Abstract
Traditional agroforestry systems are recognized as having great importance for providing multiple benefits for local communities all over the world, especially in tropical countries. Thanks to their multifunctional role, they can support small farmers, contribute to hydrogeological risk reduction, water regulation, preservation of soil, agrobiodiversity and landscape, as well as being examples of mitigation and adaptation towards climate change. The Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) aims to identify agricultural systems of global importance, preserving landscape, agrobiodiversity and traditional knowledge, through dynamic conservation principles. The Sabana de Morro is a traditional agroforestry system located in El Salvador based on cattle grazing in pastures with the presence of Crescentia alata and Crescentia cujete trees, locally called Morro or Jícaro. We documented the main characteristics of this system, that has never been deeply studied, in the Municipality of Dolores, in accordance with the five GIAHS criteria, and through detailed land use mapping, to assess the relations between landscape structure, agrobiodiversity and traditional silvopastoral practices. Sabana de Morro proved to be based on strong interactions between trees, cattle and farmers. The pulp of the Morro fruits is eaten by grazing cattle, completing their feeding and giving a peculiar taste to the locally produced cheese. Morro trees provide shade for the animals while cattle contribute by spreading their seeds that also take advantage of the manure. Results show that this agroforestry system contributes to the preservation of a rich agrobiodiversity and of the traditional landscape. At the same time, it supports local farmers’ livelihood and is consistent with the aim of the GIAHS programme, even if further surveys and research are needed to assess the real possibility of the inclusion in this FAO programme.
Highlights
In the last decades, traditional agroforestry systems have received increasing attention, being examples of sustainable systems able to provide multiple benefits for local communities all over the world, especially in tropical developing countries
Since one of the aims of the research was to verify if this agroforestry system could be a potential Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site, it was important to carefully analyse the site peculiarities according to the concept of global importance and to the five GIAHS criteria, that are: 1
Most of the analyzed area is occupied by forests (34.3%) and by Sabana de Morro (27.9%), followed by pastures (14.1%), shrublands (9.3%), cultivations (5%) and other land uses (9.4%) (Table 1)
Summary
Traditional agroforestry systems have received increasing attention, being examples of sustainable systems able to provide multiple benefits for local communities all over the world, especially in tropical developing countries. These realities are often characterized by a multifunctional role [1,2,3]. Forests 2020, 11, 747 unit area than high-input systems [6]. They could contribute to hydrogeological risk reduction, water regulation, preservation of soil, agrobiodiversity and other natural resources [7]. Traditional agroforestry systems might represent important tourist destinations for rural tourism, as well as examples of mitigation and adaptation towards climate change [8]
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