TY - JOUR A1 - Ruppert, Daniel A1 - Welp, Martin A1 - Spies, Michael A1 - Thevs, Niels T1 - Farmers’ Perceptions of Tree Shelterbelts on Agricultural Land in Rural Kyrgyzstan JF - Sustainabilty N2 - The reestablishment of agroforestry systems in Central Asia, combining crop production with protective tree shelterbelts, provides significant potential to improve farming systems. This includes increasing crop yields, additional income from timber, as well as reducing soil degradation and wind erosion. Thus, adopting shelterbelts as a form of pro-environmental behavior provides a number of socio-economic benefits, although some trade-offs need to be considered as well. This paper investigates factors that shape the perception of—and attitude towards—the establishment of tree shelterbelts by farmers in two case study regions in Kyrgyzstan. Applying a conceptual framework distinguishing between extrinsic and intrinsic factors, research methods included semi-structured interviews with farmers and local policy makers. The results show spatial differences in the perception of shelterbelts, both on the regional and on the village scale. In general, shelterbelts were negatively perceived by more than half of the farmers. The main concern raised by farmers was the shading of crops by shelterbelts, resulting in a decrease of yield. In addition, small field sizes and potential conflicts with neighbors were key concerns. Furthermore, rules set by local self-government bodies were inconsistent with the legislative framework, posing significant restrictions to the adoption of sustainable land use practices. KW - agroforestry KW - agriculture KW - Central Asia KW - adoption KW - perception KW - pro-environmental behavior Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-2323 SN - 2071-1050 VL - 2020 IS - 12 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Litschel, Johannes A1 - Berendt, Ferréol A1 - Wagner, Hanna A1 - Heidenreich, Simon A1 - Bauer, David A1 - Welp, Martin A1 - Cremer, Tobias T1 - Key Actors’ Perspectives on Agroforestry’s Potential in North Eastern Germany JF - Land N2 - As a land use management system, agroforestry has environmental, economic and societal benefits over conventional agriculture or forestry. Important benefits of combining tree growth with agricultural crops and/or forage production systems include higher biodiversity through more diverse habitats, the control of runoff and soil erosion, the augmentation of soil water availability, the creation of microclimates, carbon sequestration and provision of a more diverse farm economy. As the climate changes, north eastern Germany is likely to be particularly prone to severe effects from droughts and wind erosion in the future. However, the area of land under agroforestry makes up less than 2% of the total agricultural area in Germany. Through qualitative interviews with key actors, this study analyzed the benefits of, potentials for and barriers to implementing agroforestry systems in the federal state of Brandenburg. Results showed that agroforestry systems have significant potential in relation to several benefits, particularly the mitigation of soil erosion and stabilization of microclimate regimes. Additionally, agroforestry has the potential to provide wood for energy production or material uses. Although a small but highly innovative and interlinked community exists, administrative barriers and high start-up costs currently hamper the transition from conventional agriculture to agroforestry systems. KW - agroforestry KW - timber products KW - semi-structured interviews KW - barrier KW - opportunity Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-4003 SN - 2073-445X VL - 12 IS - 2 SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Missall, Siegmund A1 - Welp, Martin A1 - Mehta, Kedar A1 - Degembaeva, Nadira A1 - Akmatov, Kuban A1 - Zörner, Wilfried T1 - In Search for the Optimal Forest Use Behaviour: Riparian Forest Use in Central Asia, Using the Example of Ak-Tal, Naryn, Kyrgyzstan JF - Forests N2 - Riparian forests are rare and valuable ecosystems in Central Asia, both due to their significance for biodiversity and to their provision of vital ecosystem services to local residents. However, the actual forest use behaviour is under-researched, official figures may not be trustworthy, and the question of over-use is up in the air. This paper sets out to shed light on riparian forest use behaviour by local residents using the example of Ak-Tal Village upon the Naryn River in Kyrgyzstan: Which economic use patterns do they practice (focusing on fuel wood and pasture)? Which other ecosystem services do they recognise? Is there forest over-exploitation? To answer these questions, this study builds on local knowledge, by applying the methods of focus group discussions and a household survey. Results show an extreme discrepancy between official wood consumption figures (50–60 m3 p.a.) and figures based on household wood consumption (310–404 m3 p.a.). The forest also serves as an important winter pasture over the seven months between October and April (stocking density 0.61 livestock units/ha), but payments for these ecosystem services are low, with annually 40 KGS/ha. Local residents are aware of additional material and nonmaterial ecosystem services of the riparian forest. Opinions diverge upon the question if there is forest over-exploitation, potentially because different stakeholders have different concepts of an optimal forest status. Consequently, optimal forest use behaviour can only be defined by the local users themselves, e.g., in a future stakeholder dialogue. KW - riparian forest KW - fuel wood KW - wood pasture KW - agroforestry KW - ecosystem services KW - Naryn KW - Kyrgyzstan KW - Central Asia Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3508 SN - 1999-4907 VL - 13 IS - 8 PB - MDPI ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Thevs, Niels A1 - Gombert, Alina Joana A1 - Strenge, Eva A1 - Lleshi, Roland A1 - Aliev, Kumar A1 - Emileva, Begaiym T1 - Tree Wind Breaks in Central Asia and Their Effects on Agricultural Water Consumption JF - Land N2 - Across Central Asia, agriculture largely depends on irrigation due to arid and semi-arid climatic conditions. Water is abstracted from rivers, which are largely fed by glacier melt. In the course of climate change, glaciers melt down so that a reduced glacier volume and reduced water runoffs are expected to be available for irrigation. Tree wind breaks are one option to reduce water consumption in irrigated agriculture and build resilience against climate change. This paper therefore assesses the water consumption of major crops in Kyrgyzstan and adjacent areas, i.e., cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), corn (Zea mays L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) in combination with tree wind breaks. Crop water consumption was assessed through the Penman Monteith approach. Tree wind break types investigated were single rows from poplars (Populus spec.) and multiple rows with understory vegetation by elm (Ulmus minor L.) and poplar, respectively. Tree water consumption was determined through sapflow measurements. The seasonal reference evapotranspiration (ETo) for field crops was 876–995 mm without wind breaks and dropped to less than half through multiple row wind breaks with understory vegetation (50 m spacing). Tree water consumption was 1125–1558 mm for poplar and 435 mm for elm. Among the wind break crop systems, elm wind breaks resulted in the highest reductions of water consumption, followed by single row poplars, at spacing of 50 and 100 m, respectively. However, elm grows much slower than poplar, so poplars might be more attractive for farmers. Furthermore, single row wind breaks might by much easier to be integrated into the agrarian landscape as they consume less space. KW - agroforestry KW - Populus KW - Ulmus KW - cotton KW - corn KW - microclimate KW - evapotranspiration KW - irrigation Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:eb1-opus-3306 SN - 2073-445X VL - 8 IS - 11 PB - MDPI ER -