Indigenous agroforests (food-producing agroecosystems where trees and crops grow together in forest-like environments) may offer valuable insights for addressing two of the world's biggest challenges: declining biodiversity and rising non-communicable disease, according to research led by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers. Published in July 2025 in Global Food Security , the study found that agroforests with greater ecological diversity also offer a more nutritionally diverse food supply.
The team analyzed 48 Indigenous agroforests in Fiji using a trait-based framework. Focusing on specific plant characteristics important for ecological resilience, such as how their seeds are dispersed or how tall they grow, and traits important for human health and nutrition, such as carbohydrates, vitamin A or zinc, they measured the ecological and nutritional functional diversity in the agroforests. The findings showed that agroforests with a high diversity of traits important to ecological resilience—such as recovery after major weather disturbances—also support a wider range and depth of nutrients necessary to human health.
The results point to an important link between environmental management and nutritional resources. While much of modern agriculture focuses on high-yield, low-cost food production, this often comes at the expense of ecosystem health, nutritional diversity and downstream dietary quality. Agroforestry systems, by contrast, grow a variety of trees and plants in the same space, mimicking natural ecosystems and offering a greater diversity of edible and medicinal products.
"Fiji's agroforests highlight the potential of biodiverse agroecosystems to contribute to climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive agriculture," said lead author Ashley McGuigan. "As we work to strengthen food systems that are rooted in place, responsive to climate change, and supportive of community health, this research underscores the importance of biodiversity, agroforestry, and local knowledge in food production."
McGuigan is an extension specialist faculty member in UH Mānoa's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) and a UH Mānoa School of Life Sciences PhD graduate.
Supporting Indigenous knowledge and practices
The study also highlighted the importance of Indigenous knowledge and management practices. The agroforests in the study are stewarded by placed-based and multi-generational informed knowledge systems that are uniquely attuned to local social and ecological conditions, and have enabled resilience to varying levels and types of disasters and disturbances for millenia. Researchers said these knowledge systems and management practices are critical to support a transition towards food production systems that are not only more environmentally sound, but also nutritionally diverse and resilient to climate disruptions.
"Our findings support stronger investment in Indigenous and agroecological food production systems, both in the Pacific and globally," McGuigan said. "We recommend working with practitioners to identify and record additional functions and traits, and use trait-based tools to help design food production systems that support ecological resilience and human nutrition. We urge policymakers to prioritize systems that reflect the interconnected nature of environmental and human health."
The work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Fulbright Program and UH Mānoa, among others. The other authors on the study include: Tamara Ticktin (UH Mānoa School of Life Sciences), Rachel Novotny (UH Mānoa CTAHR), Veniana Tikonavuli and Unaisi Vuli (The University of the South Pacific), and Abrania Marrero (Harvard University).
"Food production is a cornerstone of Fiji's economy and community well-being," Vuli said. "It provides essential food security and supports around 80% of rural livelihoods. Fiji is also increasingly reliant on imported goods, but supporting local food production helps strengthen resilience against climate and economic shocks."
Link to video and sound (details below): https://go.hawaii.edu/rRe
VIDEO:
BROLL:
0:00-0:34: Photos of agroforests and food production in Fiji
0:35-1:17: File video of agroforest restoration at Kākoʻo ʻŌiwi in Windward Oʻahu
SOUNDBITES:
Ashley McGuigan, UH Mānoa extension specialist faculty member
(:13)
"Supporting local farmers, supporting Indigenous knowledge systems is really important as we transition to new climate resilient and more nutrition focused food production systems."
(:15)
"I think it's also super important to consider the food plants but also the non-food plants because those things working in partnership help to bolster resilience to disturbance but also to help ensure that you have a diversity of nutrients available to you."
(:18)
"So it's not just about having a high diversity of plants in these food production systems or agroforestry systems, but it's also about the characteristics or the traits that these plants bring to the system that help to ensure that there's also a high diversity of nutrition available."
