Biophysical interactions in tropical agroforestry systems

sequential systems, simultaneous systems Abstract. The rate and extent to which biophysical resources are captured and utilized by the components of an agroforestry system are determined by the nature and intensity of interac-tions between the components. The net effect of these interactions is often determined by the influence of the tree component on the other component(s) and/or on the overall system, and is expressed in terms of such quantifiable responses as soil fertility changes, microclimate modification, resource (water, nutrients, and light) availability and utilization, pest and disease incidence, and allelopathy. The paper reviews such manifestations of biophysical interactions in major simultaneous (e.g., hedgerow intercropping and trees on croplands) and sequential (e.g., planted tree fallows) agroforestry systems. In hedgerow intercropping (HI), the hedge/crop interactions are dominated by soil fertility improvement and competition for growth resources. Higher crop yields in HI than in sole cropping are noted mostly in inherently fertile soils in humid and subhumid tropics, and are caused by large fertility improvement relative to the effects of competition. But, yield increases are rare in semiarid tropics and infertile acid soils because fertility improvement does not offse

Cultural Identity, Religion, and Globalization in Latin America. Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Martin de Porres as Clear Examples of Interculturalism and Instruments of Mediation among Different Weltanschauungen

Latin America is a part of that Global village where—according to Marc Augé—places, time, and space exist in abundance and where the presumed unique nature of the Western model clashes with the image of the “other”. (Augé (2009); Salgues (2016), p. 114) Thus, while the formation of a multiethnic and multicultural society—one based on the principle of tolerance, in which diversity and homologation should coexist without conflict—is hoped for, the spread of such categories as ethnicity and minority underscores the dissimilarities of our time. Starting from such basic concepts as, for example, religion, culture, otherness, and identity, and with the analysis of two case studies—Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Martín de Porres—the aim is to raise a problem: does a Latin American cultural identity exist? And how can it be identified