Searches
A preliminary scoping was conducted in May 2014 using Google Scholar [22]. This scoping exercise was designed to 1. Aid the evolution of the final search terms; 2. Contribute to the framing of the research questions; and 3. Identify potential outputs of the systematic map. Following consultation within the author group and between other recognized experts in the field at a stakeholder workshop organized as a side event at the Landscapes for People Food and Nature in Africa congress in Nairobi (July 3rd 2014), a preliminary selection of terms were established. A secondary scoping exercise was performed in August 2014 using Web of Science (WoS) [23], designed to test the appropriateness of the selected terms. It was found that the original terms were capturing an unwieldy number of publications, many of which were far outside the relevance of the topic. The search terms were accordingly revised, re-formatted and re-trialed a number of times before consensus was achieved within the research team that a selection of terms that were both inclusive and specific, appropriate to the research question, had been achieved (the details of this scoping exercise are attached as an Additional file 1).
These terms (formatted as below) generated 10,045 ‘hits’ in the scoping exercise using WoS [23] and by using the functions to refine the search by author and relevance we were able to test the appropriateness of the search against a pre-determined selection of publications acknowledged as particularly relevant to the research question (see Additional file 2).
((“Landscape Approach” OR “Integrated Landscape Management” OR “Landscape Configuration” OR “Landscape Ecology”) AND (“Multifunctional Landscapes” OR “Land Use Change” OR “Landscape Matrix” OR “Landscape Mosaic” OR “Land sharing” OR “Land sparing” OR “Production Landscapes”) AND (“Sustainable Agriculture” OR “Agricultural Management Practices” OR “Agro-ecology” OR “Agro-ecosystem Management” OR “Ecoagriculture” OR “Climate-Smart Agriculture” OR “Evergreen Agriculture” OR “Food Security” OR “Forest-agriculture Nexus” OR “Sustainable Intensification” OR “Sustainability Science” OR “sustainable use reserves” OR “agroforestry”) OR (“Environment and Development Reconciliation” OR “Biodiversity Conservation” OR “Ecosystem Approach” OR “Ecosystem Based Adaptation” OR “Environmental Sustainability” OR “Integrated Conservation and Development” OR “Integrated Development Approaches” OR “Integrated Natural Resource Management” OR “Integrated Watershed Management” OR “Landscape Connectivity” OR “Agriculture Environment Trade Offs”)).
Where possible the search terms will be applied in this format, however we are aware that database functionality is not universal and we will therefore amend the amount of terms or use of Boolean operators where necessary. Any such changes will be documented and reported in the map.
Publication database searches
Searches will be conducted through:-
a. Specialist peer-reviewed publication databases
The following databases were selected in order to best capture a broad spectrum of both the natural and social science literature base:
Web of Science (WoS) [23]
CAB Abstracts [24]
Scopus [25]
PubMed [26]
b. Individual journals
The following sources were identified as being able to offer a platform to capture regionally specific or further freely accessible literature:
International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) [27]
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) [28]
African Journals Online (AJOL) [29]
Asia Journals Online (AsiaJOL) [30]
c. Internet searches
Web searches will be conducted in Google Scholar [22] and Microsoft Academic Search [31] to test the comprehensiveness of the database searches.
The first 100 returned hits will be compared with those already retrieved. Any additional literature, not previously captured will be added to the reference list.
Specialist and supplementary searches
Grey literature (unpublished or non-peer-reviewed articles) will be sought via a number of channels. First, appropriate research organizations (see list below) will be contacted and invited to contribute any relevant material. Second, the websites of these organizations will be screened. Third, expert workshops were held to request any further publications relevant to the subject, the first in conjunction with the Landscapes for People, Food and Nature conference (July 1–3, 2014) and a second at the James Cook University (JCU) workshop on landscape approaches at Cape Tribulation (July 18–20, 2014). Fourth, a call for grey literature (an example is attached as an Additional file 3) will be posted on the CIFOR website and widely distributed in blog posts and other appropriate social media channels. Finally, relevant list serves will be identified and a call for grey literature will be submitted and distributed.
Research organizations to be contacted for literature
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Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) [32]
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Commonwealth Forestry Association (CFA) [33]
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EcoAgriculture Partners [34]
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Fauna and Flora International (FFI) [35]
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) [36]
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Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN) [37]
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Global Partnership for Forest and Landscape Restoration (GPFLR) [38]
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Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) [39]
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International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) [40]
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International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) [41]
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International Model Forest Network (IMFN) [42]
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International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) [43]
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International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) [44]
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Platform for Agrobiodiversity Research (PAR) [45]
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Terrafrica [46]
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The Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research (CGIAR) [47]
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The Nature Conservancy (TNC) [48]
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The World Bank’s Program on Forests (PROFOR) [49]
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United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) [50]
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United Nations Environment Program–World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) [51]
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Wageningen University [52]
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World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) [53]
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World Conservation Society (WCS) [54]
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World Environment Library [55]
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World Resources Institute (WRI) [56]
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World Wildlife Fund (WWF) [57]
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Zoological Society of London (ZSL) [58]
Search strategy and screening process
Due to time and resource constraints, searches will be performed in English language only. Any non-English material identified will be assigned a separate Mendeley [59] library and be made available on request. The principal search terms are ‘landscape approach’, ‘multifunctional landscapes’, ‘sustainable agriculture’ and ‘environment and development reconciliation’. The geographic scope for this map will be the humid and dry tropics. It is acknowledged that land management at a landscape scale has been practiced for centuries but due to the temporal and spatial limitations of this map, we will refine our search to literature from post-1975.
Each search record from the respective databases and search engines will be assigned a separate Mendeley [59] library to clearly document each stage of the search strategy. These libraries will then be combined to remove duplicates and a systematic screening process using a pre-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria (see Objectives section above) will be applied.
Two researchers will work independently applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria through three sequential stages (see Figure one [21]) in order to sort for relevance, assess study quality and generate data collection. Prior to screening, the two researchers will perform a Kappa analysis at title and abstract level on a random subset of 100 articles identified in the scoping process to test consistency and objectivity between reviewers [60, 61]. In the event of the score being below 0.6, the reviewers will discuss discrepancies and repeat the Kappa process. Any significant disagreements will be discussed until consensus is reached or assessed by a third reviewer.
At the first stage of screening, researchers will review the article titles of all returned ‘hits’. Those that conform to the inclusion/exclusion criteria will pass through to the next stage, while those that do not will be removed. If there is any doubt, the article will be retained. The same process will then be followed for the following two stages, firstly reviewing by abstract and finally reviewing by full-text. Full-text assessment is dependent on the ability to generate the complete document. Every effort will be made and in the event of being unable to source the full text, a record of unavailable studies will be provided as an annex in the full map. This final stage of review will also incorporate a study quality assessment and data extraction process (see below). Any studies eliminated at the full-text stage will be documented with a record of why they were categorized as not relevant.
Study quality assessment
A basic checklist of quality criteria adapted from previous systematic maps [21, 62], has been developed against which studies will be assessed. For inclusion for synthesis, studies must demonstrate:
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Clear aims
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Clear and repeatable methodology
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Evidence of integrating at least 2 land uses
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Evidence of integrating at least 2 stakeholders
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Outcomes that are measured accurately and reliably
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Findings reported consistently with the methodology employed and the empirical data provided
Studies will be ranked high to low dependent on the number of criteria they fulfill from the above list. This criteria will be tested on key known references and may be further developed during consultation with recognized experts and as the data extraction process is performed. Studies which fail to meet any of criteria will be eliminated from the map but retained within an additional file.
Map coding
Retrieved studies will be catalogued by recording the key bibliographic information detailed below and exported to an excel file.
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Title
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Author(s)
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Journal
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Date of publication
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Location of study
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Scope of study (extent of landscape scale if given)
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Terminology applied and definition (e.g. Landscape approach, integrated management etc.)
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Methodology employed (e.g. experimental, research station trials, RCTs, farmer fields, remote sensing/GIS, participatory trials, household surveys, community workshops etc.)
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Type of data (i.e. primary, review or meta-analysis)
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Type of food production system(s) incorporated (e.g. home garden, coffee agroforestry, large scale grain production, etc.)
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Documentation of competing land uses by sector (e.g. forestry, agriculture, mining etc.)
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Level of private sector involvement
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Type of landscape (e.g. forest fragments, degraded forests, swidden landscapes, pastoral systems, etc.)
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Type of outcome (i.e. yield, conservation target, livelihood indicators, other). It is not an objective to identify outcomes of success/failure as it is anticipated that as long-term initiatives, many landscape approaches will be still be ongoing. However, if results are documented (for example short-term objectives achieved), they will be extracted for the map (results here will be dependent on the studies identified but it is anticipated these will include both livelihood and environmental variables, amongst others).
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Other effect modifiers (e.g. impact of variables other than those studied)
Data mapping
Two data mapping processes will be performed, one each for the conceptual and research elements of the map. Conceptual frameworks for landscape approaches will be mapped in a web diagram that will enable simple visual comparison of the various approaches, highlighting where overlap or disjuncture occurs. For the research element, a geographical interactive map will be produced which will allow users to search geographically or thematically. This map will detail where, how and over what time period landscape approaches are being implemented. Results (measure of success) will be included when possible (e.g. where short term objectives have been achieved) or when appropriate. However, we acknowledge that landscape approaches are often long-term, and on-going initiatives; as such an ‘end result’ is not a measure we set out to identify.
In addition to the maps produced, all data will be formatted in a searchable database (see below) summarizing study characteristics and quality. The entire process will then be synthesized within a detailed peer-reviewed systematic map report.
Systematic map database
The literature captured during the systematic mapping process will be recorded in a freely accessible, searchable database. This library will contain literature related to implementation of landscape approaches and will fully detail the nature and location of the studies. By identifying key knowledge gaps, we anticipate this database will provide a useful resource for future research. The database can also provide a base or starting point for further synthesis of the literature within a full systematic review.