Complementary ecosystem services from multiple land uses highlight the importance of tropical mosaic landscapes.

Tropical agricultural landscapes often consist of a mosaic of different land uses, yet little is known about the spectrum of ecosystem service bundles and materials they provide to rural households. We interviewed 320 households on the different benefits received from prevalent land-use types in north-eastern Madagascar (old-growth forests, forest fragments, vanilla agroforests, woody fallows, herbaceous fallows, and rice paddies) in terms of ecosystem services and plant uses. Old-growth forests and forest fragments were reported as important for regulating services (e.g. water regulation), whilst fallow lands and vanilla agroforests as important for provisioning services (food, medicine, fodder). Households reported the usage of 285 plant species (56% non-endemics) and collected plants from woody fallows for varying purposes, whilst plants from forest fragments, predominantly endemics, were used for construction and weaving. Multiple land-use types are thus complementary for providing ecosystem services, with fallow lands being particularly important. Hence, balancing societal needs and conservation goals should be based on diversified and comprehensive land management.

Win-win opportunities combining high yields with high multi-taxa biodiversity in tropical agroforestry.

Resolving ecological-economic trade-offs between biodiversity and yields is a key challenge when addressing the biodiversity crisis in tropical agricultural landscapes. Here, we focused on the relation between seven different taxa (trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, and ants) and yields in vanilla agroforests in Madagascar. Agroforests established in forests supported overall 23% fewer species and 47% fewer endemic species than old-growth forests, and 14% fewer endemic species than forest fragments. In contrast, agroforests established on fallows had overall 12% more species and 38% more endemic species than fallows. While yields increased with vanilla vine density and length, non-yield related variables largely determined biodiversity. Nonetheless, trade-offs existed between yields and butterflies as well as  reptiles. Vanilla yields were generally unrelated to richness of trees, herbaceous plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and ants, opening up possibilities for conservation outside of protected areas and restoring degraded land to benefit farmers and biodiversity alike.

Using land-use history and multiple baselines to determine bird responses to cocoa agroforestry.

Agroforests can play an important role in biodiversity conservation in complex landscapes. A key factor distinguishing among agroforests is land-use history - whether agroforests are established inside forests or on historically forested but currently open lands. The disparity between land-use histories means the appropriate biodiversity baselines may differ, which should be accounted for when assessing the conservation value of agroforests. Specifically, comparisons between multiple baselines in forest and open land could enrich understanding of species' responses by contextualizing them. We made such comparisons based on data from a recently published meta-analysis of the effects of cocoa (Theobroma cacao) agroforestry on bird diversity. We regrouped rustic, mixed shade cocoa, and low shade cocoa agroforests, based on land-use history, into forest-derived and open-land-derived agroforests and compared bird species diversity (species richness, abundance, and Shannon's index values) between forest and open land, which represented the 2 alternative baselines. Bird diversity was similar in forest-derived agroforests and forests (Hedges' g* estimate [SE] = -0.3144 [0.3416], p = 0.36). Open-land-derived agroforests were significantly less diverse than forests (g* = 1.4312 [0.6308], p = 0.023) and comparable to open lands (g* = -0.1529 [0.5035], p = 0.76). Our results highlight how land-use history determined the conservation value of cocoa agroforests. Forest-derived cocoa agroforests were comparable to the available - usually already degraded - forest baselines, but entail future degradation risks. In contrast, open-land-derived cocoa agroforestry may offer restoration opportunities. Our results showed that comparisons among multiple baselines may inform relative contributions of agroforestry systems to bird conservation on a landscape scale.

El historial de uso del suelo y su comparación con diferentes lineas base informan la evaluación del valor de agrobosques de cacao para la coservación de aves Resumen Los agrobosques pueden tener un papel importante en la conservación de la biodiversidad dentro de paisajes complejos. Un factor importante que distingue a un agrobosque de otro es el historial de uso del suelo - si el agrobosque está establecido dentro de un bosque o en un área que históricamente fue un bosque y actualmente es un campo abierto. Esta disparidad en el historial del uso del suelo implica que las líneas base de biodiversidad pueden diferir, lo cual debe ser tomado en cuenta cuando se analice el valor de conservación de los agrobosques; específicamente, la contextualización de las comparaciones entre la variedad de líneas base en el bosque y el campo abierto podría enriquecer el entendimiento de la respuesta que tienen las especies. Realizamos dichas comparaciones basadas en datos de un metaanálisis recientemente publicado sobre los efectos de la agrosilvicultura de cacao (Theobroma cacao) en la diversidad de aves. Reagrupamos los agrobosques de cacao (rústico, sombra mixta y sombra mínima) en agrobosques derivados del bosque y agrobosques derivados del campo abierto en función al  historial de uso del suelo y comparamos la diversidad de especies de aves (valores de riqueza de especies, abundancia e índice de Shannon) entre bosque y campo abierto, que representaron las dos líneas base alternativas. La diversidad de aves fue similar en los bosques y en agrobosques derivados de ellos (estimado g* de Hedges [SE] = -0.3144 [0.3416], p = 0.36). Los agrobosques derivados del campo abierto fueron significativamente menos diversos que los bosques (g* = 1.4312 [0.6308], p = 0.023) y comparables con los campos abiertos (g* = -0.1529 [0.5035], p = 0.76). Nuestros resultados destacan cómo el historial de uso del suelo determinó el valor de conservación de los agrobosques de cacao. Los agrobosques de cacao derivados del bosque fueron comparables con las líneas base - generalmente ya degradadas - de bosque disponibles, pero conllevan riesgo de degradación futuro. Al contrario, los agrobosques de cacao derivados del campo abierto podrián ofrecer oportunidades de restauración. Nuestros resultados muestran que las comparaciones entre varias líneas base pueden informar sobre las contribuciones relativas de la agrosilvicultura a la conservación de aves en la escala de paisaje.

Land-use trajectories for sustainable land system transformations: Identifying leverage points in a global biodiversity hotspot.

Sustainable land-system transformations are necessary to avert biodiversity and climate collapse. However, it remains unclear where entry points for transformations exist in complex land systems. Here, we conceptualize land systems along land-use trajectories, which allows us to identify and evaluate leverage points, i.e., entry points on the trajectory where targeted interventions have particular leverage to influence land-use decisions. We apply this framework in the biodiversity hotspot Madagascar. In the northeast, smallholder agriculture results in a land-use trajectory originating in old-growth forests and spanning from forest fragments to shifting hill rice cultivation and vanilla agroforests. Integrating interdisciplinary empirical data on seven taxa, five ecosystem services, and three measures of agricultural productivity, we assess trade-offs and cobenefits of land-use decisions at three leverage points along the trajectory. These trade-offs and cobenefits differ between leverage points: Two leverage points are situated at the conversion of old-growth forests and forest fragments to shifting cultivation and agroforestry, resulting in considerable trade-offs, especially between endemic biodiversity and agricultural productivity. Here, interventions enabling smallholders to conserve forests are necessary. This is urgent since ongoing forest loss threatens to eliminate these leverage points due to path dependency. The third leverage point allows for the restoration of land under shifting cultivation through vanilla agroforests and offers cobenefits between restoration goals and agricultural productivity. The co-occurring leverage points highlight that conservation and restoration are simultaneously necessary to avert collapse of multifunctional mosaic landscapes. Methodologically, the framework highlights the importance of considering path dependency along trajectories to achieve sustainable land-system transformations.