis as a leading factor in its emergence, and the outbreak of many past emerging infectious diseases. Agriculture is a major driver of biodiversity …

Testing the various pathways linking forest cover to dietary diversity in tropical landscapes

A diverse diet is important to address micronutrient deficiencies and other forms of malnutrition, one of the greatest challenges of today's food systems. In tropical countries, several studies have found a positive association between forest cover …

Forest pattern, not just amount, influences dietary quality in five African countries

Dietary diversification is central to improving dietary quality and nutrition. Forests provide access to diverse and nutritionally important foods. We linked forest metrics and food consumption data across five African countries. One additional …

Agriculturally productive yet biodiverse. Human benefits and conservation values along a forest-agriculture gradient in Southern Ethiopia

Context. It remains unclear how agricultural landscapes can best serve multiple purposes such as simultaneously maintaining agricultural productivity and conserving biodiversity. Objectives. Our objective was to assess how important components of …

Retaining forests within agricultural landscapes as a pathway to sustainable intensification. Evidence from Southern Ethiopia

There are increasing calls in Africa for 'sustainable intensification' of agriculture with the aim of increasing productivity whilst minimizing the negative environmental and social impacts. This paper questions whether adopting a landscape …

A methodological approach for assessing cross-site landscape change. Understanding socio-ecological systems

The expansion of agriculture has resulted in large-scale habitat loss, the fragmentation of forests, significant losses in biological diversity and negative impacts on many ecosystem services. In this paper, we highlight the Agrarian Change Project, …

On the edge of state and economy

The previous chapters discussed the constitution of 'the edge' and the diversity of people's activites in these areas in relation to its major defining characteristic; its proximity to wildlife conservation areas. This chapter shifts the attention to …