Perennial garden (hills)A simple and rapid approach for assessing agroecological function in tropical home gardens in Timor-LesteSimon Attwood, Sarah Park, Doug Beare

Ecosystem services and communities

Seppalt et al. 2011

Ecosystem service research and poverty

Human impacts → ES decline → Disproportionate impact on very poor (MEA 2005; Bremner et al. 2012)

ES central to community livelihoods

Provisioning—fish, other aquatic organisms Provisioning — water for

irrigation, domestic, transport

Regulating—filtration

Supporting—nutrient cycling,primary production, soil formation

Regulating— water quality, detoxification

Regulating—pest control, pollination

Cultural—sense of place, local agronomic and ecological

knowledge

Cultural – ecotourism

Provisioning — crops, livestock, building materials

Supporting — flood retention

Photo: Eric Baran

Stage 1: community participatory workshop

Community identify NRM/Ag research prioritiesExample: Timor-Leste, climate change adaptation

Priority agricultural issues:

1. Soil productivity and nutrients

2. Soil erosion

3. Water availability/mgt/retention Image: Gerard Schut

Perennial garden (hills)

Home gardens

Home gardens – primary source of agricultural produce

Variety of forms, composition, location, management – e.g.

1. Annual crops (village)

2. Perennial crops (village)

3. Perennial crops (foothills)

Perennial garden (village)

Annual garden (village)

Landscape Function Analysis (LFA)

What is LFA?A rapid assessment process of soil function:1) Soil stability2) Nutrient cycling3) Water infiltration/run-off

Questions1) How well do different land uses function?2) Which elements contribute to/detract from function?

What we found

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Garden complexity results

Annual

Perennial

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Garden complexity recommendations

Key Findings Key recommendations

Perennial garden more complex than annual garden —greater resistance/resilience to pests, drought, crop failure

Make annual gardens more complex

Perennial garden = more biodiversity and ecosystem function (e.g. more beneficial arthropods)

Juxtapose perennial gardens and annual gardens for ES transfer

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Garden type function results

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Garden type recommendations

Key Findings Key recommendations

Perennial garden functions more effectively than annual garden —e.g. leaf litter

Increase ground/canopy cover in annual crops—reduce soil temperature, retain moisture, > N and C, > beneficials

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Garden element function results…

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Garden element function recommendations

Key Findings Key recommendations

Bare soil reduces function Minimise bare soil

Leaf litter, crop trash, dead wood and palm leaves all increase function

Leaf litter - retain, collect/distribute, compost; distribute CWD to intercept resource flows; stop burning crop trash

Banana leaves increase soil function

Use banana litter

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Conclusions

1) A rapid and effective tool for impact of land use and management on ecological function

2) Tools, data collection method and analysis all amenable to teaching local extension or NGO staff

3) Can be used to develop management recommendations

www.bioversityinternational.org

Thank yous.attwood@cgiar.org