Biodiversity conservation in dryland parkland agroforestry practice: A review

Abstract

The conservation of biodiversity has been mostly understood in terms of the management of protected areas and natural forests, ignoring the possible role of farm areas and the ways through which dryland communities have promoted biodiversity in their agroforestry system and/or practices. Dryland biodiversity have developed unique strategies to cope with low and erratic rainfall. They are highly resilient and recover quickly from existing disturbances against risks such as drought, disease, and crop failure. These attributes have great significance for the global system, especially in the context of climate change. Dryland people have adapted many agroforestry systems and/or practices, which help them to conserve biodiversity and improve their livelihood. This paper presents a review of dryland parkland agroforestry as a means for biodiversity conservation and explores options for its conservation and sustainable management. Findings of the review can be summarized as follows: (1) Dryland farmers maintain high levels of biodiversity in their parkland agroforestry. (2) However, dryland parklands are rapidly degrading over vast areas due to unsustainable policies and land management practices, causing negative impacts on both human well-being and the environment. Once these areas were the main source of livelihood, now they are becoming barren and unproductive. (3) In conclusion, the document identifies further research and intervention for promoting sustainable management of dryland parkland agroforestry as a means to conserve biodiversity.