Agroforestry systems for mitigating climate change and reducing Carbon Footprints of land-use systems in Southern Africa

Abstract

Farming systems in Southern Africa are mostly maize mixed cropping, with some tree and/or root crop-based systems. Agroforestry systems (AFS), in particular, represent a model for ecological sustainability, with the potential of sequestering carbon (C) within soils and biomass. This review reveals that rotational woodlots sequester more C than other AFS types in the region. Additionally, C levels above and below ground range from 0.29 to 15.21 Mg ha -1 yr -1 and 30 to 300 Mg C ha -1 in the first 100 cm soil depth, respectively. To measure C belowand aboveground biomass in different AFS, variable -and not easily adoptable -methodologies are being used in Southern Africa, which limits the standardization of C stock accounting. Since the magnitude of C sequestered in AFS is dependent on the species used, AF and farm management, and environmental conditions, we recommend the adoption of rigorous and replicable methodologies to account for C stocks in different AFS over time in Southern Africa.