Tradeoffs between income, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning during tropical rainforest conversion and agroforestry intensification
Date
2006Author
Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter
Michael Kessler
Jan Barkmann
Merijin M. Bos
Buchori, Damayanti
Stefan Erasmi
Heiko Faust
Gerhard Gerold
Klaus Glenk
S. Robbert Gradstein
Edi Guhardja
Marieke Harteveld
Dietrich Hertel
Patrick Hohn
Martin Kappas
Stefan Kohler
Christoph Leuschner
Mie Maertens
Rainer Marggraf
Sonja Migge-Klein
Johanis Mogea
Ramadhaniel Pitopang
Matthias Schaefer
Stefan Schwarze
Simone G. Sporn
Andrea Steingrebe
Sri S. Tjitrosoedirdjo
Sri S. Tjitrosoedirdjo
Soekisman Tjitrosoemito
Andre Twele
Robert Weber
Lars Woltmann
Manfred Zeller
Teja Tscharntke
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Losses of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning due to rainforest destruction and agricultural intensification are prime concerns for science and society alike. Potentially, ecosystems show nonlinear responses to land-use intensification that would open management options with limited ecological losses but satisfying economic gains. However, multidisciplinary studies to quantify ecological losses and socioeconomic tradeoffs under different management options are rare. Here, we evaluate opposing land use strategies in cacao agroforestry in Sulawesi, Indonesia, by using data on species richness of nine plant and animal taxa, six related ecosystem functions, and on socioeconomic drivers of agroforestry expansion. Expansion of cacao cultivation by 230% in the last two decades was triggered not only by economic market mechanisms, but also by rarely considered cultural factors. Transformation from near-primary forest to agroforestry had little effect on overall species richness, but reduced plant biomass and carbon storage by ≈75% and species richness of forest-using species by ≈60%. In contrast, increased land use intensity in cacao agroforestry, coupled with a reduction in shade tree cover from 80% to 40%, caused only minor quantitative changes in biodiversity and maintained high levels of ecosystem functioning while doubling farmers' net income. However, unshaded systems further increased income by ≈40%, implying that current economic incentives and cultural preferences for new intensification practices put shaded systems at risk. We conclude that low-shade agroforestry provides the best available compromise between economic forces and ecological needs. Certification schemes for shade-grown crops may provide a market-based mechanism to slow down current intensification trends.
Collections
- Faculty of Forestry [188]