The world’s forests are facing unprecedented threats from climate change, deforestation, and unsustainable land-use practices. However, a growing body of research suggests that forest-based agroforestry (FAF) can provide a vital solution to these challenges. By integrating crops into existing forests, FAF not only promotes biodiversity and carbon sequestration but also generates economic benefits for local communities.

A recent study led by scientists at the Yale School of the Environment has shed new light on the potential of FAF. The research found that this approach can restore degraded forests, promote sustainable livelihoods, and combat climate change. Moreover, it can support human management of forests in a way that is more effective than tree planting initiatives alone.

“We want to make sure that we clarify that forest-based agroforestry (FAF) can achieve similar climate benefits as tree planting in fields,” said Karam Sheban, one of the study’s co-authors. “The big takeaway is that human management of forests can result in better outcomes for forests, for people, and for the climate. It is not a zero-sum game.”
Agroforestry is an agricultural practice that integrates trees into farming systems. Forest-based agroforestry takes this concept further by integrating crop production into existing forests. The benefits of FAF are numerous, including enhanced carbon sequestration and storage, improved forest health and biodiversity, and sustainable harvesting of forest products such as fruits, nuts, and medicinal plants.
Despite the advantages, FAF is often overlooked in favor of tree planting initiatives. This can be attributed to misconceptions about industrial agroforestry systems and their supposed benefits for tropical forests. Additionally, there is a narrative that human activity in forests causes degradation, which contradicts the findings of this study.
The research team recommends explicit inclusion of FAF in agroforestry policies, designing policies that distinguish between sustainable FAF and harmful industrial agroforestry practices, and increasing research into diverse FAF systems across temperate and boreal regions. This would inform better policies and land management strategies.

“In the right place, tree planting can be an effective strategy for removing carbon from the atmosphere,” said Mark Bradford, another co-author of the study. “However, forest management often necessitates removing some trees for the collective benefit of the forest. As people start to become aware of forest-based agriculture, we need to get that message out that effective forest management can achieve multiple services.”
The findings of this study have significant implications for climate change mitigation and sustainable land-use practices. By embracing FAF, governments, NGOs, and private companies can work together to restore degraded forests, promote biodiversity, and generate economic benefits for local communities. It is time to give forest-based agroforestry the recognition it deserves as a vital solution to the world’s environmental challenges.

The article “Hurricane Ida’s Hidden Dangers: A Model Reveals the Worst-Case Scenario for NYC” delves into the story of Hurricane Ida, which devastated the Northeast region in 2021. While the storm caused significant damage and loss of life, researchers have simulated its trajectory using advanced models to reveal an even more catastrophic scenario had the storm track shifted just 30 miles eastward.

Philip Orton, a professor at Stevens Institute of Technology, led a team of researchers who improved upon existing modeling systems like COAWST (Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Waves-Sediment Transport). They incorporated pluvial flooding effects, which occurs when heavy rain falls directly onto land, and simulated the potential impact on Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York.

The study revealed that shifting the storm track eastward would have resulted in higher rainfall intensities within the flood model’s area. The researchers found that if Ida had maintained its original trajectory, it would have soaked urban centers in New Jersey but produced far more severe effects in NYC.

In the worst-case scenario, approximately 5907 buildings and 24 square miles of the Jamaica Bay watershed would have experienced deep flooding greater than one foot deep. This devastating outcome underscores the importance of capturing compound flooding events like hurricanes with extreme rainfall and storm surges.
The researchers also simulated various alternative tidal conditions, which showed that a high tide could have slightly increased flooding for certain areas, such as the east and west shores of Jamaica Bay and Hamilton Beach.

These findings highlight the model’s utility in representing compound flooding events, particularly as sea levels continue to rise. The study emphasizes the need to capture compounding effects when forecasting extreme weather events like hurricanes.

The article concludes by underscoring the significance of using advanced modeling systems like COAWST and highlighting the importance of integrating pluvial flooding effects into these models. By doing so, researchers can better predict the severity of compound flooding events and help emergency management officials prepare for worst-case scenarios.
In an effort to improve forecasting and emergency planning, this study demonstrates the potential of advanced modeling systems in representing complex weather phenomena like hurricanes.

As the world grapples with the challenges of a changing climate, a renowned expert in crop sciences is sounding the alarm about the need for urgent and consistent effort to “future-proof” our crops. Stephen Long, a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has spent decades studying photosynthesis and finding ways to improve it. In a review published in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, he provides an overview of key scientific findings that offer a glimmer of hope.

Long highlights the devastating effects of climate change on crop growth, development, and reproductive viability. Higher temperatures, more frequent and longer droughts, catastrophic rainfall events, and rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are all taking a toll on plant health. While some regions may benefit from certain aspects of climate change, many others will suffer potentially catastrophic declines without prolonged intervention.

By 2050-60, crops will face a significantly different environment than today, with atmospheric CO2 projected to reach 600 parts per million. Extreme heat, droughts, floods, and other climate-related events are already disrupting agricultural systems. Projected temperature extremes and climate instability will further reduce crop yields, exacerbating starvation, political unrest, and mass migration.

However, Long notes that it may be possible to alter crops in ways that allow them to persist and even thrive despite the challenges. Researchers are evaluating the heat-, drought-, and flood-tolerance of different varieties of specific crop plants, identifying those with potentially beneficial attributes. Discovering the genetic traits that confer these benefits will enable scientists to develop crops through plant breeding and/or genetic engineering that can better withstand extremes.

Long’s research has already yielded promising results, such as finding rice varieties that can survive up to two weeks of submergence during periods of intense flooding, while other varieties are more heat-tolerant. Plants must contend with the increased drying capacity of the atmosphere as temperatures rise, drawing moisture out of plant leaves through tiny pores called stomata. This reduces plant water-use efficiency, straining already scarce water resources.

In laboratory and field experiments, researchers found that increasing the expression of a gene for a sensor protein in plants reduced water loss through stomata without interfering with photosynthesis. The result was a 15% improvement in leaf-level water-use efficiency in field-grown tobacco and a 30% decrease in whole plant water use.

Researchers have also found ways to reduce the density of stomata on rice and wheat leaves, improving water-use efficiency by 15-20% without decreasing yields. High carbon dioxide levels can alter plant physiology, sometimes beneficially boosting photosynthesis but also detrimentally changing metabolic control.

Long points to remarkable progress made in research on maize, nearly 80% of which is used in ethanol production and to feed animals, not humans. Between 1980 and 2024, U.S. maize yields doubled while sorghum improved just 12%. The success in maize is the result of massive investments from large multinational companies.

However, without similar investment on the public domain side of the equation, Long writes that it’s hard to see how opportunities for future-proofing our crops can be implemented at the scale necessary. Without urgent and consistent effort, we risk losing valuable crop varieties and facing catastrophic declines in food production.

The stakes are high, but so is the potential reward. As Long emphasizes, investing in research and development of climate-resilient crops can help ensure a more food-secure future for generations to come.