The Experts below are selected from a list of 96993 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Mario Herrero - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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linking agricultural adaptation strategies food security and vulnerability evidence from west africa
Regional Environmental Change, 2016Co-Authors: Sabine Douxchamps, Mark T Van Wijk, Silvia Silvestri, Abdoulaye S Moussa, Carlos Quiros, Ndeye Yacine Badiane Ndour, Saaka Buah, Leopold Some, Mario HerreroAbstract:Adaptation strategies to reduce smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate variability and seasonality are needed given the frequency of extreme weather events predicted to increase during the next decades in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in West Africa. We explored the linkages between selected agricultural adaptation strategies (crop diversity, soil and water conservation, trees on farm, small ruminants, improved crop varieties, fertilizers), food security, farm household characteristics and farm Productivity in three contrasting agro-ecological sites in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal). Differences in Land area per capita and Land Productivity largely explained the variation in food security across sites. Based on Land size and market orientation, four household types were distinguished (subsistence, diversified, extensive, intensified), with contrasting levels of food security and agricultural adaptation strategies. Income increased steadily with Land size, and both income and Land Productivity increased with degree of market orientation. The adoption of agricultural adaptation strategies was widespread, although the intensity of practice varied across household types. Adaptation strategies improve the food security status of some households, but not all. Some strategies had a significant positive impact on Land Productivity, while others reduced vulnerability resulting in a more stable cash flow throughout the year. Our results show that for different household types, different adaptation strategies may be ‘climate-smart’. The typology developed in this study gives a good entry point to analyse which practices should be targeted to which type of smallholder farmers, and quantifies the effect of adaptation options on household food security. Subsequently, it will be crucial to empower farmers to access, test and modify these adaptation options, if they were to achieve higher levels of food security.
Karim Barkaoui - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Olive agroforestry can improve Land Productivity even under low water availability in the South Mediterranean
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 2021Co-Authors: Fida Temani, Ahmed Bouaziz, Khalid Daoui, Jacques Wery, Karim BarkaouiAbstract:Agroforestry systems can be an effective means of stabilizing or even enhancing crop yields under climate change. Although trees compete with crops for soil resources in agroforestry,they can also improve crops' growing conditions, especially, by providing shade under drought. They can promote higher crop yields and higher harvest quality in the dryLands. However, the beneficial effect of tree shade may depend on the seasonal pattern of rainfall, which determines the compensation between yield components. In this study, we evaluated two annual crops (durum wheat and faba bean) in olive agroforestry in northern Morocco. We manipulated water supply in a field experiment to span the high inter-annual rainfall variability at the site and tested whether olive trees reduce or improve crop yields. We assessed the effect of water addition on crop growth, yield components, and final yields and estimated the Land equivalent ratio of olive agroforestry. Agroforestry limited crop growth and yield whatever the water regime. The magnitude of grain yield reduction was around 50 % for both crops in 2018, probably due to shade. The number of grains per unit area was the most impacted yield component in both 2018 and 2019. In contrast, water addition only had limited effects on faba bean yield, although it enhanced wheat grain yield by 11 % and the number of wheat spikes by 13 %. Agroforestry improved individual grain weight by 39 % for wheat and 17 % for faba bean, and enhanced the protein content of wheat grains and straw by 4 % and 9 %. However, improvements in grain weight and in protein content were not sufficient to compensate for yield loss due to shade. Despite lower crop yields, we show that agroforestry systems are still more Land productive than sole crops and trees, even under arid conditions. We show how changing water supply may impact the performance of olive agroforestry in a drier future.
Alex Warren-rodríguez - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Toward a food secure future: Ensuring food security for sustainable human development in Sub-Saharan Africa
Food Policy, 2016Co-Authors: Pedro Conceição, Sebastian Levine, Michael Lipton, Alex Warren-rodríguezAbstract:Food security remains a top development priority and global concern. It is enshrined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Sustainable Development Goal two. Food security is also a core component of the human development and capability paradigm, since food access and entitlements are critical for reinforcing essential human capabilities. In introducing this special issue, this paper argues that agriculture is central to improving food security and reducing poverty in Africa. It suggests that realizing the potential of agriculture in Africa requires rapid increases in Land Productivity and increases in agricultural yields. A science-based approach that integrates gender and sustainability is critical to meet this goal, through the design and implementation of policies that improve the availability farm inputs and farm technology. The paper concludes by introducing the papers in this special issue.
Simon N Gosling - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the likelihood and potential impact of future change in the large scale climate earth system on ecosystem services
Environmental Science & Policy, 2013Co-Authors: Simon N GoslingAbstract:This article reviews the level of current scientific understanding regarding the impact of future change in the large-scale climate-earth system on ecosystem services. Impacts from sea level rise, ocean acidification, increases in ocean temperature, potential collapse of the thermohaline circulation; failure of the South Asia monsoon; the melting of sea ice, the GreenLand Ice Sheet and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet; changes in water availability; and Amazonia forest dieback, are considered. The review highlights that while a number of uncertainties remain in understanding, there is evidence to suggest that climate change may have already affected some ecosystem services. Furthermore, there is considerable evidence to show that future climate change could have impacts on biodiversity, as well as secondary impacts on issues important to human society, including; habitability; Land Productivity and food security; water security; and potential economic impacts.
Edmundo Barrios - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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soil biota ecosystem services and Land Productivity
Ecological Economics, 2007Co-Authors: Edmundo BarriosAbstract:Abstract The soil environment is likely the most complex biological community. Soil organisms are extremely diverse and contribute to a wide range of ecosystem services that are essential to the sustainable function of natural and managed ecosystems. The soil organism community can have direct and indirect impacts on Land Productivity. Direct impacts are those where specific organisms affect crop yield immediately. Indirect effects include those provided by soil organisms participating in carbon and nutrient cycles, soil structure modification and food web interactions that generate ecosystem services that ultimately affect Productivity. Recognizing the great biological and functional diversity in the soil and the complexity of ecological interactions it becomes necessary to focus in this paper on soil biota that have a strong linkage to functions which underpin ‘soil based’ ecosystem services. Selected organisms from different functional groups (i.e. microsymbionts, decomposers, elemental transformers, soil ecosystem engineers, soil-borne pest and diseases, and microregulators) are used to illustrate the linkages of soil biota and ecosystem services essential to life on earth as well as with those associated with the provision of goods and the regulation of ecosystem processes. These services are not only essential to ecosystem function but also a critical resource for the sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems. Research opportunities and gaps related to methodological, experimental and conceptual approaches that may be helpful to address the challenge of linking soil biodiversity and function to the provision of ecosystem services and Land Productivity are discussed. These include: 1) integration of spatial variability research in soil ecology and a focus on ‘hot spots’ of biological activity, 2) using a selective functional group approach to study soil biota and function, 3) combining new and existing methodological approaches that link selected soil organisms, the temporal and spatial dynamics of their function, and their contribution to the provision of selected ‘soil based' ecosystem services, 4) using understanding about hierarchical relationships to manage soil biota and function in cropping systems, 5) using local knowledge about plants as indicators of soil quality, remote sensing and GIS technologies, and plant-soil biota interactions to help understand the impacts of soil biota at Landscape scale, and 6) developing Land quality monitoring systems that inform Land users about their Land's ecosystem service performance, improve capacities to predict and adapt to environmental changes, and support policy and decision-making.
