Agricultural lands on the southern slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro comprise diverse and complex, smallholder cropping systems. This study explores the variation in soil fertility across different altitudes and their influence on cropping systems to recommend appropriate soil management practices. The study site spanned three altitudinal zones: upland (1438–1698 m), midland (901–1337 m) and lowland (680–834 m). Soil samples from 50 plots along the 25‐km transect were analysed for chemical properties. Complementary data were collected to understand the cropping systems through six transect walks: two for each land use. Results indicate that soil organic carbon (SOC) and total N are highest in the upland and decrease with altitude, while exchangeable bases (Ca, Mg, K and Na) increase as altitude decreases. Soil pH is acidic at higher altitudes and alkaline at lower altitudes. Available P decreases with altitude, whereas available S shows no significant relationship with elevation. Overall, soil fertility status was better in the order of upland > midland > lowland, indicating a decreasing suitability trend for supporting crop production. Elevation significantly influenced the distribution patterns of soil nutrient levels ( p < 0.05). Upland and midland zones employ farmyard manure application, crop residue retention and cultivation under shade to preserve soil moisture and enhance biomass accumulation. In contrast, the lowland relies heavily on inorganic fertilisers, with nutrient depletion evident due to biomass transfer to higher altitudes. Soil erosion is critical in all three zones, necessitating erosion control measures. Recommendations include soil nutrient amendments in the upland and midland by liming to increase soil pH and address P deficiency and in the lowland through reducing salinity, use of nitrogenous fertilisers, biomass retention and incorporating leguminous plants. Cultivation of crops adapted to the conditions along the three zones is also advocated. These findings aim to improve soil management and crop productivity, ensuring sustainable agricultural practices in the region.

The interaction between climate change and agricultural intensification contributes to biodiversity loss, while widespread degradation of land and water undermine food system productivity. Agroecological principles aim to guide food systems transformation but rarely refer to water or aquatic foods, which are critical elements of nutritious, sustainable and equitable food systems. Here we examine the principles and frameworks presented in agroecological literature and suggest rephrasing of six of the principles to incorporate water, aquatic foods and land- to seascapes. We recommend three cross-sectoral actions that leverage aquatic features in agroecosystems to facilitate more effective transition pathways towards sustainable food systems.

The need for transformation of food and agriculture systems to be aligned with sustainable development goals is widely acknowledged. Evidence from many parts of the world shows that agroecology, which considers the social and environmental performance of agricultural systems along with economic aspects, is helping farmers transition to sustainable agricultural systems. However, there are demands from national, regional and international food and agriculture planners and funders for evidence that agroecology can work at scale. Providing that evidence requires understanding how farmers use environmental factors when selecting agricultural practices, which is poorly documented. This study contributes to filling this gap by reporting how environmental factors are important in farmers’ decisions related to adopting agroecological practices. Qualitative and quantitative data from 239 key informants, a survey of 5025 farms, 85 focus group discussions with farmers and five participatory cross-benefit analyses in eleven case studies across eight African countries were used. We show that farmers use information on and perceptions of a wide range of environmental variables and processes when assessing the usefulness of agroecological practices. In most cases, farmers cited environmental factors more frequently than economic reasons for choosing to use agroecological practices. Most of the environmental factors articulated by farmers were components of the local or farm environment that were connected to their livelihood, including aspects of soils, water, microclimate, pests and diseases, other animals, and vegetation. Intrinsic and relational environmental values such as conservation of biodiversity, long-term maintenance of land quality and aesthetics were also important. These findings show first that providing data on environmental roles of agroecology will always be challenging because of the breadth of factors that are important. Secondly, viability or usefulness of an agroecological practice is not a characteristic of the practice alone, but also of the context in which it is used. Third, impact analyses of agroecological interventions cannot be confined to consideration of a few globally comparative indicators but need to include the context specific environmental factors that farmers care about.

Maize is a staple cereal for countries in sub-Saharan Africa, characterized by a low average yield of less than 1 ton per hectare in many smallholder farms across these countries. The low maize yield is attributed to poor soil fertility, poor crop management practices, poor post-harvest handling techniques, and erratic rainfall. The objective of the study was to investigate the effects of selected integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) technologies on soil chemical properties and maize yields following the use of the InPaC-S (Portuguese for Integração Participativa de Conhecimentos sobre Indicadores de Qualidade do Solo or Participatory Knowledge Integration on Indicators of Soil Quality) methodological approach. This methodological approach was employed to mobilize farmers through workshops and field experiments using selected integrated soil fertility management options: use of organic manure, lime, and nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) fertilizer. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications, including manure, lime, NPK, lime + manure, manure + NPK, lime + NPK, and control. The results revealed significant differences between the treatments (p<0.001) and sites (p<0.001) for all studied growth parameters. The use of lime + NPK significantly increased maize yields by 149% (p<0.001) compared to the control and influenced electrical conductivity, cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and exchangeable bases. In turn, the cost of maize production (USD/ha) varied between treatments, ranging from 419.8 to 630.9 USD in the control and lime + NPK, respectively. The major costs included inorganic fertilizers, weeding, and land preparation, with inorganic fertilizers contributing the most to the total production cost. The net revenue in USD/hectare for the treatments was significantly (p<0.001) highest for lime + NPK ($1,260.90) and lowest for the control ($339.60). A sensitivity analysis was performed on the net income, and the results suggest that as fertilizer costs increase, there comes a point where their use is no longer economically viable. Consequently, different ISFM options, such as the combination of lime and manure, lime alone, and manure alone, become relevant. This empirical evidence concludes that the use of other integrated soil fertility management options will translate to a long-term improvement in food security and better livelihoods among communities. Future research should focus on scaling up/out these ISFM practices to further improve soil health, increase crop yields, and promote better livelihoods in sub-Saharan Africa.

Abstract This chapter presents ways of enhancing justice in international landscape restoration. Departing from the three-dimensional environmental justice framework, we draw from decolonial and indigenous justice perspectives, placing particular attention on epistemic justice, relational ontology, self-determination, and self-governance. Current international landscape restoration is embedded in (neo)colonial and neoliberal protection efforts, which risk injustice, violence, and oppression; including denying, ignoring and/or erasing local epistemologies, politics, and histories; and weakening local people’s rights and access to territories and livelihoods. Major barriers to effective, just, and equitable landscape restoration include: (i) prioritizing global over local knowledge systems, logics, and politics; (ii) targeting small-scale over large-scale drivers of land degradation; (iii) offshoring burdens onto local peoples; and (iv) relying on state authority and institutional structures, thereby bypassing customary and indigenous authorities. We propose a set of questions and conditions for policymakers and scholars to reflect upon when designing and analyzing landscape restoration efforts.

This report proposes five steps to guide the country-level implementation of agroecology as an EbA approach in agricultural landscapes. The implementation process should be conducted by specific alliances for change that are consisting of different actors depending on the relevant level of implementation of each step. Thus, a key objective of this approach is to strengthen platforms that facilitate the horizontal integration between climate and agricultural communities as well as vertical integration between the national and local level actors and actions, thereby directly addressing the “missing middle” as described in the beginning of this report

It has been claimed that Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), a burgeoning practice of farming in India based on low-inputs and influenced by agro-ecological principles, has the potential to improve farm viability and food security. However, there is concern that the success of the social movement fueling the adoption of ZBNF has become out of step with the science underpinning its performance relative to other farming systems. Based on twenty field plot experiments established across six districts in Andhra Pradesh (SE India), managed by locally based farmer researchers, we present the first ‘on the ground’ assessment of ZBNF performance. We show that there is no short-term yield penalty when adopting ZBNF in small scale farming systems compared to conventional and organic alternatives. In terms of treatment response, we observed differences between agro-climatic zones, but in this initial evaluation we cannot recommend specific options tuned to these different contexts.

Litter comprises a major nutrient source when decomposed via soil microbes and functions as subtract that limits gas exchange between soil and atmosphere, thereby restricting methane (CH4) uptake in soils. However, the impact and inherent mechanism of litter and its decomposition on CH4 uptake in soils remains unknown in forest. Therefore, to declare the mechanisms of litter input and decomposition effect on the soil CH4 flux in forest, this study performed a litter-removal experiment in a tropical rainforest, and investigated the effects of litter input and decomposition on the CH4 flux among forest ecosystems through a literature review. Cumulative annual CH4 flux was -3.30 kg CH4 C ha(-1) y(-1). The litter layer decreased annual accumulated CH4 uptake by 8% which greater in the rainy season than the dry season in the tropical rainforest. Litter decomposition and the input of carbon and nitrogen in litter biomass reduced CH4 uptake significantly and the difference in CH4 flux between treatment with litter and without litter was negatively associated with N derived from litter input. Based on the literature review about litter effect on soil CH4 around world forests, the effect of litter dynamics on CH4 uptake was regulated by litter-derived nitrogen input and the amount soil inorganic nitrogen content. Our results suggest that nitrogen input via litter decomposition, which increased with temperature, caused a decline in CH4 uptake by forest soils, which could weaken the contribution of the forest in mitigating global warming.

Forests, trees, and agroforestry (FTA) are ecosystem hotspots. They exemplify the contributions of biodiversity to sustainable and resilient landscapes, green circular economy and to sustainable agriculture and food systems for healthy diets. However, most research on these topics have been performed separately and lack comparison. The International FTA-Kunming Conference 'Forests, trees and agroforestry for diverse sustainable landscapes' 22 nd –24 th June 2021, focused on these contributions, brought together scientists NGOs, and policy makers to further the understanding of tree diversity; provided a communication platform for scientists to share their research results; evaluated the role of tree diversity in agroecology and circular agriculture; assessed benefits of landscape restoration; and explored applied research in mountain ecosystems and food security. The goals were to gather evidence that ground the design of solutions that can contribute to the implementation of the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and towards the UN Food Systems Summit, and the overall implementation of the SDGs. This paper summarizes the outcomes of the international FTA Conference in Kunming 2021 and points out the highlights of research involved in six major themes.

Shade trees in coffee and cocoa agroforestry systems provide valuable livelihoods and other ecosystem services. Unfortunately, most shade canopies are sub-optimally designed and managed and the reasons behind this sub-optimality are poorly known. There is evidence, however, indicating that farmers and extension agents lack both the knowledge and access to user-friendly tools to optimally design their shade canopies. To fill this gap, we developed ShadeMotion, a simple to parameterize, yet powerful software, capable of calculating the spatial and temporal distribution of the shade cast by trees on a plot (horizontal or tilted) anywhere on Earth. Trees may be planted in any spatial arrangement, their population density can change according to planting, thinning, mortality or harvest, tree crowns may take any of eight possible, regular, geometric shapes, vary in density and monthly leaf fall patterns, and may be pollarded or not. Shade patterns may be calculated for one instant, 1 year or less, or for the entire life cycle of a plantation; in the latter case, tree growth data must be added as input. Shade can be measured at ground level or at any height above the ground. In this article, we: (1) describe the key features of the software, and (2) simulate the spatial and temporal shade patterns of a traditional agroforestry system of Coffea arabica cv. Caturra, Erythrina poeppigiana and Cordia alliodora in Costa Rica. ShadeMotion can realistically model farm scenarios and may be used in the participatory design of agroforestry systems in farmers field schools and in classrooms.

Conversion of abandoned land (mainly savanna) into cropland generally occurs in fragile ecosystems such as dry-hot valleys (DHVs) in southwest China, with the intent of increasing land productivity and conducting ecological restoration. However, the effects of conversion on soil microbial communities and carbon turnover of savanna ecosystems remain unclear, since savannas could be a vital but overlooked carbon sink. To illustrate the ecological consequences of land-use change (LUC) for savanna ecosystems, a 1-year field experiment was conducted in DHVs of southwest China. The soil properties, microbial respiration, and metagenomics from two different land-use types (grassland and mango plantation) were examined to reveal the effects of regional LUC on soil C turnover and microbial traits. Conversion from degraded grassland into cropland increased the contribution of soil microclimate to the microbial community composition, reduced the constraints of soil water content (SWC), and further decreased nutrient availability. LUC reshaped the composition and structure of soil bacterial communities. Specifically, soil dominant microbes that belonged to Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria were significantly enriched by conversion, while rare microbes that belonged to a wider range of phyla were generally depleted, leading to an overall decrease in community diversity. In addition, LUC-induced changes in soil characteristics and microbial communities further decreased soil multifunctionality as well as the carbon use efficiency of microbes. Intensified microbial respiration and a significant increase in the soil CO2 efflux were observed following LUC, which could drive changes in soil microbial community composition and functions (such as growth and regeneration). In summary, through simultaneously reducing constraints on SWC and decreasing nutrient availability, conversion from degraded grassland to cropland in a DHV decreased soil microbial diversity and multifunctionality, and increased microbial respiration and soil CO2 efflux. Our study provides new insights for understanding the role and mechanisms of LUC in soil carbon turnover in ecologically fragile areas such as DHVs.

While agroforestry is a well-established approach for agroecological intensification, rice is less often integrated with trees than other annual staple crops. The benefits and risks from rice agroforestry practices have not been systematically explored. Considering the need for strategies that may address low fertility and high degradation of arable soils and contribute to smallholder farm productivity, livelihoods and climate resilience, such exploration would both be timely and relevant. This study, therefore, reviews the published literature on integrating trees in rice production worldwide and provides perspectives for future research, with special attention to Africa, where the potential for sustainable productivity enhancement is deemed highest. Worldwide, six improved rice agroforestry practices are distinguished: hedgerow alley-cropping, short-term (0.5–4 years) improved fallows, pre-rice green manuring, biomass transfer, systematically arranged rice – tree intercropping and irregularly dispersed trees in fields. The rice agroforestry practices in the 87 publications reviewed were associated with 204 woody perennial species world-wide. Rice agroforestry practices provide a range of products and services to farmers but rice yield is the only quantitative performance indicator reported widely enough to enable meta-analysis. Frequently reported comparative or additional effects of fertilizer application, made it possible to include this aspect in the analyses. Across all types of agroforestry practices enumerated, the average effect of adding trees compared to a no-fertilizer and no-tree control is + 38%. The most beneficial practices in terms of enhancing rice yield were biomass transfer, pre-rice green manuring (100% of data points showing positive responses for both practices) and hedgerow alley-cropping (21% positive cases overall but 64% where fertilizer was not applied). Yield reductions occurred with fertilized intercropping compared to a fertilized mono-crop (in 95% of cases) and with the unfertilized short fallow practice (50% of data points showed yield reduction due to competition in the relay intercropping stage). Tree species that combined rice yield enhancements (alongside other products and services) with wide environmental adaptability across the African continent, include Sesbania rostrata, Aeschynomene afraspera, Acacia auriculiformis, Gliricidia sepium and Gmelia arborea. Yield benefits and risks from integrating trees with smallholder rice cropping depend on the type of agroforestry practice used and how each practice interacts with fertilizer application. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of different ways of integrating trees with rice cropping on wider environmental, social and economic sustainability aspects, that are driving increasing interest in rice agroforestry.

A bstract Cocoa farmers must decide on whether to rehabilitate (Rh) or to renovate (Re) a cocoa orchard when its productivity declines due to ageing, disease outbreaks or other causes. Deciding on Rh/Re is often a complex, expensive and conflictive process. In this review, we (1) explore the diversity of contexts, driving forces, stakeholders and recommended management practices involved in Rh/Re initiatives in key cocoa-producing countries; (2) summarise the often conflicting views of farmers and extension agents on Rh/Re programmes; (3) review the evidence of age-related changes in planting density and yield of cocoa, given the weight of these variables in Rh/Re decision processes; (4) describe the best known Rh/Re systems and their most common management practices; (5) propose an agroforestry Re approach that overcomes the limitation of current Rh/Re diagnosis protocols, which do not consider the regular flow of food crop and tree products , and the need to restore site soil quality to sustain another cycle of cultivation of cocoa at the same site; and (6) explore the effects of climate change considerations on Rh/Re decision-making and implementation processes. Each Rh/Re decision-making process is unique and highly context-dependent (household and farm, soil, climate, culture). Tailored solutions are needed for each farmer and context. The analysis, concepts and models presented for cocoa in this paper may also apply to coffee orchards.

As the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration begins, there remains insufficient emphasis on the human and social dimensions of restoration. The potential that restoration holds for achieving both ecological and social goals can only be met through a shift toward people‐centered restoration strategies. Toward this end, this paper synthesizes critical insights from a special issue on “Restoration for whom, by whom” to propose actionable ways to center humans and social dimensions in ecosystem restoration, with the aim of generating fair and sustainable initiatives. These rules respond to a relative silence on socio‐political issues in di Sacco et al.'s “Ten golden rules for reforestation to optimize carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery and livelihood benefits” on socio‐political issues and offer complementary guidance to their piece. Arranged roughly in order from pre‐intervention, design/initiation, implementation, through the monitoring, evaluation and learning phases, the 10 people‐centered rules are: (1) Recognize diversity and interrelations among stakeholders and rightsholders'; (2) Actively engage communities as agents of change; (3) Address socio‐historical contexts; (4) Unpack and strengthen resource tenure for marginalized groups; (5) Advance equity across its multiple dimensions and scales; (6) Generate multiple benefits; (7) Promote an equitable distribution of costs, risks, and benefits; (8) Draw on different types of evidence and knowledge; (9) Question dominant discourses; and (10) Practice inclusive and holistic monitoring, evaluation, and learning. We contend that restoration initiatives are only tenable when the issues raised in these rules are respectfully addressed.

Understanding which trees farmers prefer, what determines their survival and enhancing farmer knowledge of tree management is key to increasing tree cover in agricultural landscapes. This article presents data on tree seedling survival under different tree planting and management practices in Kenya and Ethiopia. Data were collected from 1600 households across three Counties in Kenya and 173 households across four Woredas in Ethiopia, using a structured questionnaire which was administered through the Open Data Kit. Data on seedling survival were collected at least six months after tree seedlings were planted. To understand how planting and management practices influence tree planting across the different socioeconomic and biophysical contexts, both household level and individual tree level data were collected. Household level data included socio-economic and biophysical characteristics of the households while tree specific data included when the tree seedling was planted, where it was planted, the management practices employed and whether surviving. The datasets described in this article help understand which options confer the best chance survival for the planted seedlings and in which socio-economic and biophysical contexts they are most successful.