Abstract
Abstract Climate change poses a profound challenge to dryland ecosystems and the livelihoods of communities, undermining food security and ecosystem resilience. To this end, climate-smart agroforestry practices enhance resilience to climate variability, improve productivity under stress conditions, and contribute to ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, soil restoration, and biodiversity conservation. The objective of this review was to develop an integrated understanding of why Moringa stenopetala represents a strategic multipurpose tree for climate-smart solutions in the Ethiopian drylands. This review adopted a systematic review methodology to synthesize and critically evaluate existing scientific evidence on the ecological, socio-economic, and climate-smart attributes of M. stenopetala in the Ethiopian drylands. The findings from this review showed that its broad tolerance to soil types and low fertility contribute significantly to its ecological fitness in degraded environments. M. stenopetala exhibits multiple physiological and morphological adaptations that enhance its drought resilience, as experimental studies reveal that the species retains high germination and growth performance under moderate to severe water deficit conditions. Soils under the canopy of M. stenopetala often exhibit higher organic matter, total nitrogen, cation exchange capacity and essential mineral content compared with adjacent open areas. From a food security perspective, the tree’s leaves, seeds, flowers, and pods are all edible and nutrient-dense, which are rich in proteins, minerals-iron and calcium, and micronutrients essential for addressing malnutrition in vulnerable communities. These have pronounced the species’ climate change adaptation and cultural values. Therefore, M. stenopetala emerges from this review as a uniquely climate resilient and multifunctional indigenous tree species, capable of addressing the intertwined challenges of productivity, climate adaptation, and mitigation in Ethiopian drylands.