The recent interest in multi-functional agricultural landscapes has not been matched with formal assessment of the roles that trees play across the spectrum of ecosystem services (ESs) provided in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). A structured literature review (1995-2014) assessed 350 journal articles about provision of one or more ESs by trees on farms and in agricultural landscapes in SSA. This revealed information on 15 ESs from studies in 23 countries covering arid (1% of studies), semi-arid (49%), sub-humid (26%) and humid (24%) agro-ecological zones. The majority of the studies reported provisioning (39%) and supporting (35%) followed by regulating (26%) ESs while studies on cultural services were scarce. Beneficial impacts of trees were dominating (58%), in particular in semi-arid zones where they were associated with enhancing water and nutrient cycling. A decline in some ESs was reported in 15% of the studies, while 28% found no effect of trees. Although the effects of trees were mainly positive, a decline in crop production was noted as a key trade-off against the provisions of ESs, such as modification of microclimate. This highlights the need to manage trade-offs among impacts of trees on ES provision to reduce competition and increase complementarity between trees and crops.

This is a repository copy of Ten people-centered rules for socially sustainable ecosystem restoration.

Increasing tree cover in agricultural lands can contribute to achieving global and national restoration goals, more so in the drylands where trees play a key role in enhancing both ecosystem and livelihood resilience of the communities that depend on them. Despite this, drylands are characterized by low tree survival especially for tree species preferred by local communities. We conducted a study in arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya and Ethiopia with 1773 households to assess how different tree planting and management practices influence seedling survival. Using on-farm planned comparisons, farmers experimented and compared tree survival under different planting and management practices as well as under varying socioeconomic and biophysical contexts in the two countries. Seedling survival was monitored at least six months after planting. Results show that watering, manure application, seedling protection by fencing and planting in a small hole (30 cm diameter and 45 cm depth) had a significant effect on tree seedling survival in Kenya, while in Ethiopia, mulching, watering and planting niche were significant to tree survival. Household socioeconomics and farms’ biophysical characteristics such as farm size, education level of the household head, land tenure, age of the household head had significant effects on seedling survival in both Ethiopia and Kenya while presence of soil erosion on the farm had a significant effect in Kenya. Soil quality ranking was positively correlated with tree survival in Ethiopia, regardless of species assessed. Current findings have confirmed effects of context specific variables some involving intrahousehold socioeconomic status such education level of the household head, and farm size that influence survival.

While attention has been paid largely to forest restoration, meeting global land restoration pledges will require scalingup restoration of ecosystem services on agricultural land. This paper contributes to the literature on restoration practice and agricultural technology adoption, by shifting the focus onto the farm and considering the role of intrahousehold dynamics in the uptake of farmland restoration practices. We examine the intrahousehold decisions and gender relations surrounding the trial of two on-farm restoration practices: tree planting and planting basins; with over 2,500 farmers in the eastern drylands of Kenya. Combining results from household surveys, interviews and focus group discussions, our findings reveal that decisions over the uptake of restoration practices, although usually initiated by women who attend agricultural workshops, are often discussed between husband and wife and that multiple social dimensions intersect to shape men's and women's interest in, contribution to, and benefit from different practices. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that these intrahousehold relations are, in turn, shaped by women's participation in innovation processes and broader societal changes, particularly the outmigration of rural men. Based on these insights, we offer recommendations for improving the dissemination and uptake of on-farm restoration practices in eastern Kenya and achieving more inclusive and gender-equitable outcomes.

This paper highlights approaches for smallholder engagement, identifies key barriers to participation, and outlines options to enhance farmers’ agency.