Khumalo, S.Chirwa, Paxie W.Moyo, B.H.Syampungani, Stephen2012-10-162012-10-162012-08S. Khumalo, P.W. Chirwa, B.H. Moyo & S. Syampungani, The status of agrobiodiversity management and conservation in major agroecosystems of Southern Africa, Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, vol 157, pp. 17-23 (2012), doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2012.01.028.0167-8809 (print)1873-2305 (online)10.1016/j.agee.2012.01.028http://hdl.handle.net/2263/20172This paper reviews the agroecosystems and agricultural biodiversity in Southern Africa and highlights the importance of the agricultural landscape in biodiversity conservation and the important role that the traditional farming systems play in conserving biodiversity. The review established that agrobiodiversity is of great importance to both small scale and large commercial farmers in Southern Africa through its provision of ecosystem services. The paper also highlights the significant loss of agrobiodiversity as a result of human population pressure and the transition from traditional mixed farming systems which is characterized with high agrobiodiversity, to modern monoculture farming resulting in decline of species diversity. Although concerted efforts are being made to promote the sustainable use and management of this agrobiodiversity, there need to have a multi-stakeholder approach so that conservation efforts are successful, a role that is currently played by the SADC Plant Genetic Resources Centre in Southern African conservation of agrobiodiversityen© 2012 Elsevier. All rights reserved. Notice : this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environement. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, vol 157, August 2012, doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2012.01.028.AgricultureAgrobiodiversityConservationFarming systemPostprint Article