Peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) is a multi-purpose palm tree native to tropical Latin America, which is predominantly cultivated by smallholders in agroforestry systems. The fruits are rich in starch and contribute importantly to food security and the cash income of farmers who cultivate them. Complex value chains have emerged that link producers to consumers, but irregular product quality and market chain inequalities undermine the economic well-being of producers and retailers. Peach palm is genetically diverse, but screening for traits of commercial and nutritional interest is required to enhance the use of its genetic resources. Alliances between public organizations and private enterprises are needed to realize the potential for processing novel products from peach palm, especially in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors. The diverse challenges that emerge at different stages of production, processing and marketing require participatory research that directly involves stakeholders from the beginning.

Introduction. The cultivationof high-value fruit species is a profitable agricultural activityin many tropical countries; however, intensive fruit cultivationmay depend on high amounts of external inputs. The objective ofour study was to quantify and compare the resource use during thecultivation of eight tropical fruit species (Rubus glaucus, Solanum quitoense, Passiflora edulis, Cyphomandra betacea, Physalis peruviana, Ananas comosus, Persea americana and Mangifera indica) commonly cultivated in Colombia.It further aimed to identify greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in theselected production systems and to highlight the potential to contributeto climate change mitigation efforts. Materials and methods. Theanalysis was based on data from agricultural databases and applieda life-cycle assessment with energy use and GHG emissions as impact categories.Furthermore, economic indicators were taken into account with theaim of integrating the environmental and economic goals of productionsystems. Results and discussion. Among the eight fruitspecies studied, mango (Mangifera indica) was foundto have the lowest and tree tomato (Cyphomandra betacea)the highest emission profile. The variability in resource use amonggrowers of the same species was high, indicating the need to improve managementabilities at the farm level. Mineral fertilizer production was the highestcontributor to GHG emissions. GHG- and energy-efficient managementalternatives would have a high potential to reduce the carbon footprint offruit cultivation.

Fine root turnover plays an important role in the cycling of carbon and nutrients in ecosystems. Not much is known about fine root dynamics in tropical montane rainforests, which are characterized by steep temperature gradients over short distances. We applied the minirhizotron technique in five forest stands along an elevational transect between 1,050 and 3,060 m above sea level in a South Ecuadorian montane rainforest in order to test the influence of climate and soil parameters on fine root turnover. Turnover of roots with diameter < 2.0 mm was significantly higher in the lowermost and the uppermost stand (0.9 cm cm⁻¹ year⁻¹) than in the three mid-elevation stands (0.6 cm cm⁻¹ year⁻¹). Root turnover of finest roots (d < 0.5 mm) was higher compared to the root cohort with d < 2.0 mm, and exceeded 1.0 cm cm⁻¹ year⁻¹ at the lower and upper elevations of the transect. We propose that the non linear altitudinal trend of fine root turnover originates from an overlapping of a temperature effect with other environmental gradients (e.g. adverse soil conditions) in the upper part of the transect and that the fast replacement of fine roots is used as an adaptive mechanism by trees to cope with limiting environmental conditions.

Parkland systems in the Sudano-Sahelian zone of West Africa are commonly perceived as a resilient agroforestry practice well adapted to the semi-arid climatic conditions of the region. However, there exist several knowledge gaps regarding the interplay between the different components of this agro-silvopastoral land use system. A literature review with subsequent meta-analysis was conducted to analyze the effects of woody perennials on soil, crops and livestock, for which our study found very context-specific responses. A scoring of tree and shrub species indicated a general trend of trade-off between positive impact on crops and livestock vs. impact on soil organic carbon content. The study further confirmed that Faidherbia albida (Del.) Chev. is one of the most promising parkland species, but also revealed that there are no multipurpose single species that should be promoted exclusively. The focus should rather shift to species mixtures that satisfy multiple human and environmental needs. The study also pointed out that information on the nutritional properties of the majority of browse species is particularly limited. Transdisciplinary modelling is suggested as a tool to assess the complex interactions between the different components that shape this agro-silvopastoral system at different scales.