Abstract
For several decades, agroforestry specialists have promoted the planting of fallow fields with nitrogen-fixing, fast-growing trees or shrubs to accelerate soil rehabilitation and provide secondary products like woodfuel. Yet, such ‘improved fallows’ have not been widely adopted, in part due to the costs of labour and seedlings. In some situations, however, farmers have developed novel approaches to agroforestry fallows by taking advantage of spontaneous invasions of woody leguminous tree species present in the vicinity of their fields. In this paper, we examine cases from Réunion, highland Madagascar, the Bateke plateau in Congo, and the Palni hills of southern India where farmers have adapted their cultivation practices to take advantage of the invasive characteristics of Australian acacias that were introduced earlier for other reasons. We focus on the key social, economic, and environmental factors that influence farmers in these places to gain opportunistic benefit from these introduced tree species that biologists have been deemed invasive and damaging to local ecosystems and biodiversity. We conclude that opportunistic fallowing of invasives can be viewed as a hybrid strategy combining elements of natural fallows and improved fallows—which we call ‘hybrid improved fallows’—in that it takes advantage of the ‘weedy’ characteristics of introduced leguminous tree species in the landscape and offers a cost-effective and pragmatic strategy for soil and vegetation management for farmers.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adger WN, Arnell NW, Tompkins EL (2005) Successful adaptation to climate change across scales. Glob Environ Change 15:77–86
Agarwal MC, Dhyani BL, Samraj P, Haldorai B, Henry C (1995) Economics of black wattle plantations in sloping lands of Nilgiris. Indian J Soil Conserv 23:69–73
Aitken M, Rangan H, Kull CA (2009) Living with alien invasives: the political ecology of wattle in the eastern highveld Mpumalanga, South Africa. Études Océan Indien 42–43:115–142
Berenschot L, Filius BM, Hardjosoediro S (1988) Factors determining the occurrence of the agroforestry system with Acacia mearnsii in Central Java. Agrofor Syst 6(1):119–135
Bernhard-Reversat F (1996) Nitrogen cycling in tree plantations grown on a poor sandy savanna soil in Congo. Appl Soil Ecol 4:161–172
Bertrand A (2001) La vache laitière et le sac de charbon. Bois For Trop 269(3):43–48
Binggeli P (2001) The human dimensions of invasive woody plants. In: McNeely JA (ed) The great reshuffling: human dimensions of invasive alien species. IUCN, Gland, pp 145–159
Bisiaux F, Peltier R, Muliele J-C (2009) Plantation industrielle et agroforesterie au service des populations des Plateaux Batéké, en République démocratique du Congo. Bois For Trop 301(3):21–32
Blanc-Pamard C, Rakoto Ramiarantsoa H (2003) Une agriculture de montagne sur les Hautes Terres centrales de Madagascar: des innovations en réponse à l’urbanisation. In: Planel S, Maire R, Vanara N, Rosier K (eds) Crise et Mutations des Agricultures de Montagne. Presses Universitaires Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, pp 351–367
Boland DJ (1989) Trees for the tropics: growing Australian multipurpose trees and shrubs in developing countries. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra
Brockwell J, Searle SD, Jeavons AC, Waayers M (2005) Nitrogen fixation in acacias: an untapped resource for sustainable plantations, farm forestry and land reclamation. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra
Buresh RJ, Cooper PJM (1999) The science and practice of short-term improved fallows: symposium synthesis and recommendations. Agrofor Syst 47:345–356
Carruthers J, Robin L, Hattingh J, Kull CA, Rangan H, van Wilgen BW (2011) A native at home and abroad: the history, politics, ethics and aesthetics of Acacia. Divers Distrib 17:810–821
Cossalter C (1986) Introduction of Australian acacias into dry Tropical West Africa. For Ecol Manag 16:367–389
De Neergaard A, Saarnak C, Hill T, Khanyile M, Martinez Berzosa A, Birch-Thomsen T (2005) Australian wattle species in the Drakensberg region of South Africa—An invasive alien or a natural resource? Agric Syst 85:216–233
Defos du Rau J (1960) L’île de La Réunion, étude de géographie humaine. Bordeaux, Faculté des Lettres, Institut de Géographie, p 716
Doran JC, Turnbull JW (1997) Australian trees and shrubs: species for land rehabilitation and farm planting. ACIAR, Canberra, p 348
Faye E, Diatta M, Masse D, Chotte JL (2000) Le bois et la gestion des jachères soudaniennes du bassin arachidier au Sénégal. In: Floret Ch, Pontanier R (eds) La jachère en Afrique tropicale. John Libbey Eurotext, Paris, pp 451–459
Franzel S (1999) Socioeconomic factors affecting the adoption potential of improved tree fallows in Africa. Agrofor syst 47:305–321
Geesing D, Al-Khawlani M, Abba ML (2004) La gestion des espèces de Prosopis introduites: l’exploitation économique peut-elle juguler les espèces envahissantes ? Unasylva 55(217):36–44
Griffin AR, Midgley SJ, Bush D, Cunningham PJ, Rinaudo T (2011) Global plantings and utilisation of Australian acacias: past, present, and future. Divers Distrib 17(5):837–847
Harmand JM, Ballé P (2001) La jachère agroforestière (arborée ou arbustive) en Afrique tropicale. In: Floret Ch, Pontanier R (eds) La jachère en Afrique tropicale. John Libbey Eurotext, Paris, pp 265–292
Harmand JM, Nijiti CF (1998) Effets de jachères agroforestières sur les propriétés d’un sol ferrugineux et sur la production céréalière. Agric Dév 18:21–29
Holmes PM, Cowling RM (1997) The effects of invasion by Acacia saligna on the guild structure and regeneration capabilities of South African fynbos shrublands. J Appl Ecol 34:317–332
Hughes CE (1994) Risks of species introductions in tropical forestry. Commonw For Rev 73(4):243–252
Hughes CE, Styles BT (1989) The benefits and risks of woody legume introductions. Monogr Syst Bot Missouri Bot Gard 29:505–531
ICRAF (1997) Annual Report. International Center for Research in Agroforestry, Kenya
ICRAF (2004) Invasive alien species. ICRAF policy guideline series. World Agroforestry Center, Nairobi, p 6
Itoh A, Okimori Y, Wanatabe H (1990) Natural regeneration of an introduced woody legume, Acacia mearnsii De Wild, from buried seeds after clear-cutting. Mem Coll Agric Kyoto Univ 136:199–211
Jose S (2011) Managing native and non-native plants in agroforestry systems. Agrofor Syst 83:101–105
Kanmegne J, Degrande A (2002) From alley cropping to rotational fallow: farmers’ involvement in the development of fallow management techniques in the humid forest zone of Cameroun. Agrofor Syst 54:115–120
Koutika LS, Rainey HJ (2010) Chromolaena odorata in different ecosystems: weed or fallow plant? Appl Ecol Environ Res 8:131–142
Kull CA (2004) Isle of fire: the political ecology of landscape burning in Madagascar. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Kull CA, Rangan H (2008) Acacia exchanges: wattles, thorn trees, and the study of plant movements. Geoforum 39:1258–1272
Kull CA, Tassin J, Rangan H (2007) Multifunctional, scrubby, and invasive forests? Wattles in the highlands of Madagascar. Mt Res Dev 27(3):224–231
Kull CA, Tassin J, Rambeloarisoa G, Sarrailh J-M (2008) Invasive Australian acacias on western Indian ocean islands: a historical and ecological perspective. Afr J Ecol 46(4):684–689
Kull CA, Shackleton CM, Cunningham PJ, Ducatillion C, Dufour-Dror J-M, Esler KJ, Friday JB, Gouveia AC, Griffin AR, Marchante E, Midgley SJ, Pauchard A, Rangan H, Richardson DM, Rinaudo T, Tassin J, Urgenson LS, von Maltitz G, Zenni RD, Zylstra MJ (2011) Adoption, use, and perception of Australian acacias around the world. Divers Distrib 17:822–836
Lesueur D, Yattara I, Louppe D, Sougafara B, Gnahoua GM, Ouattara N, Kolou O, Yossi H, Mallet B (2000) Fixation symbiotique de l’azote au sein de jachères améliorées à Acacia mangium et Acacia auriculiformis en Côte-d’Ivoire, au Mali et au Sénégal. In: Floret Ch, Pontanier R (eds) La jachère en Afrique tropicale. John Libbey Eurotext, Paris, pp 664–674
Mboukou-Kimbatsa IMC, Bernhard-Reversat F, Loumeto JJ (1998) Change in soil macrofauna and vegetation when fast-growing trees are planted on savanna soils. For Ecol Manage 110:1–12
McNeely JA (2004) Nature versus nurture: managing relationships between forests, agroforestry and wild biodiversity. Agrofor Syst 61–62:155–165
McWilliam A (2000) A plague on your house? Some impacts of Chromolaena odorata on Timorese livelihoods. Hum Ecol 28:451–469
Mwangi E, Swallow B (2005) Invasion of Prosopis juliflora and local livelihoods: case study from the lake Baringo area of Kenya. ICRAF Working Paper 3, World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi
Perret S, Michellon R, Boyer J, Tassin J (1996) Soil rehabilitation and erosion control through agro-ecological practices on Reunion Island (French overseas territory, Indian ocean). Agric Ecosyst Environ 59:149–157
Place F, Franzel S (2000) Tree fallow on farms in Africa: socio-economic evaluation and strategies to promote adoption. In: Floret Ch, Pontanier R (eds) La jachère en Afrique tropicale. John Libbey Eurotext, Paris, pp 698–705
Pyšek P, Krivánek M, Jarosík V (2006) Planting history and propagule pressure as predictors of invasion by woody species in a temperate region. Conserv Biol 20:1487–1498
Rakoto Ramiaransoa H (1993) Ligneux et terroir d’altitude dans le Vakinankaratra, Antananarivo. FOFIFA, Madagascar
Rangan H, Kull C (2008) What makes ecology ‘political’?: rethinking ‘scale’ in political ecology. Prog Hum Geogr 33:28–45
Rangan H, Kull CA, Alexander L (2010) Forest plantations, water availability, and regional climate change: controversies surrounding Acacia mearnsii plantations in the upper Palni Hills, southern India. Reg Environ Change 10:103–117
Reubens B, Moeremans C, Poesen J, Nyssen J, Tewoldeberhan S, Franzel S, Deckers J, Orwa C, Muys B (2011) Tree species selection for land rehabilitation in Ethiopia: from fragmented knowledge to an integrated multi-criteria decision approach. Agrofor Syst 82(3):303–330
Richardson DM (1998) Forestry trees as invasive aliens. Conserv Biol 12(1):18–26
Richardson DM, Allsopp N, D’antonio CM, Milton SJ, Rejmánek M (2000) Plant invasions—the role of mutualisms. Biol Rev 75(1):65–93
Richardson DM, Binggeli P, Schroth G (2004) Invasive agroforestry trees: problems and solutions. In: Schroth G, De Fonseca DAB, Harvey GA, Gascon C, Vasconselos HL, Izac A-MN (eds) Agroforestry and biodiversity conservation in tropical landscapes. Island Press, Washington, pp 371–396
Rinaudo A, Cunningham PS (2008) Australian acacias as multi-purpose agro-forestry species for semi-arid regions of Africa. Muelleria 26(1):79–85
Roder W, Maniphone S, Keoboulapha B (1998) Pigeon pea for fallow improvement in slash-and-burn systems in the hills of Laos? Agrofor Syst 39:45–57
Schroth G, Sinclair FL (2003) Trees, crops and soil fertility: concepts and research methods. CABI Publishing, Wallingford
Schroth G, Da Fonseca GAB, Harvey CA, Gascon C, Vansconcelos HL, Izac A-MN (eds) (2004) Agroforestry and biodiversity conservation in tropical landscapes. Island Press, Washington
Serpantié G (1993) Rôles et significations de la jachère dans les systèmes de production agricole en Afrique de l’Ouest. Problématique de son remplacement. In: Floret C, Pontanier R, Serpantié G (eds) La jachère en Afrique tropicale. Dossier MAB 16. UNESCO, Paris, pp 56–87
Serpantié G, Ouattara B, Louppe D, Sougafara B, Gnahoua GM, Ouattara N, Kolou O, Yossi H, Mallet B (2001) Fertilité et jachères en Afrique de l’Ouest. In: Floret Ch, Pontanier R (eds) La jachère en Afrique tropicale. John Libbey Eurotext, Paris, pp 21–83
Shackleton CM, Mcgarry D, Fourie S, Gambiza J, Shackleton SE, Fabricius C (2007) Assessing the effects of invasive alien species on rural livelihoods: case examples and a framework from South Africa. Hum Ecol 35:113–127
Sherry SP (1971) The black wattle (Acacia mearnsii De Wild.). University of Natal Press, Pietermaritzburg, p 402
Slaats JJP (1995) Chromolaena odorata fallow cropping systems. An agronomic assessment in South-West Ivory Coast. Wageningen Agricultural University Thesis, Wageningen, p. 175
Styger E, Fernandes ECM, Rakotondramasy HM, Rajaobelinirina E (2009) Degrading uplands in the rainforest region of Madagascar: fallow biomass, nutrient stocks, and soil nutrient availability. Agrofor Syst 77:107–122
Swinkels R, Franzel S (1997) Adoption potential of hedgerow intercropping in the maize-based cropping systems in the highlands of Western Kenya. Part II: Economic and farmers’ evaluation. Exp Agric 33:211–223
Tassin J, Balent G (2004) Le diagnostic d’invasion d’une essence forestière en milieu rural : exemple d’Acacia mearnsii à La Réunion. Rev For Fr 56:132–142
Tassin J, Rakotomanana R, Kull C (2009) Proposition d’un cadre de représentation des bioinvasions en milieu rural : cas de Acacia dealbata à Madagascar. Bois For Trop 300(2):5–16
Turnbull JW, Midgley SJ, Cossalter C (1998) Tropical acacias planted in Asia: an overview. In: Turnbull JW, Crompton HR, Pinyopusarerk K (eds) Recent developments in acacia planting. International Workshop on Recent Developments in Acacia Planting, Hanoi, Vietnam. ACIAR, Canberra, pp 14–28
Van Wilgen BW, Richardson DM (1985) The effects of alien shrub invasions on vegetation structure and fire behaviour in South African fynbos shrublands: a simulation study. J Appl Ecol 22:955–966
Verchot LV, Brienza S Jr, de Oliveira VC, Mutegi JK, Cattânio JH, Davidson EA (2008) Fluxes of CH4, CO2, NO, and N2O in an improved fallow agroforestry system in eastern amazonia. Agric Ecosyst Environ 126(1–2):113–121
Witkowski ETF (1991) Effects of invasive alien acacias on nutrient cycling in the coastal lowlands of the Cape Fynbos. J Appl Ecol 28:1–15
Yossi H, Karembé M, Sidibé DK (2000) Enrichissement des jachères en ligneux en zone soudanienne du Mali. In: Floret C, Pontanier R (eds) La jachère en Afrique tropicale. John Libbey Eurotext, Paris, pp 639–647
Young A (1989) Agroforestry for soil conservation. ICRAF, science and practice of agroforestry. CAB International, Wallingford
Acknowledgments
All authors shared equally in the development and production of the paper. Tassin’s research was supported by Region-Réunion, Kull and Rangan’s research by ARC-DP0666131. We are grateful to farmers in Réunion, Madagascar highlands, and Palni hills for sharing information and views regarding Australian acacias. The photo showing a fallow on Bateke Plateau was taken by Dominique Louppe. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions, and one of them in particular for the inspired title of our concluding section.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tassin, J., Rangan, H. & Kull, C.A. Hybrid improved tree fallows: harnessing invasive woody legumes for agroforestry. Agroforest Syst 84, 417–428 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9493-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9493-9