Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Perceptions of Trees Outside Forests in Cattle Pastures: Land Sharing Within the Central Volcanic Talamanca Biological Corridor, Costa Rica

  • Published:
Human Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Trees outside forests can play an important role in production and conservation and increase connectivity within agricultural landscapes. However, farmers’ perceptions of the trees and the values they place on them will determine the extent to which they will do so in the future. In a case study in Costa Rica, northwest of the Central Volcanic Talamanca Biological Corridor, we conducted 42 semi-structured interviews with farmers and other key informants. Results show that farmers maintain trees on their land and attribute to them diverse values (technical, economic, ecological, social, cultural, aesthetic, and heritage). Farmers reported limitations to the maintenance of trees (lack of financial capital, labour, land area, technical assistance, and adapted species). In addition to potentially unsustainable Payments for Environmental Services, there is scope for more collaborative approaches to conserving the trees built on existing farmer practices.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Successful propagation by cuttings has also been identified as a reason why smallholder famers preferred certain tree species in live fences in Costa Rica and other Central American countries (Budowski and Russo 1993). This practice exists also in Ethiopia (Ango et al. 2014) and in the Comoros Islands (Sibelet 1995).

References

  • Albertin A., and Nair P. (2004). Farmers' perspectives on the role of shade trees in coffee production systems: An assessment from the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Human Ecology 32(4): 443–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Altieri M., and Farrell J. (1984). Traditional farming systems of south-central Chile, with special emphasis on agroforestry. Agroforestry Systems 2(1): 3–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ango T. G., Börjeson L., Senbeta F., and Hylander K. (2014). Balancing ecosystem services and disservices: smallholder farmers’ use and management of forest and trees in an agricultural landscape in southwestern Ethiopia. Ecology and Society 19(1): 30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayris P. M., and Delmelle P. (2012). The immediate environmental effects of tephra emission. Bulletin of Volcanology 74(9): 1905–1936. doi:10.1007/s00445-012-0654-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bellefontaine R., Petit S., Pain-Orcet M., Deleporte P., and Bertault J.-G. (2002). Trees outside forests: towards better awareness, FAO Conservation Guides 35, FAO, Rome http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y2328E/Y2328E00.HTM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Benayas J. M. R., and Bullock J. M. (2012). Restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services on agricultural land. Ecosystems 15(6): 883–899.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, A. F. (1999). Linkages in the landscape: the role of corridors and connectivity in wildlife conservation, IUCN Forest Conservation Programme, Conserving Forest Ecosystems Series N° 1: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK, xiv + 254 pp.

  • Bhagwat S. A., Willis K. J., Birks H. J. B., and Whittaker R. J. (2008). Agroforestry: a refuge for tropical biodiversity? Trends in Ecology & Evolution 23(5): 261–267. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.01.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanco M. (2007). Queso Turrialba Costa Rica, FAO, IICA, San José.

    Google Scholar 

  • Budowski G., and Russo R. O. (1993). Live fence posts in Costa Rica: a compilation of the farmer's beliefs and technologies. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 3(2): 65–87. doi:10.1300/J064v03n02_07.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chacón León M. C., and Harvey C. A. (2006). Live fences and landscape connectivity in a neotropical agricultural landscape. Agroforestry Systems 68(1): 15–26. doi:10.1007/s10457-005-5831-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chazdon R. L., Harvey C. A., Komar O., Griffith D. M., Ferguson B. G., Martínez-Ramos M., Morales H., Nigh R., Soto-Pinto L., Van Breugel M., and Philpott S. M. (2009). Beyond Reserves: A Research Agenda for Conserving Biodiversity in Human-modified Tropical Landscapes. Biotropica 41(2): 142–153. doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2008.00471.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Current D., and Scherr S. J. (1995). Farmer costs and benefits from agroforestry and farm forestry projects in Central America and the Caribbean: implications for policy. Agroforestry Systems 30: 87–103.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Clerck F. A. J., Chazdon R., Holl K. D., Milder J. C., Finegan B., Martinez-Salinas A., Imbach P., Canet L., and Ramos Z. (2010). Biodiversity conservation in human-modified landscapes of Mesoamerica: Past, present and future. Biological Conservation 143(10): 2301–2313. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2010.03.026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Foresta, H., Somarriba, E., Temu, A., Boulanger, D., Feuilly, H. and Gauthier, M. (2013). Towards the assessment of trees outside forests: a thematic report prepared in the framework of the global forest resources assessment, Forest Resources Assessment Working Paper 183: FAO, Rome, Italy. http://www.fao.org/3/a-aq071e.pdf.

  • De Schutter A., Kervyn M., Canters F., Bosshard-Stadlin S. A., Songo M. A., and Mattsson H. B. (2015). Ash fall impact on vegetation: a remote sensing approach of the Oldoinyo Lengai 2007–08 eruption. Journal of Applied Volcanology 4(1): 1–18. doi:10.1186/s13617-015-0032-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Estrada Carmona, N. (2009). Identificación de áreas prioritarias en la oferta de servicios ecosistémicos para establecer esquemas de pagos (PSA) direccionados, Costa Rica. Identifying ecosystem services priorities areas for targeting payments schemes (PES), Costa Rica. Master, Socioeconomía Ambiental, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica. 92.

  • Fischer A., and Vasseur L. (2002). Smallholder perceptions of agroforestry projects in Panama. Agroforestry Systems 54(2): 103–113.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galabuzi C., Eilu G., Mulugo L., Kakudidi E., Tabuti J. R. S., and Sibelet N. (2014). Strategies for empowering the local people to participate in forest restoration. Agroforestry Systems 88(4): 719–734.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geist H. J., and Lambin E. F. (2002). Proximate Causes and Underlying Driving Forces of Tropical Deforestation Tropical forests are disappearing as the result of many pressures, both local and regional, acting in various combinations in different geographical locations. BioScience 52(2): 143–150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goebel A., Campbell B., Mukamuri B., and Veeman M. (2000). People, values, and woodlands: A field report ofemergent themes in interdisciplinary research in Zimbabwe. Agriculture and Human Values 17(4): 385–396.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haltia O., and Keipi K. (1997). Financing forest investments in Latin America: the issue of incentives: Environment Division, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey C. A., and Haber W. A. (1999). Remnant trees and the conservation of biodiversity in Costa Rican pastures. Agroforestry Systems 44(1): 37–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey C. A., and Villalobos J. A. G. (2007). Agroforestry systems conserve species-rich but modified assemblages of tropical birds and bats. Biodiversity and Conservation 16(8): 2257–2292. doi:10.1007/s10531-007-9194-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey C. A., Villanueva C., Villacis J., Chacón M., Munoz D., Lopez M., Ibrahim M., Gomez R., Taylor R., Martinez J., Navas A., Saenz J., Sanchez D., Medina A., Vilchez S., Hernandez B., Perez A., Ruiz E., Lopez F., Lang I., and Sinclair F. L. (2005). Contribution of live fences to the ecological integrity of agricultural landscapes. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment 111(1–4): 200–230. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2005.06.011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey C. A., Gonzalez J., and Somarriba E. (2006a). Dung beetle and terrestrial mammal diversity in forests, indigenous agroforestry systems and plantain monocultures in Talamanca, Costa Rica. Biodiversity and Conservation 15(2): 555–585. doi:10.1007/s10531-005-2088-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey C. A., Medina A., Sanchez D. M., Vilchez S., Hernandez B., Saenz J. C., Maes J. M., Casanoves F., and Sinclair F. L. (2006b). Patterns of animal diversity in different forms of tree cover in agricultural landscapes. Ecological Applications 16(5): 1986–1999.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey C. A., Komar O., Chazdon R., Ferguson B. G., Finegan B., Griffith D. M., MartÍNez-Ramos M., Morales H., Nigh R., Soto-Pinto L., Van Breugel M., and Wishnie M. (2008). Integrating Agricultural Landscapes with Biodiversity Conservation in the Mesoamerican Hotspot. Conservation Biology 22(1): 8–15. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00863.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey C. A., Villanueva C., Esquivel H., Gomez R., Ibrahim M., Lopez M., Martinez J., Munoz D., Restrepo C., Saenz J. C., Villacis J., and Sinclair F. L. (2011). Conservation value of dispersed tree cover threatened by pasture management. Forest Ecology and Management 261(10): 1664–1674. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.11.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holdridge, L. R. (1967). Life zone ecology: Tropical Science Center San Jose, Costa Rica. http://reddcr.go.cr/sites/default/files/centro-de-documentacion/holdridge_1966_-_life_zone_ecology.pdf.

  • INEC (2015). Anuario Estadistico 2014. . Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Censos, San José, Costa Rica.

  • Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (2017). http://infoweb.ina.ac.cr/cursos/ConsultasINA.aspx?view=1. Accessed 2017/03/13.

  • Jantzi T., Schelhas J., and Lassoie J. P. (1999). Environmental values and forest patch conservation in a rural Costa Rican community. Agriculture and Human Values 16(1): 29–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Koontz T. M. (2001). Money talks? But to whom? Financial versus nonmonetary motivations in land use decisions. Society & Natural Resources 14(1): 51–65.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lerner A. M., Rudel T. K., Schneider L. C., McGroddy M., Burbano D. V., and Mena C. F. (2015). The spontaneous emergence of silvo-pastoral landscapes in the Ecuadorian Amazon: patterns and processes. Regional Environmental Change 15(7): 1421–1431.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loring P. A. (2016). Toward a Theory of Coexistence in Shared Social-Ecological Systems: The Case of Cook Inlet Salmon Fisheries. Human Ecology 44(2): 153–165.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Louman B., Gutiérrez I., Le Coq J.-F., Wulfhorst J. D., Yglesias M., and Brenes C. (2016). El enfoque de medios de vida combinado con la indagación apreciativa para analizar la dinámica de la cobertura arbórea en fincas privadas: El caso de Costa Rica. Ciencia Ergo Sum 23(1): 58–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Love B. E., Bork E. W., and Spaner D. (2009). Tree seedling establishment in living fences: a low-cost agroforestry management practice for the tropics. Agroforestry Systems 77(1): 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandondo A. (1997). Trees and spaces as emotion and norm laden components of local ecosystems in Nyamaropa communal land, Nyanga District, Zimbabwe. Agriculture and Human Values 14(4): 353–372.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manning A. D., Fischer J., and Lindenmayer D. B. (2006). Scattered trees are keystone structures–implications for conservation. Biological Conservation 132(3): 311–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marie C., Sibelet N., Dulcire M., Rafalimaro M., Danthu P., and Carrière S. M. (2009). Taking into account local practices and indigenous knowledge in an emergency conservation context in Madagascar. Biodiversity and Conservation 18(10): 2759–2777. doi:10.1007/s10531-009-9672-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martin C. (2015). On the Edge: The State and Fate of the World's Tropical Rainforests, Greystone Books Ltd, Vancouver, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNeely J. A. (1988). Economics and biological diversity: developing and using economic incentives to conserve biological resources, Iucn, Gland, Switzerland.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNeely J. A., and Schroth G. (2006). Agroforestry and biodiversity conservation–traditional practices, present dynamics, and lessons for the future. Biodiversity and Conservation 15(2): 549–554. doi:10.1007/s10531-005-2087-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MINAE (1996). Ley Forestal 7575. Decreto Ejecutivo No. 25339. La Gaceta 140, Ministerio del Ambiente y Energia, San José.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morales-Hidalgo, D. and Kleinn, C. (2001). Arboles fuera del bosque: conceptos, importancia y evaluación en Costa Rica.

  • Murrieta Arévalo E. (2006). Caracterización de cobertura vegetal y propuesta de una red de conectividad ecológica en el Corredor Biológico Volcánica Central-Talamanca, Costa Rica, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica.

    Google Scholar 

  • Newing H. (2011). Conducting Research in Conservation: A Social Science Perspective, Routledge, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oestreicher J. S., Farella N., Paquet S., Davidson R., Lucotte M., Mertens F., and Saint-Charles J. (2014). Livelihood activities and land-use at a riparian frontier of the Brazilian Amazon: quantitative characterization and qualitative insights into the influence of knowledge, values, and beliefs. Human Ecology 42(4): 521–540. doi:10.1007/s10745-014-9667-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perfecto I., and Vandermeer J. (2002). Quality of agroecological matrix in a tropical montane landscape: ants in coffee plantations in southern Mexico. Conservation Biology 16(1): 174–182.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phalan B., Balmford A., Green R. E., and Scharlemann J. P. W. (2011a). Minimising the harm to biodiversity of producing more food globally. Food Policy 36: S62–S71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phalan B., Onial M., Balmford A., and Green R. E. (2011b). Reconciling food production and biodiversity conservation: land sharing and land sparing compared. Science 333(6047): 1289–1291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porras I. (2010). Fair and Green?: Social Impacts of Payments for Environmental Services in Costa Rica, IIED, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramírez Chávez, J. R. (2006). Prioridades sociales y arreglos institucionales para la gestión local del Corredor Biológico Volcánica Central–Talamanca, Costa Rica. Manejo y Conservación de Bosques Tropicales y Biodiversidad. Turrialba: CATIE 112.

  • Rival L., and Gilroy P. (1998). The social life of trees: anthropological perspectives on tree symbolism, Berg Oxford, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rives F., Carrière S. M., Montagne P., Aubert S., and Sibelet N. (2013). Forest management devolution: Gap between technicians' design and villagers' practices in Madagascar. Environmental Management 52(4): 877–893.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saïd M., and Sibelet N. (2004). Pour que la terre ne cache plus l'arbre : le foncier de l'arbre. Cahiers Agricultures 13(6): 510–515.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scheelje Bravo J. M. (2009). Incidencia de la legislación sobre el aprovechamiento del recurso maderable en sistemas silvopastoriles de Costa Rica, Master, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schelhas J., and Sánchez-Azofeifa G. A. (2006). Post-frontier forest change adjacent to Braulio Carrillo National Park, Costa Rica. Human Ecology 34(3): 407–431. doi:10.1007/s10745-006-9024-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaver I., Chain-Guadarrama A., Cleary K., Sanfiorenzo A., Santiago-García R. J., Bosque-Pérez N., DeClerck F., Finegan B., Hormel L., Sibelet N., Vierling L. A., Waits L., and Fagan M. (2015). Coupled Social and Ecological Outcomes of Agricultural Intensification in Costa Rica and the Future of Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Agricultural Regions. Global Environmental Change 32: 74–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sibelet, N. (1995). L'innovation en milieu paysan ou la capacité des acteurs locaux à innover en présence d'intervenants extérieurs. Nouvelles pratiques de fertilisation et mise en bocage dans le Niumakélé (Anjouan Comores). PhD, INA-PG, Paris, France. [400] p.

  • Sibelet, N., Mutel, M., Arragon, P. and Luye, M. (2013). Qualitative survey methods applied to natural resource management. Online learning modules. Available at: http://entretiens.iamm.fr/.

  • Stara K., Tsiakiris R., and Wong J. L. (2015). Valuing trees in a changing cultural landscape: a case study from northwestern Greece. Human Ecology 43(1): 153–167. doi:10.1007/s10745-014-9706-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thorkildsen K. (2014). Social-Ecological Changes in a Quilombola Community in the Atlantic Forest of Southeastern Brazil. Human Ecology: an Interdisciplinary Journal 42(6): 913–927. doi:10.1007/s10745-014-9691-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torquebiau E., Mary F., and Sibelet N. (2002). Les associations agroforestières et leurs multiples enjeux - The multiple challenges of agroforestry associations. Bois et Forêts des Tropiques 2002(271): 23–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tscharntke T., Clough Y., Wanger T. C., Jackson L., Motzke I., Perfecto I., Vandermeer J., and Whitbread A. (2012). Global food security, biodiversity conservation and the future of agricultural intensification. Biological Conservation 151(1): 53–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We deeply thank the farmers, the residents from the Santa Cruz area and the other actors providing agricultural and conservation services for always cordially hosting us.

Equally, we thank Mildred Jiménez (CATIE) for her help in the CVBTC. We are grateful to Casi Avard for her help with the bibliographic research and the editing of the text.

We thank both anonymous reviewers for their relevant comments. These comments helped us to improve our manuscript.

The research was funded by the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology and realized in collaboration with the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE), the International Agriculture Research Centre for Development (CIRAD), and the Agroforestry Systems with Perennial Crops Scientific Partnership Platform (PCP); we thank them.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CIRAD, UMR Innovation, F-34398, Montpellier, France

    Nicole Sibelet

  2. Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensenanza (CATIE), Turrialba, 7170, Costa Rica

    Nicole Sibelet & Isabel Gutiérrez Montes

  3. CA 17 International, 17000, La Rochelle, France

    Lucile Chamayou

  4. University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    Helen Newing

Authors
  1. Nicole Sibelet
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lucile Chamayou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Helen Newing
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Isabel Gutiérrez Montes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicole Sibelet.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Lucile Chamayou has received a research grant from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology.

Otherwise, the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM

(DOCX 16.3 kb).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sibelet, N., Chamayou, L., Newing, H. et al. Perceptions of Trees Outside Forests in Cattle Pastures: Land Sharing Within the Central Volcanic Talamanca Biological Corridor, Costa Rica. Hum Ecol 45, 499–511 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-017-9924-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-017-9924-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation