On the structural complexity of central European agroforestry systems: a quantitative assessment using terrestrial laser scanning in single-scan mode

Seidel, Dominik; Stiers, Melissa; Ehbrecht, Martin; Werning, Maik; Annighöfer, Peter

doi:10.1007/s10457-021-00620-y

Cited by 11 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The highest SSCI value in this study (6.5 ± 0.3) was a 15 year old successional agroforest with SSCI values comparable to native woodlands in the Neotropics . SSCI values of silvopastoral and multistrata systems were in a similar range as in German silvopastoral systems which were older and had a lower tree density than most of the agroforestry systems presented here (Seidel et al, 2021). However, in this study, the association between SSCI and age was not significant.…”

Section: Stand Structural Complexitysupporting

confidence: 60%

“…Nevertheless, a continuous measure of an agroforestry systems' degree of complexity can be approximated by assessing the heterogeneity of its components, e.g. by quantifying species diversity (Naeem, 2013) or spatial structure (Seidel et al, 2019;Seidel et al, 2021). Interactions between these components abound, and are also influenced by farmers' management, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Agroecosystems are complex in multiple ways (Naeem, 2013;Vandermeer and Perfecto, 2017) and a wide range of methods were employed throughout this thesis to describe the various dimensions of complexity (Chapter 1). A literature review was conducted to define the most relevant complexity dimensions: taxonomic diversity (Malézieux, 2011;Malézieux et al, 2009;Santos et al, 2019), functional diversity (Naeem, 2013;Santos et al, 2021;Wood et al, 2015), spatial structure (Jagoret et al, 2017a;Seidel et al, 2021;Zemp et al, 2019), time (Malézieux, 2011;Notaro et al, 2022;Young, 2017) and management (Cerda et al, 2017;Jezeer et al, 2018). Based on these dimensions, (mostly continuous) metrics were defined that capture variation between agroforestry systems, such as species richness or the exponential Shannon diversity index (taxonomic diversity), stem density or a Li-DAR-derived structural complexity index (spatial structure), community weighted means of wood density and foliar N (functional diversity) or the frequency of management interactions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Agroforestry systems are managed according to farmers' needs and preferences, and therefore vary in species composition and tree density among others (Valencia et al, 2015). This variation can be captured by classifying agroforestry systems into distinct types (Atangana et al, 2013) or by quantifying key properties, such as stand structural complexity (Seidel et al, 2021), which is defined as the heterogeneity of biomass distribution in a three-dimensional space . In forests, structural complexity can be quantified by LiDAR (Newnham et al, 2015), and is strongly related to net primary productivity (Ali et al, 2016;Gough et al, 2019;Stark et al, 2012), microclimate and habitat for biodiversity (Ishii et al, 2004).…”

Section: Thesis Outlinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Agroforestry involves the integration of trees and crops, which makes these systems more complex than monocultures (Nair et al, 2021). There are many types of agroforestry systems, that differ in terms of species diversity and density, and their resulting structural complexity (Jagoret et al, 2017a;Seidel et al, 2021;. This 'complexification' has been shown to enhance the provision of ecosystem services (Santos et al, 2019;, e.g.…”

Section: Introduction Chaptermentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the complexity of agroforestry systems

Steinfeld

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Tropical soils are prone to rapid degradation if not managed well, and agroforestry systems have the potential to restore degraded soils and support agricultural production together with other ecosystem services. In Brazil, an increasing number of pioneering farmers are establishing agroforestry systems on previously cleared farmland. However, while there are a wide range of agroforestry systems, this diversity has hardly been quantified, and it is not clear how these systems differ in their capacity for nutrient cycling to reverse soil degradation. The objectives of the study were to assess innovative agroforestry systems in terms of taxonomic and functional diversity, spatial structure and management, and to assess how these systems differ in terms of structural complexity and their potential for nutrient cycling. We assessed a LiDAR-derived stand structural complexity index (SSCI), interrow spacing, stem density, tree species richness and diversity, community weighted means (CWM) of foliar nitrogen and wood density, livestock density, pruning and mowing regimes in 30 agroforestry systems in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. We used N, P, K, Ca and Mg stocks in litter as a proxy for nutrient cycling. The agroforestry systems could be broadly categorized into silvopastures, multistrata and successional agroforestry systems. These types spanned a gradient of structural complexity, and this complexity was positively associated with tree species richness and planting density. Litter nutrient stocks were positively associated with pruning and mulching, and negatively associated with CWM of wood density, indicating the importance of pioneer trees. Overall, our results suggest that densely planted, pruned agroforestry systems that contain high species richness, including pioneer trees, contain relatively high amounts of N, P, K, Ca and Mg in their litter. These findings provide insight in the key characteristics of agroforestry systems to support nutrient cycling, and can inform the design of agroforestry systems for the regeneration of degraded agricultural land.

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Section: Stand Structural Complexitysupporting

confidence: 60%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Thesis Outlinementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introduction Chaptermentioning

confidence: 99%

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On the complexity of agroforestry systems

Steinfeld

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Screening old and modern wheat varieties for shading tolerance within a specialized poplar plantation for agroforestry farming systems implementation

dos Santos Neto,

Panozzo,

Piotto

et al. 2024

Agroforest Syst

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The sustainability of silvoarable agroforestry systems largely depends on the choice of suitable crop species and varieties for minimizing competitive interactions in the interaction zone with trees. Up to date crop intraspecific variability has been poorly investigated, and mainly in pot trials under artificial shading. Given this framework, a trial was conducted in field conditions in NE Italy to study the response of 10 common wheat varieties cultivated in the 6-m narrow inter-row of a specialized 4-year old poplar plantation (AF, agroforestry) vs. full sun conditions (C, controls). Here it was demonstrated that large genetic variability exists in wheat, as grain yield reductions under shading ranged between 31 and 75% (average − 57%) depending on variety choice. Better tolerance was highlighted in old varieties (− 44% of yield in AF vs. C), that was associated to greater plasticity in delaying leaf senescence, and increased both leaf area index and SPAD (index of chlorophyll content), while achieving the highest grain protein contents (> 17.3% DW). However, under shading modern wheat varieties still remained the highest yielding, particularly in bread-making varieties (469 g m−2 on average), thanks to larger improvement of the leaf-to-culm biomass ratio and better harvest index. We conclude that there is large scope for identifying wheat varieties suitable for agroforestry systems, while breeding programs can select for specific morpho-physiological adaptation traits to low irradiance.

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