scholarly journals Plant Diversity and Agroecosystem Function in Riparian Agroforests: Providing Ecosystem Services and Land-Use Transition

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serra W. Buchanan ◽  
Megan Baskerville ◽  
Maren Oelbermann ◽  
Andrew M. Gordon ◽  
Naresh V. Thevathasan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
N Cycling ◽  
Riparian Systems ◽  
Functionally Diverse ◽  
Herbaceous Community

Achieving biologically diverse agricultural systems requires a commitment to changes in land use. While in-field agrobiodiversity is a critical route to such a transition, riparian systems remain an important, yet understudied, pathway to achieve key diversity and ecosystem services and targets. Notably, at the interface of agricultural landscapes and aquatic systems, the diversification of riparian buffers with trees reduces the non-point source pollution in waterways. However, in riparian agroforestry systems, little is known about herbaceous community patterns and, importantly, the herbaceous community’s role in governing carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling. Our study investigated herbaceous community taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity patterns in riparian (i) grasslands (GRASSLAND), (ii) rehabilitated agroforests (AGROFOREST-REHAB), and (iii) remnant forests (AGROFOREST-NATURAL). We then determined the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships between community functional diversity metrics, C and N cycling, and greenhouse gas fluxes. We observed significant differences in taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity among riparian buffer types. We found that herbaceous plant communities in riparian agroforestry systems expressed plant trait syndromes associated with fast-growing, resource acquiring strategies, while grassland buffer plants exhibited slow-growing, resource conserving strategies. Herbaceous communities with high functional diversity and resource acquiring trait syndromes, such as those in the agroforestry riparian systems, were significantly correlated with lower rates of soil CO2 efflux and N mineralization, both of which are key fluxes related to ecosystem service delivery. Our findings provide further evidence that functionally diverse, and not necessarily taxonomically diverse, plant communities are strongly correlated to positive ecosystem processes in riparian agroforestry systems, and that these communities contribute to the transition of agricultural lands toward biologically and functionally diverse landscapes.

scholarly journals Functional diversity of catch mitigates negative effects of temperature variability on fisheries yields

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1836) ◽  
pp. 20161435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura E. Dee ◽  
Steve J. Miller ◽  
Lindsey E. Peavey ◽  
Darcy Bradley ◽  
Rebecca R. Gentry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Temperature Variability ◽  
Marine Fisheries ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Effects Of Temperature ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
Functionally Diverse

Temperature variation within a year can impact biological processes driving population abundances. The implications for the ecosystem services these populations provide, including food production from marine fisheries, are poorly understood. Whether and how temperature variability impacts fishery yields may depend on the number of harvested species and differences in their responses to varying temperatures. Drawing from previous theoretical and empirical studies, we predict that greater temperature variability within years will reduce yields, but harvesting a larger number of species, especially a more functionally diverse set, will decrease this impact. Using a global marine fisheries dataset, we find that within-year temperature variability reduces yields, but current levels of functional diversity (FD) of targeted species, measured using traits related to species' responses to temperature, largely offset this effect. Globally, high FD of catch could avoid annual losses in yield of 6.8% relative to projections if FD were degraded to the lowest level observed in the data. By contrast, species richness in the catch and in the ecosystem did not provide a similar mitigating effect. This work provides novel empirical evidence that short-term temperature variability can negatively impact the provisioning of ecosystem services, but that FD can buffer these negative impacts.

Is phylogenetic diversity a good proxy for functional diversity of plant communities? A case study from urban habitats

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 1036-1046 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zdeňka Lososová ◽  
Natálie Čeplová ◽  
Milan Chytrý ◽  
Lubomír Tichý ◽  
Jiří Danihelka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Diversity ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Phylogenetic Diversity ◽  
Urban Habitats ◽  
Good Proxy

scholarly journals Quantifying Regulating Ecosystem Services with Increased Tree Densities on European Farmland

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6676
Author(s):  
Josep Crous-Duran ◽  
Anil R. Graves ◽  
Silvestre García de Jalón ◽  
Sonja Kay ◽  
Margarida Tomé ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Product Diversification ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Biophysical Model ◽  
Starting Point

Agroforestry systems have been compared to agricultural and forestry alternatives, providing a land-use solution for additional environmental benefits while maintaining similar levels of productivity. However, there is scarce research assessing such patterns across a pan-European scale using a common methodology. This study aims to improve our understanding of the role of trees in three different regulating ecosystem services—(1) soil erosion, (2) nitrate leaching and (3) carbon sequestration—in traditional and innovative agroforestry systems in Europe through a consistent modeling approach. The systems’ assessment spans environmentally from the Mediterranean environmental region in Portugal to the Continental environmental region in Switzerland and Germany to the Atlantic environmental region in the United Kingdom. Modeled tree densities were compared in the different land-use alternatives, ranging from zero (agriculture with only crops or pasture) to forestry (only trees). The methodology included the use of a biophysical model (Yield-SAFE) where the quantification of the environmental benefits was integrated. Results show a consistent improvement of regulating ecosystem services can be expected when introducing trees in the farming landscapes in different environmental regions in Europe. For all the systems, the forestry alternatives presented the best results in terms of a decrease in soil erosion of 51% (±29), a decrease of nearly all the nitrate leaching (98% ± 1) and an increase in the carbon sequestration of up to 238 Mg C ha−1 (±140). However, these alternatives are limited in the variety of food, energy and/or materials provided. On the other hand, from an arable or pure-pasture alternative starting point, an increase in agroforestry tree density could also be associated with a decrease in soil erosion of up to 25% (±17), a decrease in nitrates leached of up to 52% (±34) and an increase in the carbon sequestered of 163 Mg C ha−1 (±128) while at the same time ensuring the same levels of biomass growth and an increase in product diversification.

Mapping the Supply of Local Forest Ecosystem Services: Based on Delphi and Land Use Scoring Method

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 295-312
Author(s):  
Jang-Hwan Jo ◽  
Moon-Ki Choi ◽  
Oh Seok Kim ◽  
Kyeong-hak Lee ◽  
Chang-Bae Lee
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Scoring Method ◽  
Forest Ecosystem Services

scholarly journals Agroforestry Systems of the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley: Land Use for Biocultural Diversity Conservation

Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 24
Author(s):  
Mariana Vallejo ◽  
M. Isabel Ramírez ◽  
Alejandro Reyes-González ◽  
Jairo López-Sánchez ◽  
Alejandro Casas
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Biocultural Diversity ◽  
Semiarid Region ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Visual Interpretation ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Human Settlements

The Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley, Mexico, is the semiarid region with the richest biodiversity of North America and was recently recognized as a UNESCO's World Heritage site. Original agricultural practices remain to this day in agroforestry systems (AFS), which are expressions of high biocultural diversity. However, local people and researchers perceive a progressive decline both in natural ecosystems and AFS. To assess changes in location and extent of agricultural land use, we carried out a visual interpretation of very-high resolution imagery and field work, through which we identified AFS and conventional agricultural systems (CAS) from 1995 to 2003 and 2012. We analyzed five communities, representative of three main ecological and agricultural zones of the region. We assessed agricultural land use changes in relation to conspicuous landscape features (relief, rivers, roads, and human settlements). We found that natural ecosystems cover more than 85% of the territory in each community, and AFS represent 51% of all agricultural land. Establishment and permanence of agricultural lands were strongly influenced by gentle slopes and the existence of roads. Contrary to what we expected, we recorded agricultural areas being abandoned, thus favoring the regeneration of natural ecosystems, as well as a 9% increase of AFS over CAS. Agriculture is concentrated near human settlements. Most of the studied territories are meant to preserve natural ecosystems, and traditional AFS practices are being recovered for biocultural conservation.

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