Resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to return to the precondition state following a disturbance, including maintaining its essential characteristics such as taxonomic composition, structures, and ecosystem functions and process rates (Holling, 1973; Scheffer et al., 2001). Agroforestry systems comprise a long list of land management practices, including crop diversification, long rotation systems for soil conservation. If well managed agroforestry can play a crucial role in improving resilience to uncertain climates through microclimate buffering and regulation of water flow (Nguyen et al., 2013). Products and services flowing from the integration of trees within farming systems can contribute to food security, farmer livelihoods and …show more content…
In particular, the shading effects of agroforestry trees can buffer temperature and atmospheric saturation deficit reducing exposure to supra-optimal temperatures, under which physiological and developmental processes and yield become increasingly vulnerable (Lott et al., 2009). Of utmost importance for resiliency is that SOM improves the soil’s water retention capacity enhancing the drought tolerance by crops and improves infiltration diminishing runoff avoiding that soil particles will be transported with water under intense rains. SOM also improves surface soil aggregation holding tightly the soil particles during rain or windstorms. Stable soil aggregates resist movement by wind or water (Magdoff and Weil 2004).
2.3. Homegarden
Homegarden agroforestry refers as, a small-scale, supplementary food production system and for household members by imitating the natural, multilayered ecosystem. Homegarden agroforestry are characterizes to near home, composed of a high diversity of plants, small, and an important source of household subsistence and cash needs. Tropical homegarden agroforestry consists of an assemblage of plants which may include herbaceous plants, vines, shrubs and trees growing in or adjacent to a homestead or home compound and these gardens are planted and maintained by members of the household (Nair, 1993).
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Tropical homegardens contains high diversity of trees, shrubs, vegetables and crop species, animals (Tesfay Abebe, 2005). Amongst all agrobiodiversity systems diverisity is highest in homegardens (Kumar and Nair, 2004). The high and maintained diversity of both cultivated and wild plant species makes homegardens suitable for in situ conservation of plant genetic resources (Watson and Eyzaguirre, 2002). In situ conservation refers in general to the conservation of whole agroecosystems that provide the habitats of target species and varieties (Cromwell et al., 1999). Such a conservation technique allows for further crop evolution and adaptation to changing environments, while genetic diversity is regarded „frozen‟ in ex situ approaches (Brookfield, 2001) as a result of this homegardens are important in situ conservation
Polyculture is associated with, but not exclusively limited to, the movement in organic farming (Pollan 144). The main drawback is the work required to maintain the different species being grown. Each plant requires its own growing conditions, so maintenance becomes labor intensive. However, this method of farming greatly increases the biodiversity of the fields which reduces susceptibility to disease and pests, and creates genetically diverse species. Polyculture is very different from monoculture in more ways than simply growing more than one crop. Monoculture is the attempt to control a crop to maximize yield. Polyculture is the acknowledgement of nature’s control and the attempt to grow successful crops through changing the process of growing plants based on the ecological system around them. The people who grew early potatoes on the Andes grew a wide variety of different potato species so that not all of them were likely to susceptible to the same disease (Pollan 131). Pollan’s discussion of these methods leans heavily toward the idea that even though monoculture is simpler and more profitable, it is an inferior method to polyculture that is mainly still in use to feed the capitalistic machine of the global food
Since the beginning of the human race mankind has depended on the natural resources in their environment for survival. They utilized the available flora to nourish their body, heal their wounds, comfort their ailments and to create products to ease their daily lives. Many of the same plants utilized thousands of years ago by the indigenous people have been integrated into modern day medicines. The scientific interest and knowledge of plants for nourishment, healing, and practical uses is called ethnobotany.
It was C S Holling in 1973 that introduced the term ‘Resilience’ into ecological literature as a way of understanding non-linear dynamics observed in the ecosystem. Resilience theory is referred to the capacity of a social ecological system to withstand shock and to re-build and re-new itself. According to C S Holling father of resilience theory “whatever you do climate is going to change, some of them will be sudden, some of them will be crisis but in fact these are opportunities for people to learn on how to deal with and then turn the crisis into opportunity”. Resilience is structured around acceptance of disturbance. According to Brian Walker “Resilience is the capacity of a system to undergo change and still retain its basic function and structure. In other words it is the capacity to undergo some change without crossing a threshold into a different system regime”. C S Holling defines the behaviour of ecosystem in two different ways: stability and resilience. According to him “resilience determines the persistence of the relationships within the system and is a measure of the ability of the systems to absorb changes of state variables, driving variables, parameters and still persist” . Resilience is a part of the system and stability refers to the ability of the system to return to the original position after the disturbance . According to C S Holling there are two components that are important in the system they are cyclical behaviour and its frequency and amplitude, and the configuration of forces caused by the positive and negative feedback relations. Resilience is about withstanding shocks like climate change or financial crisis and turn the circumstance into an opportunity or innovation.
Cone, Cynthia A., and Andrea Myhre. "Community Supported Agriculture: A Sustainable Alternative t Industrial Agriculture?" Human Organization 59.2 (2000): 187-196.
When I am asked to make meaning of my life, the biggest recurring theme is my resounding resiliency. I am sure of myself. I have unwavering hope, optimism, and trust in myself. Often, this shocks those who are just getting to know me. Others are not shy to call me naïve. People are normally quite curious as to where this aspect of my personality came from. I believe my resiliency is the result of personal growth through adverse, and dire conditions in my childhood.
Lafourie, J. (2012). Agricultores muy asustados por TLC con Estados Unidos. Dinero.com. Retrieved from http://www.dinero.com/negocios/articulo/agricultores-muy-asustados-tlc-estados-unidos/151296
Climate change has been happening for many years and it continues to do so. It is a significant change in regards to the distribution of weather patterns over a given time frame such as decades or millennia. In recent times, the climate change is called “global warming” and it has been linked to certain human activities (NRC 2010). This shows that climate change is not limited to biotic factors. In a general sense, these changes have the potential to impact populations and ecosystems due to alterations in the water cycle. Climate change impacts includes too little water in some regions while too much water in other regions. Changes in precipitation patterns can influence plant physiology and thereby affect the rates of photosynthesis. Such patterns include drought in which warmer temperatures increase evaporative stress on a plant and increased rain or frequency of storms can influence water uptake by plants. Under both conditions, there is a change in photosynthetic rates. Photosynthesis allows the plant to accumulate carbon, grow and produce biomass (Niu et al. 2008). Therefore, a change in photosynthetic rates can be either beneficial or harmful to a plant. The effects of altered precipitation patterns on photosynthetic rates is significant to the scientific field because it gives insight on the shifts in plant community composition and how it affects the water availability for human and ecosystem uses (Kray et al. 2012). In addition, understanding the connection between water relations and photosynthesis with respect to changes in precipitation patterns could help with management decisions of ecosystems, where climate change indicates alterations in species composition, in water availability for wildlife and in fire regimes (L...
The victory garden or home garden was something that was highly popular during World War I and II. People would grow their own produce to help with the local food supply and to ease pressure on the local economy. At that time, almost one third of vegetable that were produced in the United States came from people’s home gardening (Wikipedia.org). Since then, there has been a massive decrease in the home garden. Store bought produce had become common place and as a result people have stopped growing their own food. However, by encouraging home gardening, communities can have sustainable, more nutritious produce readily available.
Resilience is a simple concept but many definitions exist, making it hard to operationally define. For the purpose of the current study, the definition has been derived from an extensive construct review by Windle (2011). Resilience is the process in which individuals undergo when adapting to stress, challenges, or trauma. The individual uses resources in their environment during the process to “bounce back” from adversity (Windle, 2011). Such as social support and coping methods (Mahmoud, 2012).
This is because the nutrients are stored in the vast numbers of trees and plants, rather than in the soil. Tree roots bind the soil together, while the canopy protects the soil from heavy rains. When a tree dies and its trunk falls to the forest floor, it decays and the nutrient rich remains are recycled. Because of this coverage, tropical rainforests, covering 7 percent of the earth’s surface area, contain perhaps 50 to 90 percent of the world’s species.
Agriculture is an absolute necessity for human life on Earth to continue. There are too many people on the planet for existence as hunters and gatherers to work anymore. That said, it must be realized that concessions must be made to allow such food growth and production to occur. But this does not mean that another important element of life on Earth can be destroyed for it. Unfortunately, that is indeed what is occurring, at an alarming rate. The rainforests of the planet are dwindling as the land they belong on is used more and more for agriculture, all over the world. In the Amazon, ,the most commonly detrimental agricultural practice is the technique of land clearing known as Slash and Burn.
One of the impacts of climate change is that as the temperatures in cooler parts of the world change and become warmer, this will allow that place to be more habitable to other different types of food crops, thus expanding the area in which these crops can be grown. For example, less frequent freezes will allow crops like citrus to be planted and gro...
In an ecosystem from 1986 to 1988 scientists determined the resilience of the ecosystem through its entire cycle, lowest level to peak level
Rainforests once covered 14% of the worlds land surface, however now it only covers a mere 6%. It is estimated that all rainforests could be consumed in less than 40 years. Trees are becoming more needed and used everyday. We need them cut down for many reasons such as paper and timber, while also needing them ‘untouched’ for other reasons like oxygen, we have to ask ourselves, which is more important? At the current rate, most of the rainforests are being cut down for resources like paper and timber, but less importance is being placed on main resources like oxygen.
Tropical rain forests and temperate forests are two different types of forests. They differ in density, diversity of species, regions, altitudes and their usefulness to humans. This usefulness is referred to as values. The values obtained from forests are aesthetics, scientific and educational purposes. In addition forests have the ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide released into the air from man’s endeavours. This CO2 contributes to the sudden increase in global warming. The total value of a forest ecosystem is the combined value of each individual species living within that habitat.