Abstract
In a participatory framework, the multifunctionality of agroforestry systems was assessed by applying multicriteria and multivariate analyses to identify ecological, agronomic and administrative proxies and integrate these into factors, and evaluate their effects on system performance. The assessment framework was tested in 70 farms in the municipality of Tomé-Açú in the Brazilian Amazon, an area well known for its long-standing practice of agroforestry. The overall goal was to identify management decisions that ensure sustainable production of goods together with the provision of ecosystem services, with special emphasis on agrobiodiversity. Three groups of farmers were considered based on their period of settlement, property size, technological know-how, organization and access to the market. The results show that the determinant factors of multifunctional farming are the farmers’ technical qualification, good adaptability, environmental commitment and the search for financial profitability. However, the optimization of these factors leads to trade-offs such as a decrease in biomass and woody species diversity and the decline of by-product production. By considering stakeholders’ opinions and being adaptable to various demands, the proposed framework enhances the legitimacy of the results, and supports both the assessment of complex issues and decision-making.
References
[1] ICRAF, The 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry Declaration, Agroforestry: The future of land use. Nairobi, 2009. Search in Google Scholar
[2] Fleskens L., Duarte F., Eicher I., A conceptual framework for the assessment of multiple functions of agro-ecosystems: A case study of Trás-os-Montes olive groves, J. Rural Stud, 2009, 25, 141-155. 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2008.08.003Search in Google Scholar
[3] Dobbs L., Pretty J., Agri-Environmental Stewardship Schemes and Multifunctionality, Rev. Agr. Econ., 2004, 26, 220-237. 10.1111/j.1467-9353.2004.00172.xSearch in Google Scholar
[4] Marsden T., Sonnino R., Rural development and the regional state: Denying multifunctional agriculture in the UK, J. Rural Stud, 2008, 24, 422-431. 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2008.04.001Search in Google Scholar
[5] Wilson G.A., From ‘weak’ to ‘strong’ multifunctionality: Conceptualising farm-level multifunctional transitional pathways, J. Rural Stud., 2008, 24, 367-383. 10.1016/j.jrurstud.2007.12.010Search in Google Scholar
[6] CEC, Impact assessment: next steps. In support of competitiveness and sustainable development, Commission of the European Communities working paper 1377, Brussels, Belgium, 2004, http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/key_docs/ docs/sec_2004_1377_en.pdf Search in Google Scholar
[7] IAASTD, International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development, Summary for Decision Makers of the Global Report, Island Press, Washington, 2008. Search in Google Scholar
[8] OECD, Multifunctionality: Towards an Analytical Framework, Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food, Farming and Food a Sustainable Future, London, 2001. Search in Google Scholar
[9] Gómez S.A., González G.A., Multifunctionality of Agriculture: Tools and Methods for Impact Assessment and Valuation: A comprehensive assessment of multifunctional agricultural land-use systems in Spain using a multi-dimensional evaluative model, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 2007,120, 82-91. 10.1016/j.agee.2006.06.020Search in Google Scholar
[10] McCarthy J., Rural geography: multifunctional rural geographies – reactionary or radical?, Prog. Hum. Geog., 2005, 29, 773–782. 10.1191/0309132505ph584prSearch in Google Scholar
[11] Zander P., Groot J., Multifunctionality of agriculture: Tools and methods for impact assessment and valuation, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 2007, 120, 1-4. 10.1016/j.agee.2006.10.010Search in Google Scholar
[12] Franklin J.F., Structural and functional diversity in temperate forests, In: Wilson E.O. (Ed.), Biodiversity, National Academy Press, Washington DC, 1988. Search in Google Scholar
[13] Stocking M., Agrodiversity, environmental protection and sustaining rural livelihoods: the global view, In: Brookfield H., Padoch C., Parsons H., Stocking M. (Eds)., Cultivating Biodiversity: Understanding, Analysing and Using Agricultural Diversity, The United Nations University, ITDG Publishing, London, 2002. Search in Google Scholar
[14] Altieri M.A., Nicholls C., Biodiversity and Pest Management in Agroecosystems, 2nd Ed., The Harworth Press Inc., New York, 2004. Search in Google Scholar
[15] Ehrenfeld D., Why Put a Value on Biodiversity, In: Wilson E.O. (Ed.), Biodiversity, National Academy Press., Washington D.C, 1988. Search in Google Scholar
[16] Reid W.V., Mooney H.A., Cropper A., Capistrano D., Carpenter S.R., Chopra K., et al., Millenium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report, Island Press, Washington DC, 2005. Search in Google Scholar
[17] Hooper D.U., Vitousek P.M., The effects of plant composition and Diversity on Ecosystem processes, Science, 1997, 277, 1302-1305. 10.1126/science.277.5330.1302Search in Google Scholar
[18] Foley, J.A., DeFries R., Asner G.P., Barford C., Bonan G., Carpenter S.R., et al., Global consequences of land use, Science, 2005, 309, 570-574. 10.1126/science.1111772Search in Google Scholar PubMed
[19] Ramankutty N., Evan A.T., Monfreda C., Foley J.A., Farming the planet: 1. Geographic distribution of global agricultural lands in the year 2000, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2008, 22, DOI: 10.1029/2007GB002952. 10.1029/2007GB002952Search in Google Scholar
[20] ICRAF, Paths to prosperity through agroforestry, International Centre for Research in Agroforestry corporate strategy 2001-2010, Nairobi, 2000. Search in Google Scholar
[21] Kidd Ch.V., Pimentel D. (Eds.), Integrated Resource Management: Agroforestry for Development, Academic Press Inc. San Diego, California, 1992. Search in Google Scholar
[22] Leakey R.R.B., Living with Trees of Life: Towards the Transformation of Tropical Agriculture, CABI, 2012. 10.1079/9781780640990.0000Search in Google Scholar
[23] Brookfield H., Padoch C., Parsons H., Stocking M., Cultivating Biodiversity: Understanding, Analysing and Using Agricultural Diversity, ITDG Press, United Nations University, London, 2002. 10.3362/9781780441092.000Search in Google Scholar
[24] Shiva V., Monocultures of the Mind: Perspectives on Biodiversity and Biotechnology, Zed Books and Third World Network, Penang, 1993. Search in Google Scholar
[25] Weesie P., van Andel J., On biodiversity and its valuation, Center of Development Studies, The University of Groningen, Groningen, 2003. Search in Google Scholar
[26] Swift M.J., Izac A., van Noordwijk M., Biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes - are we asking the right questions?, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 2004, 104, 113-134. 10.1016/j.agee.2004.01.013Search in Google Scholar
[27] Altieri M., Nicholls C., Ecosystem function and insect pest management in agricultural systems, In: Collins W.W. and Qualset C.O. (Eds.), Biodiversity in Agroecosystems, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1999. 10.1201/9781420049244.ch5Search in Google Scholar
[28] McNeely J.A., Nature vs. nurture: managing relationships between forests agroforestry and wild biodiversity, Agroforest. Syst., 2004, 61, 155-165. 10.1007/978-94-017-2424-1_11Search in Google Scholar
[29] Rojas L., Godoy C., Hanson P., Kleinn C., Hilje L., Diversidad de homópteros en plantaciones de café con diferentes tipos de sombra, en Turrialba, Costa Rica, Agroforestría en las Américas, 1999, 6, 33-35, (in Spanish). Search in Google Scholar
[30] Guiracocha G., Harvey C., Somarriba E., Graus U., Carrillo E., Conservación de la biodiversidad en sistemas agroforestales con cacao y banano en Salamanca Costa Rica, Agroforestería en las Américas, 2011, 8, 7-11. Search in Google Scholar
[31] Wezel A., Bender S., Plant species diversity of homegardens of Cuba and its significance for household food supply, Agroforest. Syst., 2003, 57, 39-49. 10.1023/A:1022973912195Search in Google Scholar
[32] Villavicencio-Enríquez L., Valdéz-Hernández J.I., Análisis de la estructura arbórea del sistema agroforestal rusticano de café en San Miguel, Veracruz, México, Agrociencia, 2003, 37, 413-423. Search in Google Scholar
[33] Somarriba E., Harvey C.A., Samper M., Anthony F., Gonzáles J., Staver C., et al., Biodiversity Conservation in Neotropical Coffee (Coffea arabica) Plantations, In: Schroth G., da Fonseca G., Harvey C., Gascon C., Vasconcelos L., Izac A. (Eds.), Agroforestry and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes, Island Press, Washington, 2004. Search in Google Scholar
[34] Kehlenbeck K., Maass B.L., Crop diversity and classification of homegardens in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, Agroforest. Syst., 2004, 63, 53-62. 10.1023/B:AGFO.0000049433.95038.25Search in Google Scholar
[35] Reidsma P., Tekelenburg T., van den Berg M., Alkemade R., Impacts of land-use change on biodiversity: An assessment of agricultural biodiversity in the European Union, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 2006, 114, 86-102. 10.1016/j.agee.2005.11.026Search in Google Scholar
[36] Stork N.E., Boyle T.J.B., Dale V., Eeley H., Finegan B., Lawes M., et al., Criteria and Indicators for Assessing the Sustainability of Forest Management: Conservation of Biodiversity, Center for International Forestry Research working paper 17, 1997. 10.17528/cifor/000077Search in Google Scholar
[37] Paoletti M.G., Invertebrate biodiversity as bioindicators of sustainable landscapes, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 2001, 74, 9-11. Search in Google Scholar
[38] Vandermeer J., Perfecto I.V.J., Breakfast of biodiversity: the truth about rainforest destruction, Food First Books, Oakland, 1995. Search in Google Scholar
[39] Bates D.M. Ethnobotanical Perspectives of Agroforestry, In: James P., Lassoie L.B., Fernandes E.C.M. (Eds.), Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems, CRS Press, Lewis Publisher, Boca Raton, 1999. 10.1201/9781420049473.ch15Search in Google Scholar
[40] Moonen A., Bàrberi P., Functional biodiversity: an agroecosystem approach, Agr. Ecosyst. Environ., 2008, 127, 7-21. 10.1016/j.agee.2008.02.013Search in Google Scholar
[41] Yamada M., Gholz H.L., An evaluation of agroforestry systems land-use change on soil nutrient dynamics in Amazonia, Agroforest. Syst., 2002, 55: 81-87. 10.1023/A:1020523107243Search in Google Scholar
[42] Jordan C., Amazonian Rainforests, Ecosystem Disturbance and Recovery, Ecological Studies, Springer-Verlag, New Jersey, 1987. Search in Google Scholar
[43] Anderson A., Alternatives to Deforestation, Steps toward Sustainable Use of the Amazon Rain Forest, Columbia University Press, New York, 1990. Search in Google Scholar
[44] Callo-Concha D., An approach to environmental services assessment: functional biodiversity in tropical agroforestry systems: The case of Tomé-Açú, Northern Brazil, PhD thesis, Ecology and Development Series N° 65, Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany, 2009. Search in Google Scholar
[45] CIFOR, The CIFOR Criteria and Indicators Generic Template 2, Center for International Forestry Research, The European Commission, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Jakarta, Indonesia, 1999. 10.17528/cifor/000763Search in Google Scholar
[46] Dogson J., Spackman M., Pearman A., Phillips L.D., Multicriteria analysis: a manual, Department for Communities and Local Government, London, 2009, http://eprints.lse. ac.uk/12761/ Search in Google Scholar
[47] Prabhu R., Colfer C.J.P., Dudley R.G., Guidelines for Developing, Testing and Selecting Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management: The Criteria & Indicators Toolbox Series, Center for International Forestry Research, Jakarta, 1999. Search in Google Scholar
[48] Mendoza G., Macoun P., Guidelines for Applying Multi-Criteria Analysis to the Assessment of Criteria and Indicators, The Criteria & Indicators Toolbox Series, Center for International Forest Research, Washington, 2002. Search in Google Scholar
[49] Saaty, T. The Analytic Hierarchy Process: Planning, Priority Setting, Resource Allocation, Mc Graw Hill, 1980. Search in Google Scholar
[50] Mendoza G.A., Martins H., Multi-criteria decision analysis in natural resources management: A critical review of methods and new modeling paradigms, Forest Ecol. Manag., 2006, 230,1-22. 10.1016/j.foreco.2006.03.023Search in Google Scholar
[51] Kneshaw D., Messier C., Leduc A., Drapeau P., Carigan R., Pare D., et al., Towards Ecological Forestry: A proposal for Indicators of SFM inspired by Natural Disturbances, Sustainable Forest Management Network, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, 2002 . Search in Google Scholar
[52] Hair J.F., Anderson R.E., Tatham R.L., Black W.C., Multivariate data analysis, Prentice-Hall Inc., New Jersey, 1995. Search in Google Scholar
[53] Sánchez P.A., Science in Agroforestry, Agroforest. Syst., 1995, 30, 5-55. 10.1007/BF00708912Search in Google Scholar
[54] Dobson A.P., Bradshaw A.D., Baker A.J.M., Hopes for the future: restoration ecology and conservation biology, Science, 1997, 277, 512-522. 10.1126/science.277.5325.515Search in Google Scholar
[55] Nair P.K.R., An Introduction to Agroforestry, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1993. Search in Google Scholar
[56] Nair P.K.R., Directions in tropical agroforestry research: past, present, and future, Agroforest. Syst., 1997, 38, 223-245. 10.1007/978-94-015-9008-2_10Search in Google Scholar
[57] Huxley P., Tropical Agroforestry, Blackwell Science, Paris, 1999. Search in Google Scholar
[58] Mendoza G.A., Macoun P., Guidelines for Applying Multi- Criteria Analysis to the Assessment of Criteria and Indicators: C&I Toolbox No 9, Center for International Forestry Research, Jakarta, 1999. 10.17528/cifor/000769Search in Google Scholar
[59] Lebel L., Anderies J.M., Campbell B., Folke C., Hatfield-Dodds S., Hughes T.P., Wilson J., Governance and the capacity to manage resilience in regional social-ecological systems, Ecol. Soc., 2006, 11, 19. 10.5751/ES-01606-110119Search in Google Scholar
[60] Lopez-Ridaura S., Van Keulen H., Van Ittersum M.K., Leffelaar P.A., Multiscale methodological framework to derive criteria and indicators for sustainability evaluation of peasant natural resource management systems, Environ. Develop. Sustain., 2005, 7, 51-69.10.1007/s10668-003-6976-xSearch in Google Scholar
© 2014 Daniel Callo-Concha, Manfred Denich
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
