Sustainable land management for mixed land
Sustainable Land Management contribution to successful land-based climate change adaptation and mitigation: A report of the UNCCD Science-Policy Interface (SPI)
Definition
Mixed land use systems combine two or more types of land use within the same land unit at a spatial or temporal scale, for example forest/woodland and cropland (WOCAT, 2016). This includes agroforestry (cropland and forest/woodland), agro-pastoralism (cropland and grazing land), agro-silvo-pastoralism (cropland, grazing land and forest/woodland), and silvo-pastoralism (forest/woodland and grazing land).
Land management challenges in mixed land
The land management challenges facing mixed lands depend on the land use (e.g. agroforestry or agro-pastoralism), and could include soil erosion and land degradation caused by inappropriate management practices, which consequently negatively affect production.
Examples of related SLM technologies
The most common sustainable land management (SLM) technologies in mixed land are those that prevent soil erosion and improve water retention, biodiversity and land productivity. This includes agroforestry and agro-pastoralism, which both focus on increasing synergies and integration of the different activities within the system. Below are examples of best practices in these technologies cited in the report on SLM by the SPI.
