Indigenous knowledge of the feeding value of tree fodder

Thapa, Bhesh Raj; Walker, Daniel; Sinclair, F.L.

doi:10.1016/s0377-8401(96)01129-7

Cited by 50 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…They were able to recognize the vast majority of tree species (>80%), and recall details about their uses, attributes (e.g., canopy size and shape and tree height), fodder value and effects on adjacent pasture. This concurs with studies of farmers' knowledge about fodder trees in contrasting cultural contexts as far apart as Asia (Thapa et al, 1997) and Africa (Roothaert and Franzel, 2001) as well as elsewhere in Latin America (Cajas-Girón and Love and Spaner, 2005;Barrance et al, 2009), where farmers have been found to select trees for retention or planting based on detailed knowledge of both fodder quality (Thorne et al, 1999) and attributes conferring low competitiveness with crops or pasture (Thapa et al, 1997). The importance of trees in providing shade and a favorable microclimate for cattle, articulated by farmers in all four landscapes in the present study, is corroborated by animal science research showing lower rectal temperatures and respiratory rates and hence higher welfare and production under tree shade (Valtorta et al, 1997).…”

Section: Impacts Of Farm Management On Dispersed Treessupporting

confidence: 88%

Conservation value of dispersed tree cover threatened by pasture management

Harvey

Villanueva

Esquivel

et al. 2011

Forest Ecology and Management

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Section: Impacts Of Farm Management On Dispersed Treessupporting

confidence: 88%

Conservation value of dispersed tree cover threatened by pasture management

Harvey

Villanueva

Esquivel

et al. 2011

Forest Ecology and Management

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“…The anthropogenic landscapes of mid-elevation in the Himalayas function as complex agroecosystems, where management and conservation need to balance local knowledge, practices and needs by a diversity of local users, and with global aims such as conservation of biodiversity, climate change mitigation and sustainability for future users. A high diversity of woody species is important as it provides a broad resource base for fodder collection throughout the year, as hill farmers have a sophisticated set of criteria for assessing fodder quality in relation to season, livestock type, and qualitative properties [61]. Biodiversity conservation needs to be seen in a broader sense in areas dominated by poverty and social inequity.…”

Section: Species Richness and Forest Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Biodiversity: Impacts of Legal Protection in Mountain Forests of the Himalayas

Måren

Sharma²

2018

Forests

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Legal protection has been used as means of conserving forests and associated biodiversity in many regions of the world since the eighteenth century. However, most forests in the global south, even those within protected areas, are influenced by human activities. Himalayan forests harbour much of the biodiversity of the region, maintain subsistence livelihoods, and provide regional and global ecosystem services like water regulation, flood control, and carbon sequestration. Yet few studies have quantitatively studied the impacts of legal protection on forest health and biodiversity. We assess woody biodiversity and forest health in relation to legal protection and biomass extraction in forests inside and outside Langtang National Park in Nepal (n = 180). We found more woody species in protected forests. Of the 69 woody species recorded, 47% occurred at both sites. Within protected forests, we found differences in forest health largely related to the intensity of biomass extraction expressed as walking distance to settlement. The closer the forest was to settlements, the heavier degradation it suffered, showing that within agro-forestry systems in the Himalayas, the resource-consumer distance is typically determining the intensity of biomass extraction. Our research brings forth the need to better address the drivers of resource extraction from protected areas in order to mitigate this degradation. It also brings forth the need to contribute to the development of appropriate participatory management programmes outside areas of formal protection in order to sustain both biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery from these forests for the future.

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“…Farmers may possess knowledge of morphological, physiological and ecological features of native tree species (Altieri and Merrick 1987;Castillo and Toledo 2000) that could be useful in designing alternative systems and practices to meet new challenges (Thapa et al 1997;Sinclair and Walker 1999). Escamilla et al (1994) reported on traditional tree species selection according to utilitarian criteria, environmental adaptation and crop compatibility in Mexico while Muschler (2001), highlighted the relationship among productive objectives, climatic factors, input levels and quality, in coffee systems in Costa Rica, where the relationship between local criteria and farmers' decisionmaking for establishing shade trees has been well identified.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of local knowledge in determining shade composition of multistrata coffee systems in Chiapas, Mexico

et al. 2006

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This research explores interactions between farmers' knowledge and socioeconomic circumstances and the floristic composition of multistrata coffee plantations in Chiapas, Mexico. Interviews with 24 individual farmers with accompanying vegetation transects and two community level participatory workshops were carried out. The frequency, density, dominance, utility and importance value for all tree species surveyed were obtained. Farmers were grouped by cluster analysis on the basis of their land area, time producing coffee and the age of their coffee farms but the dominant shade species in their coffee plantations was not influenced by socioeconomic status ( p < 0.05). A total of 74 shade species were recorded and classified as temporary, suitable, or unsuitable as shade species by farmers, based on attributes such as leaf phenology, foliage density, crown shape and the amount and timing of litter decomposition, as well as their overall impact on coffee yield. Principal component and cluster analysis using these attributes confirmed the consistency of the farmers' classification system. A group of preferred species was identified, but less than half the trees recorded on farms were of these species, showing that farmers retained a wide range of trees and shrubs in their plantations, taking into account not only commercial interests but also their contribution to ecosystem functions. Farmers harnessed the forces of secondary succession by retaining pioneers as temporary shade, knowing that they would naturally be succeeded, while at the same time promoting and tolerating other longer living native species that they considered more suitable as coffee shade. Managing diverse secondary succession instead of establishing monospecific shade was an efficient way for farmers to achieve acceptable coffee yields while contributing to biodiversity and landscape conservation that could allow them access to niche markets.

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Indigenous knowledge of the feeding value of tree fodder

Cited by 50 publications

References 4 publications

Conservation value of dispersed tree cover threatened by pasture management

Conservation value of dispersed tree cover threatened by pasture management

Managing Biodiversity: Impacts of Legal Protection in Mountain Forests of the Himalayas

The role of local knowledge in determining shade composition of multistrata coffee systems in Chiapas, Mexico

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