Achieving production and conservation simultaneously in tropical agricultural landscapes

• Published in: Agriculture, ecosystems & environment Vol. 192; pp. 130 - 134
• Main Authors: Renwick, Anna R., Vickery, Juliet A., Potts, Simon G., Bolwig, Simon, Nalwanga, Dianah, Pomeroy, Derek E., Mushabe, David, Atkinson, Philip W.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier B.V 01-07-2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biodiversity; Biological and medical sciences; Cultivation intensity; Economic sociology; Environment and sustainable development; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General agroecology; General agroecology. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development. Rural area planning. Landscaping; General agronomy. Plant production; Generalities. Agricultural and farming systems. Agricultural development; Gross income; Land use; Sociology; Sociology of economy and development; Standard of living. Income; Sustainable landscapes; Synecology; Tree carbon; Uganda; Uganda; East Africa; Sub-Saharan Africa; Africa; Cultivation intensity; Tree carbon; Uganda; Agriculture; Sustainable landscapes; Biodiversity; Land use; Gross income; Rural environment; Tropical zone; Income; Ecology; Carbon; Environmental management; Agricultural landscape; Sustainable management; Equatorial zone; Culture
• ISSN: 0167-8809; 1873-2305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2014.04.011

•Biodiversity, tree carbon and income were quantified along an agricultural gradient.•Cultivation intensity increased crop income, decreased biodiversity and tree carbon.•Sustainable agriculture requires policy mechanisms and knowledge transfer.
Increasing population size and demand for food in the developing world is driving the intensification of agriculture, often threatening the biodiversity within the farmland itself and in the surrounding landscape. This paper quantifies bird and tree species richness, tree carbon and farmer's gross income, and interactions between these four variables, across an agricultural gradient in central Uganda. We showed that higher cultivation intensities in farmed landscapes resulted in increased income but also a decline in species richness of birds and trees, and reductions in tree carbon storage. These declines were particularly marked with a shift from high intensity smallholder mixed cropping to plantation style agriculture. This was especially evident for birds where significant declines only occurred in plantations. Small scale farming will likely continue to be a key source of cash income for the rural populations, and ensuring ‘sustained agricultural growth’ within such systems while minimising negative impacts on biodiversity and other key ecosystem services will be a major future challenge.