Identification of erosion prone cropping systems in Vietnam to inform potential agroforestry interventions

Although annual crop cultivation produced the most significant source of food for ethnic groups living in the mountainous areas of Northwestern Vietnam, this practice has caused serious environmental impacts on sloping land which covers 75% total area of the region. Integrating multifunctional tree-based systems into degraded landscapes has the potential to build more resilient livelihood systems. Currently there are challenges with mapping the actual areas of cropland. LANDSAT 8 satellite imagery, GPS ground truth points and crop modelling were used to identify the probability presence of annual crops. The result figured out the doubled areas of cropland on steep slopes (above 25o) in comparison with official reported data. Our study also suggests that 30% of actual cropland lies within forest designation, meaning forest cover was over estimated by 15% by Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.This study also aimed to identify the potential areas for alternative tree-based options on sloping land for smallholders to improve land cover and enhance livelihood income. The species are selected from existing high value timber and fruit species including local apple (Docynia indica), Shan tea, plum, macadamia, Arabica coffee, teak (Tectona grandis), Acacia mangium, mango and longan (Dimocarpus longan). Based on biophysical requirement, the suitability map for each species was produced and then combined together to identify the possibilities for tree-based systems across different elevation zones. The analysis shows that the suitability areas cover approximately 85% of total area of croplands on slopes (above 15o), presenting significant potential for tree integration and expansion of existing systems. At the high elevation (above 1000 m) where is under harsh weather condition, H’mong apple, plum and shan tea are the most suitable species to build up climate resilience and increase soil stability. The study contributes to increase the awareness of potential agroforestry interventions in the region and supports government policies on land use planning as well as smallholder farmers’ cultivation options.

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