Agroforestry Adaptations to Climate Change in Mountain Areas

of South Asia and East AsiaDietrich Schmidt-Vogt

Centre for Mountain Ecosystem StudiesKunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences

ICRAF East Asia Node

Projects at the ICRAF East Asia Node

Central Asia:Land degradation in dryland ecosystem

Himalayas:Cascading effects of climate change and vulnerability Local ecological knowledge and adaptation to climate change in the HimalayasAlpine species response to climate change climate change

East Asia:Deforestation in North KoreaAgroforestry approach for sloping land management (supported by SDC)

Mekong RegionMaking Mekong Connected (MMC): developing carbon & biodiversity assets in multifunctional landscapes (BMZExploring Mekong Mekong Future (CSIRO Project)Impacts of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Carbon Stocks (EU)

What is agroforestry?• Agroforestry is an integrated approach that seeks

to improve livelihoods and ecosystem services by combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.

• In a context of global change, agroforestry is an approach to strengthen resilience of farmers and communities in the face of stress and shocks, mainly by building on diversification.

• The World Agroforestry Center has adopted a landscape approach to its operations which considers agroforestry as one of many components of complex landscapes.

Climate Change in Mountain Areas

Climate change and climate variability require resilience, especially in mountain areas, where the effects of climate change are often more pronounced than in adjacent lowland areas.- Can combining trees with crops and/or animals be

regarded as a suitable adaptive strategy leading to greater resilience in the face of climate change?

- Do mountains provide particular opportunities or constraints for agroforestry as an adaptive strategy to climate change?

Case studies from Central Nepal and SW China

Baoshan: land use and climate change

Land UseComplex farming systems with agricultural and tree crops:Agricultural crops:

rice, wheat, barley, sugar cane, tree cropsTree crops

Walnut, coffee, tea, pear, sichuan pepper

ClimateIncreasing precipitation variability,Severe drought in 2009-2010

Baoshan: impact on farming

Agricultural crop yields declined more than tree crop yields

Strong contrast in susceptibility between tree species and betweenage groups of tree species

Mustang: land use and climate change

Land use- Cereals and vegetables- Temperate tree crops

Climate change• Increasing temperatures• Increasing but also

increasingly erratic rainfall• Decreasing snowfall

Mustang: impact and response

• Decline of apple production in lower Mustang

• Better conditions for vegetables

• Shifting apple production from lower to upper Mustang

• Intercropping cereals and vegetables with apple trees in lower Mustang

Comparison

Baoshan• Diversity of crops and trees

on farm-level has helped to mitigate drought impacts

• Especially walnut trees have survived with higher productivity and lower mortality

• Existing agroforestry systems have proven resilient

Mustang• Due to the diversity of

available environments in a complex mountain landscape, climate change has increased the diversity of land use systems both on the landscape and farm level

• New agroforestry systems have been adopted in response to climate change

Conclusion

The use of trees in responding to climate change and extreme weather events is not a panacea but can be a viable approach within strategies of agricultural and livelihood diversification to improve community resilience.The complexity of mountain environments can be an asset for more flexibility in the face of climate change.