CIFOR–ICRAF publishes over 750 publications every year on agroforestry, forests and climate change, landscape restoration, rights, forest policy and much more – in multiple languages.

CIFOR–ICRAF addresses local challenges and opportunities while providing solutions to global problems for forests, landscapes, people and the planet.

We deliver actionable evidence and solutions to transform how land is used and how food is produced: conserving and restoring ecosystems, responding to the global climate, malnutrition, biodiversity and desertification crises. In short, improving people’s lives.

Agroforestry, Indigenous Tree Cover and Biodiversity Conservation: A Case Study of Mount Elgon in Uganda

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Addressing interconnected social and environmental issues, including poverty, food security, climate change, and biodiversity loss, requires integrated solutions. Agroforestry is a sustainable land use approach with the potential to address multiple issues. This study examined the tree cultivation behavior of smallholder farmers in the Mt. Elgon region of Uganda. We examined the proportion of indigenous tree species added to or removed from agricultural land and the reasons for farmers’ decisions in this regard. We found that farmers overwhelmingly planted exotic species, limiting the possible benefits for the conservation of biodiversity from a suggested re-greening of the region. Indigenous trees were cultivated in low numbers and dominated by a handful of species. Opportunities to help farmers increase the number and variety of indigenous trees on their land were found among smaller-scale coffee farmers and in the protection of natural forests from which indigenous trees propagate into the wider landscape.

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41287-021-00446-5
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    Publication year

    2021

    Authors

    Graham, S.; Ihli, H.J.; Gassner, A.

    Language

    English

    Keywords

    agroforestry, biodiversity conservation, small scale farming, indigenous people

    Geographic

    Uganda

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