Global EverGreening Alliance
The Global EverGreening Alliance works with, and through, its numerous member organisations - and with governments and multi-lateral agencies - to implement massive land restoration programs. In so doing, the Alliance fosters collaboration, learning, sharing and harmonisation across institutions, sectors and borders.
Communities
Select a community to browse its collections.
- This is where you can find details on how to use the Global EverGreening Alliance Digital Library and Institutional Repository. This space also contains information generated by the Alliance to share with its Members, Fellows, and the world.
- The Global EverGreening Alliance Institutional Repository collects the works created by the Fellows and houses them in one place; making their knowledge accessible to a wider audience and sharing their intellectual legacy with future generations.
- The Global EverGreening Alliance Library is a completely digital library which utilises, builds on, and connects with the work undertaken within the current resource centre on our website. It collects and shares information related to the Global EverGreening Alliance’s organisational goals and provides equitable access to reliable information through the reduction of barriers related to discovery, access, language, and confidence.
Recent Submissions
Inclusion levels of tree and herbaceous legumes on nutritive quality of grass silage: results from on-farm trials
(Springer Nature, 2023-09-28) Ebro, Abule; Aranguiz, Adolfo Alvarez; Nemera, Fekadu; Bijdevaate, Lisan; Addis, Haymanot; Demise, Hailu; van der Lee, Jan
The escalating prices of protein concentrate supplements and increasing demand for dairy products in Ethiopia call for preservation of surplus forage during the growing season, to be fed to dairy cows at time of feed shortage. The objective of this on-farm study was to evaluate the nutritive quality of Napier and Desho grass silages with tree legume (sesbania) and herbaceous legumes (alfalfa, lablab, and faba bean) as legume components. Napier or Desho grasses were ensiled in bags with each legume at 0, 20, 30 and 40% inclusion levels (fresh weight). Replicates included nine and six farms in Mecha and Ad’aa districts, respectively. Silage bags were opened after 60 days, samples were taken for chemical analyses and evaluated for physical features. Data were analyzed using a completely randomized design in SPSS and differences among means separated using Duncan’s. Silages were firm at Mecha and fairly firm at Ada’a. No mold appeared. pH values varied from 3.94 to 4.5 and increased (p < 0.001) with increasing levels of legume inclusion. The crude protein values followed a similar pattern to that of the pH. The fiber contents, NDF (p < 0.001) and ADF (p < 0.05/p < 0.01) declined while that of ADL increased (p < 0.001) with increasing legume inclusion levels. The different legume-based silages were assessed as highly palatable and revealed that the use of tree and herbaceous legumes can improve the nutritive quality of grasses.
Silvopastoral systems in local livestock landscapes in Hopelchén, Southern Mexico
(Springer Nature, 2023-08-25) Špirić, Jovanka; Ramírez, M. Isabel
Deforestation for livestock remains one of Mexico’s key socio-environmental problems. The municipality of Hopelchén is a deforestation hotspot despite being part of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, the largest forestland on the Yucatan Peninsula. Livestock are part of the local culture and economy, and there is potential for the development of traditional and improved silvopastoral (SP) systems. It is therefore important to identify SP elements in the local livestock landscape and explore the reasons or limitations for their adoption. The quality and quantity of SP elements in a landscape depend on practices carried out by each rancher throughout the livestock production cycle. We aimed to identify local livestock practices that result in SP landscape elements and explain their impact on forest cover in Hopelchén. We identified seven SP elements, six traditional and one improved, being forest strips combined with live or dead fences the most common. Stand-alone live fences are the least common, due to negative local perceptions about their construction and maintenance. Scattered trees are present at very low densities to prevent shading of grass, while forest fragments are maintained as a source of timber. The full potential of traditional SP elements is not being reached as they are mainly used for protection and construction, without exploiting their use as fodder and live fences. Only four producers have alley grazing, the only improved SP element found. To prevent further forest degradation and deforestation, more integrated management and use of forest and tree cover in the livestock landscape should be encouraged.
Development of the breeding bird community of a silvoarable agroforestry system with short rotation coppice strips over a 16-year period
(Springer Nature, 2023-08-27) Zitzmann, Felix; Langhof, Maren
Modern silvoarable agroforestry systems (AFS) with short rotation coppice strips (CS) are considered as a potential measure to increase structural diversity in agricultural landscapes and to promote biodiversity while simultaneously producing arable crops and woody biomass. However, studies investigating the actual potential of these novel land use systems to promote biodiversity are scarce. We therefore investigated the importance of a silvoarable AFS with different CS variants as habitat for breeding birds on an experimental site in northern Germany, which was studied several times over a 16-year period since its establishment. In addition, the habitat function and quality of CS was compared with hedgerows. The results show that establishing CS on arable land creates additional habitats for shrub and tree breeding species and thus increases species numbers and territory densities. Tree harvest resulted in a decrease in species numbers and densities. However, since Aspen rows (for timber production) or native woody species were retained during harvesting in some CS, suitable nesting opportunities for some species remained. A sharp decline in Skylark territories was observed within the open land of the AFS, from nine breeding pairs in the year after establishment (2009) to only two breeding pairs each in 2022 and 2023. Compared to CS, hedgerows were more species-rich and had much higher territory densities. We conclude that the integration of CS into croplands can promote some species of woody habitats, especially if measures such as the integration of trees of different heights or native woody species and sectional harvesting are implemented. However, CS still clearly lag behind hedgerows in terms of their habitat quality. Furthermore, the establishment of CS may have negative effects on threatened open land species like the Skylark. The requirements of these species should therefore be considered when planning AFS. Establishing AFS with CS could especially be an option in cleared, intensively used agricultural landscapes, where CS could represent a trade-off between the promotion of birds and agricultural production.
Small shrubby patches increase bird taxonomic and functional richness of wood-pastures
(Springer Nature, 2023-07-12) Lopes, Paula C.; Palmeirim, Jorge M.; Leal, Ana I.
Wood-pastures are semi-natural systems that combine a grazed grassland with a tree layer. Shrubs are often controlled, mostly to improve grazing potential, resulting in a reduction of the available ecological niches. From a conservation perspective, it is thus important to identify management practices that counter this reduction. Our overall objective was to determine the value of small shrubby patches to increase the richness of wood-pasture bird communities. As study model we used Mediterranean oak wood-pastures in southern Portugal, locally known as montados. Birds and environmental variables were sampled in 50 m radius plots of wood-pasture with and without small shrubby patches (128–3748 m2, covering less than 0.5% of the study area), in winter (n = 54) and spring (n = 65). Species assemblages’ composition changed between seasons, but in both seasons the assemblages in plots with and without patches were statistically different. Seven species were statistically associated to the presence of patches, in winter and spring, increasing the richness of the respective assemblages. A comparison of the functional composition of communities of patches and matrix revealed that patches increased richness of landscapes by boosting the presence of species with functional traits uncommon in the ecologically simplified matrix. Their presence is promoted by resources added by the patches (e.g. nesting sites, protection, food), but the ranges of individual birds in general extended well beyond the patches. This study demonstrated that the presence of few and small shrubby patches can significantly enrich the bird communities of wood-pastures, both taxonomically and functionally, indicating that promoting them is a cost-effective management measure for these valuable systems.
Highlighting the potential of multilevel statistical models for analysis of individual agroforestry systems
(Springer Nature, 2023-07-09) Golicz, Karolina; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Minarsch, Eva-Maria L.; Niether, Wiebke; Große‑Stoltenberg, André; Oldeland, Jens; Breuer, Lutz; Gattinger, Andreas; Jacos, Suzanne
Agroforestry is a land-use system that combines arable and/or livestock management with tree cultivation, which has been shown to provide a wide range of socio-economic and ecological benefits. It is considered a promising strategy for enhancing resilience of agricultural systems that must remain productive despite increasing environmental and societal pressures. However, agroforestry systems pose a number of challenges for experimental research and scientific hypothesis testing because of their inherent spatiotemporal complexity. We reviewed current approaches to data analysis and sampling strategies of bio-physico-chemical indicators, including crop yield, in European temperate agroforestry systems to examine the existing statistical methods used in agroforestry experiments. We found multilevel models, which are commonly employed in ecology, to be underused and under-described in agroforestry system analysis. This Short Communication together with a companion R script are designed to act as an introduction to multilevel models and to promote their use in agroforestry research.