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An Ecologically Based System for Sustainable Agroforestry in Sub-Tropical and Tropical Forests Sun, Yuan; Cao, Fuliang; Wei, Xiaohua; Welham, Clive; Chen, Lei; Pelz, Dieter R.; Yang, Qing; Liu, Huiqian

Abstract

Forests in tropical and sub-tropical countries face severe pressures due to a combination of poverty and environment degradation. To be effective, measures to protect these forests must therefore consider both economic and ecological dimensions synergistically. The purpose of this paper was to synthesize our long-term work (1994–2015) on a Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.) agroforestry system and demonstrate its potential for achieving both goals, and discuss its wider application in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The performance of various ecological, economic, and social indicators was compared among five Ginkgo agroforestry systems. Two additional indicators, Harmony Degree (HD) and Development Degree (DD), were also used to show the integrated performance of these indicators. Ginkgo-Wheat-Peanut (G+W+P) and Ginkgo-Rapeseed-Peanut (G+R+P) are the best systems when compared to pure and mixed Ginkgo plantations, or pure agricultural crops. Results demonstrate that it is possible to achieve both economic development and environmental protection through implementation of sustainable agroforestry systems in sub-tropical regions.

Item Metadata

Title
An Ecologically Based System for Sustainable Agroforestry in Sub-Tropical and Tropical Forests
Creator
Sun, Yuan; Cao, Fuliang; Wei, Xiaohua; Welham, Clive; Chen, Lei; Pelz, Dieter R.; Yang, Qing; Liu, Huiqian
Publisher
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Date Issued
2017-03-29
Description
Forests in tropical and sub-tropical countries face severe pressures due to a combination of poverty and environment degradation. To be effective, measures to protect these forests must therefore consider both economic and ecological dimensions synergistically. The purpose of this paper was to synthesize our long-term work (1994–2015) on a Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba L.) agroforestry system and demonstrate its potential for achieving both goals, and discuss its wider application in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The performance of various ecological, economic, and social indicators was compared among five Ginkgo agroforestry systems. Two additional indicators, Harmony Degree (HD) and Development Degree (DD), were also used to show the integrated performance of these indicators. Ginkgo-Wheat-Peanut (G+W+P) and Ginkgo-Rapeseed-Peanut (G+R+P) are the best systems when compared to pure and mixed Ginkgo plantations, or pure agricultural crops. Results demonstrate that it is possible to achieve both economic development and environmental protection through implementation of sustainable agroforestry systems in sub-tropical regions.
Subject
Ginkgo biloba; Indicators; Forest products; Harmony Degree; Development Degree
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2019-05-31
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
CC BY 4.0
DOI
10.14288/1.0379224
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/70441
Affiliation
Forestry, Faculty of; Arts and Sciences, Irving K. Barber School of (Okanagan); Non UBC; Earth and Environmental Sciences, Department of (Okanagan); Forest Resources Management, Department of
Citation
Forests 8 (4): 102 (2017)
Publisher DOI
10.3390/f8040102
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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CC BY 4.0