A participatory investigation into multifunctional benefits of indigenous trees in West African savanna farmland

摘要: Loss of trees has contributed to soil erosion and depletion organic matter nutrient status across sub-Saharan Africa, enhanced by a period dependence on subsidized inorganic fertilizer. This paper is based an eight-year study with farmers the northern Gambia/Senegal border. It documents farmers' perceptions past present farming systems their attitudes farmland trees, communicates results literature review them, facilitates farmer experimentation into potential tree leaf mulches for groundnut production. Trees have many use values but little value was initially perceived farming. Information provided in cropping elsewhere region not thought be relevant locally. The exception Faidherbia albida which encouraged cultural reasons, density increased from one 17 per hectare over subsequent six years response protection farmers. Farmer tr...