Esquivel, M. Jimena, Vilchez-Mendoza, Sergio, Harvey, Celia A., Ospina, Mayra A., Somarriba, Eduardo, Deheuvels, Olivier, Virginio Filho, Elias de M., Haggar, Jeremy ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4682-4879, Detlefsen, Guillermo, Cerdan, Carlos, Casanoves, Fernando and Ordoñez, Jenny C. (2023) Patterns of shade plant diversity in four agroforestry systems across Central America: A meta-analysis. Scientific Reports, 13:8538. ISSN 2045-2322 (doi:10.1038/s41598-023-35578-7)

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Abstract

Agroforestry systems can potentially increase tree diversity within agricultural landscapes, but to date, there is little understanding of the patterns of shade plant diversity within different agroforestry systems (AFS) at large spatial scales. Using compiled plant inventory data (from 23 sources, 2517 plots and 148255 individuals) encompassing four AFS (shaded coffee; shaded cocoa; dispersed trees on pastures and live fences) across six countries in Central America we estimated different metrics of diversity to assess the conservation value of different AFS for shade plants. 458 shade plant species were recorded across the four agroforestry systems. Primary forest species accounted for 28% of the shade species recorded, but only 6% of the recorded individuals. No single AFS was consistently the most diverse across countries when considering rarefied species richness. In fact, trees on pastures can potentially reach a similar species richness as cocoa and coffee systems but require sampled areas 7-30 times larger. In terms of composition, 29 species were shared across the agroforestry systems in different countries, illustrating the strong selection pressure of farmers for species that provide timber, firewood, and fruit. Our study highlights the potential contribution and limitations of different AFS for tree diversity conservation within agricultural landscapes.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	cocoa, coffee, live fences, silvopastoral systems, biodiversity conservation, trees on farms
Subjects:	S Agriculture > SD Forestry
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Ecosystem Services Research Group Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 One Health Faculty of Engineering & Science > Natural Resources Institute > Centre for Sustainable Agriculture 4 One Health > Ecosystems Services
Last Modified:	27 Nov 2024 14:46
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/42953

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