Ecosystem Services from Ecological Agroforestry in Brazil: A Systematic Map of Scientific Evidence

Hanna R. Schuler, Gisele G. Alarcon, Fernando Joner, Karine Louise dos Santos, Alexandre Siminski and Ilyas Siddique
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Hanna R. Schuler: Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Pós Graduação em Agroecossistemas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88034-000, SC, Brazil
Gisele G. Alarcon: Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Pós Graduação em Agroecossistemas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88034-000, SC, Brazil
Fernando Joner: Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Pós Graduação em Agroecossistemas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88034-000, SC, Brazil
Karine Louise dos Santos: Centro de Ciências Rurais, Pós Graduação em Ecossistemas Agrícolas e Naturais, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Curitibanos 89520-000, SC, Brazil
Alexandre Siminski: Centro de Ciências Rurais, Pós Graduação em Ecossistemas Agrícolas e Naturais, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Curitibanos 89520-000, SC, Brazil
Ilyas Siddique: Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Pós Graduação em Agroecossistemas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis 88034-000, SC, Brazil

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: (1) Brazil has great potential to expand the area under agroforestry, and thereby simultaneously enhance multiple ecosystem services. However, divergent interests are currently polarized between drastic environmental deregulation and public resource allocation to chemical-intensive land use versus conservation and sustainable agriculture. This highlights an urgent need for a comprehensive overview of the evidence of the benefits to society generated by agroforestry across Brazil. (2) We present a systematic map of the scientific evidence related to the effects of agroforestry on ecosystem services in Brazil. (3) Reviewing 158 peer-reviewed articles, published in international scientific journals (database: Web of Science), we identified a disproportionate emphasis on the Atlantic Forest. Very little research has been published on the Cerrado savanna, Pampa grasslands and Pantanal wetlands. Regulating services were much more frequently studied (85%) than provisioning (13%), while cultural services represent a major gap. A consistent positive effect of agroforestry was demonstrated for soil quality, habitat and food provisioning. Trade-offs were demonstrated for soils and habitats. (4) Our analysis identifies high-priority gaps given their critical importance for human well-being which should be filled: agroforestry effects on water provision and regulation. Moreover, they should assess other ES such as erosion control, flood protection and pest control to enable a more reliable inference about trade-offs.

Keywords: agroforests; Nature’s Contributions to People; agroecology; ecological intensification; land-sharing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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