Proxydetection of the impact distance of trees on crops: An indicator of the Land Equivalent Ratio?

Faidherbia albida is known to affect the yield of various crops, typically in a pattern where the impact decreases with increasing distance from the tree. While several studies have investigated the spatial extent of this effect, limited research has explored how this distance varies across different crops or its relationship with crop yield and the Land Equivalent Ratio. In this study, we used a geostatistical approach combined with multispectral UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) imagery to address these gaps in understanding. The results showed that, in contrast to its tripling effect on millet yield, F. albida does not have a significant impact on groundnut pod yield, it only improves its haulm yield under its crown by about 50 %. The geostatistical analysis showed that F. albida affects the groundnut crop up to 9.8-m, compared to 18-m for millet. Yield upscaling from subplots to the whole plot was achieved with an error of 8 % for groundnut pod yield and 13 % for haulm yield. Groundnut’s partial Land Equivalent Ratio (LERcp) was 1.02 for pod yield and 1.05 for haulm yield, which was lower than the LERcp for millet. We concluded that the distance at which agroforestry trees influence crops is a reliable predictor of their effect on yield and Land Equivalent Ratio. This approach offers a promising tool for future agroforestry studies, potentially guiding crop management strategies in agroforestry systems. • Crops yield and leftovers were scaled up to the field-scale. • Using spectral images throughout the crop cycle improves productivity predictions. • The distance of influence of trees on crops can be measured by proxydetection and reveals the Land Equivalent Ratio.

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Journal
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment
Published
2025-08-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2025.109918
Primary Topic
Forest ecology and management
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Proxydetection of the impact distance of trees on crops: An indicator of the Land Equivalent Ratio?

Yélognissè Agbohessou, Josiane Seghieri, Caroline Pierre, Simon Taugourdeau et al.
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment
Forest ecology and management
article

Proxydetection of the impact distance of trees on crops: An indicator of the Land Equivalent Ratio?

Yélognissè Agbohessou, Josiane Seghieri, Caroline Pierre, Simon Taugourdeau, Louise Leroux, Sidy Sow, Christophe Jourdan, Adama Ndour, Mame Sokhna Sarr, Daniel Foncéka, Guerric Le Maire, Olivier Roupsard, Rémi Vezy, Cathy Clermont‐Dauphin, Sékouna Diatta, Alain Audebert, Diaminatou Sanogo
article en

Abstract

Faidherbia albida is known to affect the yield of various crops, typically in a pattern where the impact decreases with increasing distance from the tree. While several studies have investigated the spatial extent of this effect, limited research has explored how this distance varies across different crops or its relationship with crop yield and the Land Equivalent Ratio. In this study, we used a geostatistical approach combined with multispectral UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) imagery to address these gaps in understanding. The results showed that, in contrast to its tripling effect on millet yield, F. albida does not have a significant impact on groundnut pod yield, it only improves its haulm yield under its crown by about 50 %. The geostatistical analysis showed that F. albida affects the groundnut crop up to 9.8-m, compared to 18-m for millet. Yield upscaling from subplots to the whole plot was achieved with an error of 8 % for groundnut pod yield and 13 % for haulm yield. Groundnut’s partial Land Equivalent Ratio (LERcp) was 1.02 for pod yield and 1.05 for haulm yield, which was lower than the LERcp for millet. We concluded that the distance at which agroforestry trees influence crops is a reliable predictor of their effect on yield and Land Equivalent Ratio. This approach offers a promising tool for future agroforestry studies, potentially guiding crop management strategies in agroforestry systems. • Crops yield and leftovers were scaled up to the field-scale. • Using spectral images throughout the crop cycle improves productivity predictions. • The distance of influence of trees on crops can be measured by proxydetection and reveals the Land Equivalent Ratio.

Agriculture Ecosystems & EnvironmentVol. 394
Université Gaston Berger (SN), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Université Paris-Est Créteil (FR), Université de Montpellier (FR), Université Paris Cité (FR), Institut Agro Montpellier (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Ecologie fonctionnelle & biogéochimie des sols & des agro-systèmes (FR), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (KE), Amélioration Génétique et Adaptation des Plantes méditerranéennes et tropicales (FR), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (ET), UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations (FR), Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (FR), Institut Agro Montpelier (FR), Systèmes d’élevage méditerranéens et tropicaux (FR), Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (SN), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Agro-écologie et intensification durable des cultures annuelles, Cheikh Anta Diop University (SN)
Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 79%
Forest ecology and management
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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