Linkages between measures of biodiversity and community resilience in Pacific Island agroforests |
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| Authors: | Tamara Ticktin Shimona Quazi Rachel Dacks Mesulame Tora Ashley McGuigan Zoe Hastings Alivereti Naikatini |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Botany Department, University of Hawai?i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, U.S.A.;2. Biology Department, University of Hawai?i at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, U.S.A.;3. South Pacific Regional Herbarium and Biodiversity Center, Institute of Applied Sciences, University of the South Pacific, Laucala, Campus, Suva, Fiji |
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| Abstract: | Designing agroecosystems that are compatible with the conservation of biodiversity is a top conservation priority. However, the social variables that drive native biodiversity conservation in these systems are poorly understood. We devised a new approach to identify social–ecological linkages that affect conservation outcomes in agroecosystems and in social‐ecological systems more broadly. We focused on coastal agroforests in Fiji, which, like agroforests across other small Pacific Islands, are critical to food security, contain much of the country's remaining lowland forests, and have rapidly declining levels of native biodiversity. We tested the relationships among social variables and native tree species richness in agroforests with structural equation models. The models were built with data from ecological and social surveys in 100 agroforests and associated households. The agroforests hosted 95 native tree species of which almost one‐third were endemic. Fifty‐eight percent of farms had at least one species considered threatened at the national or international level. The best‐fit structural equation model (R2 = 47.8%) showed that social variables important for community resilience—local ecological knowledge, social network connectivity, and livelihood diversity—had direct and indirect positive effects on native tree species richness. Cash‐crop intensification, a driver of biodiversity loss elsewhere, did not negatively affect native tree richness within parcels. Joining efforts to build community resilience, specifically by increasing livelihood diversity, local ecological knowledge, and social network connectivity, may help conservation agencies conserve the rapidly declining biodiversity in the region. |
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| Keywords: | adaptive capacity agroforestry Fiji livelihood diversity local ecological knowledge social ecological systems social networks structural equation models agro‐silvicultura capacidad adaptativa conocimiento ecoló gico Fiyi diversidad de sustentos modelos de ecuaciones estructurales redes sociales sistemas socio‐ecoló gicos 适 应 能 力 农 林 业 斐 济 当 地 生 态 学 知 识 生 计 多 样 性 社 会 生 态 系 统 社 会 网 络 结 构 方 程 模 型 |
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