Agroforestry: An Appropriate and Sustainable Response to a Changing Climate in Southern Africa?

Jonathan P. Sheppard, Rafael Bohn Reckziegel, Lars Borrass, Paxie W. Chirwa, Claudio J. Cuaranhua, Sibylle K Hassler, Svenja Hoffmeister, Florian Kestel, Rebekka Maier, Mirko Mälicke, Christopher Morhart, Nicholas P. Ndlovu, Maik Veste, Roger Funk, Friederike Lang, Thomas Seifert, Ben du Toit and Hans-Peter Kahle
Additional contact information
Jonathan P. Sheppard: Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße. 4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Rafael Bohn Reckziegel: Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße. 4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Lars Borrass: Chair of Forest and Environmental Policy, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße. 4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Paxie W. Chirwa: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Hatfield 0028, South Africa
Claudio J. Cuaranhua: Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße. 4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Sibylle K Hassler: Institute for Water and River Basin Management, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Svenja Hoffmeister: Institute for Water and River Basin Management, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Florian Kestel: Landscape Pedology, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) e.V., Eberswalderstraße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
Rebekka Maier: Chair of Soil Ecology, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Bertoldstraße 17, 79098 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Mirko Mälicke: Institute for Water and River Basin Management, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany
Christopher Morhart: Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße. 4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Nicholas P. Ndlovu: Chair of Forest and Environmental Policy, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße. 4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Maik Veste: CEBra—Centre for Energy Technology Brandenburg, Universitätsstrasse 22, 03046 Cottbus, Germany
Roger Funk: Landscape Pedology, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) e.V., Eberswalderstraße 84, 15374 Müncheberg, Germany
Friederike Lang: Chair of Soil Ecology, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Bertoldstraße 17, 79098 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Thomas Seifert: Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße. 4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Ben du Toit: Department of Forest and Wood Science, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
Hans-Peter Kahle: Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg, Tennenbacher Straße. 4, 79106 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-32

Abstract: Agroforestry is often discussed as a strategy that can be used both for the adaptation to and the mitigation of climate change effects. The climate of southern Africa is predicted to be severely affected by such changes. With agriculture noted as the continent’s largest economic sector, issues such as food security and land degradation are in the forefront. In the light of such concerns we review the current literature to investigate if agroforestry systems (AFS) are a suitable response to the challenges besetting traditional agricultural caused by a changing climate. The benefits bestowed by AFS are multiple, offering ecosystem services, influence over crop production and positive impacts on rural livelihoods through provisioning and income generation. Nevertheless, knowledge gaps remain. We identify outstanding questions requiring further investigation such as the interplay between trees and crops and their combination, with a discussion of potential benefits. Furthermore, we identify deficiencies in the institutional and policy frameworks that underlie the adoption and stimulus of AFS in the southern African region. We uphold the concept that AFS remains an appropriate and sustainable response for an increased resilience against a changing climate in southern Africa for the benefit of livelihoods and multiple environmental values.

Keywords: food security; sustainable land use; conservation agriculture; carbon; environmental benefits; social development; climate-smart agriculture; trees; Southern African Development Community (SADC) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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