Woody leguminous trees: New uses for sustainable development of drylands

ABSTRACT

Woody leguminous species are valuable crops because of their nutritional, economic, and ecological characteristics. Such crops have aided in the recovery of marginal lands for agricultural development due to their ability to fix nitrogen, control erosion, and act as a refuge for other species, in addition to their capacity to improve soil mineral composition and microbial biodiversity. Nevertheless, some leguminous trees are recognized to be one of the worst invasive species that affect negatively biodiversity and the entire ecosystem balance. In this study, we review new global uses for some woody leguminous crops, highlighting new nutraceutical and pharmacological properties, their uses as bioenergy sources, and their ecological uses for bioremediation opening new possibilities of management. We aim to bring knowledge on the multiple benefits that these woody plants continue to provide to humans from economic, social, and environmental standpoints.

KEYWORDS:

• Drylands
• ecosystem services
• multipurpose species
• woody legume uses
• woody leguminous species

Funding

DC is grateful for funding received from the National Magister Scholarship (CONICYT 2013; nº 22130455). CI is grateful for funding received from the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT, grant n° 1110831) and from Ministerio de Educación (MINEDUC––Convenio de Desempeño para la Educación Superior, grant n° ULS-1401). JU and CI are also grateful for funding received from the Head Research Office of the Universidad de La Serena (project DIULS, nº PT13123). CI-B is grateful for funding received from FONDECYT (Postdoctoral grant n° 3120248).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Supplemental Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

DC is grateful for funding received from the National Magister Scholarship (CONICYT 2013; nº 22130455). CI is grateful for funding received from the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico (FONDECYT, grant n° 1110831) and from Ministerio de Educación (MINEDUC––Convenio de Desempeño para la Educación Superior, grant n° ULS-1401). JU and CI are also grateful for funding received from the Head Research Office of the Universidad de La Serena (project DIULS, nº PT13123). CI-B is grateful for funding received from FONDECYT (Postdoctoral grant n° 3120248).