Janaki R.R. Alavalapati

Biodiversity conservation in the era of biofuels: Risks and opportunities

Growing demand for alternative energy sources has contributed to increased biofuel production, but the effects on biodiversity of land-use change to biofuel crops remain unclear. Using a meta-analysis for crops being used or considered in the US, we find that vertebrate diversity and abundance are generally lower in biofuel crop habitats relative to the non-crop habitats that these crops may replace. Diversity effects are greater for corn than for pine and poplar, and birds of conservation concern experience greater negative effects from corn than species of less concern. Yet conversion of row-crop fields to grasslands dedicated to biofuels could increase local diversity and abundance of birds. To minimize impacts of biofuel crops on biodiversity, we recommend management practices that reduce chemical inputs, increase heterogeneity within fields, and delay harvests until bird breeding has ceased. We encourage research that will move us toward a sustainable biofuels economy, including the use of native plants, development of robust environmental criteria for evaluating biofuel crops, and integrated cost–benefit analysis of potential land-use change.

Agroforestry adoption in southern Malawi: the case of mixed intercropping of Gliricidia sepium and maize ☆

AbstractAgroforestry, now considered as a sustainable agricultural system, is being widely pro-motedallovertheworldespeciallyinsub-SaharanAfrica.Thispaperinvestigatestheadop-tion of mixed inter-cropping an agroforestry tree species, Gliricidia sepium, and maize inMalawi.Thedifferencesbetweenadoptersandnon-adoptersofGliricidiasepiumintermsoftheirage,activemembersofthefamily,extensioncontact,incomesourcesandothersocio-economicvariablesareexamined.Resultsfromlogisticregressionanalysissuggestthatageofthe farmer, extension contact and the number of people who contribute to farm work areimportantvariablesindeterminingtheadoptionofagroforestry.Itwasobservedthatfarmersmodifiedtechnologiestosuittheirsituation,suggestingthatlocalparticipationisimportantintechnologydevelopment.# 2003ElsevierLtd.Allrightsreserved. Keywords:Adoption;Agroforestry;Gliricidiasepium;Logit;Malawi0308-521X/03/

Forest Dependency and its Implications for Protected Areas Management: A Case Study From the Nyungwe Forest Reserve, Rwanda

-seefrontmatter# 2003ElsevierLtd.Allrightsreserved.doi:10.1016/S0308-521X(03)00032-5AgriculturalSystems78(2003)57–71www.elsevier.com/locate/agsy

Agroforestry development: An environmental economic perspective

Conservation of biodiversity in protected forest areas will be more challenging if local communities are heavily dependent on them for energy, nutritional, medicinal and other subsistence needs. This study estimated forest dependency and identified factors influencing dependency for households living around the Nyungwe Forest Reserve (NFR), Rwanda. Data from a household survey conducted in 2001 were analysed using logistic regression analysis. Results suggest that agricultural income, household age and size, and access to towns and outside markets are the key determinants of forest dependency. Based on these results and discussions with various stakeholders in the study area, it was concluded that protected areas management must be consistent with overall socioeconomic development plans. Towards this end, pine plantations in the NFR buffer zone could be replaced with an agroforestry system producing tea, as a potential solution to ensure biodiversity and address subsistence needs of local communities.

Economic analysis of slash pine forest carbon sequestration in the southern U. S.

Agroforestry systems (AFS) provide a mix of market goods and nonmarket goods and services. We postulate that if nonmarket goods and services can be internalized to the benefit of landowners, the adoption of AFS will increase. Using the theory of externality as a conceptual framework, this paper provides an environmental economic logic for developing incentive policies to internalize environmental services especially in the industrialized countries. Specifically, the paper addresses the following questions with focus on North America in general and southern United States in particular: What is the effect of environmental costs and benefits on the adoption of silvopasture? Do households care for carbon sequestration, water quality improvement, and biodiversity associated with silvo-pasture? Will they be willing to pay for them? If so, how much? Will ranchers adopt more silvopasture if incentives are provided? Which incentive policy, a price premium or a direct payment, is more effective? It has been found that the profitability of silvopasture would increase, relative to conventional ranching, if environmental services are included. Estimates of public willingness to pay for environmental services associated with silvopasture and estimates of ranchers’ willingness to accept for the adoption of silvopasture will provide a scientific basis for policy development.

Restoration of the longleaf pine ecosystem on private lands in the US South: an ecological economic analysis

Abstract The impact of a carbon subsidy and tax policy on slash pine (Pinus elliottii) plantations is investigated using a modified Hartman model. Such a policy is shown to increase the optimal rotation age, land expectation value and the supply of sequestered carbon. The supply of carbon increases at a decreasing rate with the price of carbon. The supply of sawtimber increases while the supply of pulpwood decreases. The increase in land expectation value was substantial, suggesting inclusion of carbon sequestration benefits and emission costs would benefit private forestland owners. As the value of forestland increases in response to a carbon policy, more land could be devoted to forestry as opposed to other land uses such as agriculture and urban development.

Agroforestry adoption and maintenance: self-efficacy, attitudes and socio-economic factors

Abstract The longleaf pine ecosystem is one of the most biologically diverse in North America, supporting hundreds of plant and animal species. Because of its timber and many non-timber benefits, there is strong interest among forestry professionals, conservation groups, and the public at large in restoring longleaf pine ecosystems. However, many landowners are reluctant to grow longleaf pine on their lands on a commercial basis because the economic returns from longleaf pine timber production are usually less than those of slash pine. In this study, we develop a model that determines the profitability of longleaf and slash pine timber production after consideration of carbon sequestration, habitat for the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker, and other amenity benefits. Results suggest that internalizing carbon sequestration benefits and red-cockaded woodpecker habitat benefits alone is not enough for landowners to switch from slash pine to longleaf. Additional payments of

Socioeconomic research in agroforestry: a decade in review

16 to 33 per ha per year, reflecting extra amenity benefits associated with longleaf pine relative to slash pine, make longleaf production financially competitive. Incentives that reflect carbon, biodiversity, and amenity benefits associated with longleaf production may be the optimal way of restoring longleaf pine ecosystems on rural private lands in the US South.

Tourism impact modeling for resource extraction regions

Agroforestry is a key land use in the development of ecological corridors in tropical rainforests biomes. This research tested the social dimensions of agroforestry adoption and maintenance in the Atlantic rainforest of Southern Bahia, Brazil. A quasi-experiment research design compared a group of farmers who participated in an agroforestry development program with a group of similar farmers who were not participants in the program. The effects of the program on the participants’ self-efficacy, attitudes and intentions to adopt or maintain agroforestry were tested. The effects of socio-economic factors and attitudes were also compared to self-efficacy in terms of farmers’ intentions to adopt or maintain agroforestry. Results indicate that the program neither raised nor lowered the farmers’ attitudes, self-efficacy or intentions to adopt or maintain agroforestry. However, multiple regression and logistic model analyses indicate that perceived behavioral control, attitudes about conservation and available labor contributed most significantly to farmers’ intentions to adopt or maintain agroforestry. Overall, perceived behavioral control proved to have the most significant correlation with farmers’ intentions to adopt or maintain agroforestry. Therefore, agroforestry development programs could benefit from focusing on farmers’ perceived control of certain behaviors to enhance the persistence of agroforestry practices.

Using species distribution models to identify suitable areas for biofuel feedstock production

Agroforestry research in academia and government and non-governmental agencies began by focusing on biophysical aspects. As this science represents a series of practices implemented by individual farmers, it requires in-depth social and economic analyses to assess economic feasibility of agroforestry systems, factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry, monitor the relevance and effectiveness of investigations, and guide future research efforts. This study presents literature dealing with socioeconomic issues in agroforestry research from interdisciplinary peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and gray literature from 1992 to 2002. Over 500 publications were analyzed to determine relative dominance of geographical regions, types of analyses, agroforestry technologies, and socioeconomic issues. Trends were examined over time and by region. Overall, the body of literature exhibits an increasing trend toward regional and analytical diversity over time. Some deficiencies of regional and thematic nature were observed, which included underrepresented temperate regions and technologies such as riparian buffers, as well as only a small number of papers dealing with gender and property rights. These suggest opportunities for future investigations.