The Role of Homegardens in Sri Lanka in Enhancing Food Security, Nutrition, Biodiversity Conservation, and Rural Livelihood Resilience

Sri Lankan homegardens represent long-standing, multistrata agroforestry systems that integrate ecological complexity with socio-cultural knowledge. This review systematically synthesizes empirical evidence on their multifunctional contributions across four interlinked domains: household food security, nutrition, biodiversity conservation, and rural livelihood resilience. Following PRISMA guidelines, 60 peer-reviewed studies were selected from international and national databases to ensure comprehensive coverage of ecological, nutritional, and socio-economic dimensions. Findings indicate that homegardens significantly strengthen the four pillars of food security, availability, access, utilization, and stability, through year-round production, crop diversification, and reduced market dependence. Evidence further demonstrates positive associations between plant species richness and dietary diversity, highlighting the role of indigenous and nutrient-dense crops in improving micronutrient intake and addressing hidden hunger. Structurally complex home gardens function as in situ reservoirs of agrobiodiversity, supporting endemic and traditional species while delivering ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, soil conservation, pollinator habitat provision, and microclimate regulation. Beyond ecological functions, these systems enhance livelihood resilience by diversifying income sources, reducing vulnerability to climate and economic shocks, and embedding adaptive management practices rooted in local knowledge. Their capacity to buffer households during crises, including climate variability, post-conflict recovery, and market disruptions, positions them as decentralized resilience mechanisms within rural landscapes. Overall, Sri Lankan homegardens emerge as culturally embedded, nature-based solutions capable of advancing sustainable rural development. Strengthening policy support, extension services, and integration into national food security and climate adaptation strategies could further amplify their multifunctional benefits.

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Introduction

Home gardens in Sri Lanka represent one of the oldest continuously practiced agroforestry systems in South Asia and are deeply embedded in the country's cultural landscapes. These systems, particularly the renowned Kandyan homegardens, are traditionally structured as multistrata agroforestry assemblages that mimic natural forest architecture, combining tall timber and fruit trees, mid-canopy spice and perennial crops, shrubs, herbaceous vegetables, medicinal plants, and sometimes livestock within relatively small landholdings (Pushpakumara & Wijesekara, 2010; Mattsson et al., 2013) [50,40] . The vertical stratification enhances light interception, nutrient cycling, and microclimatic buffering, thereby contributing to ecological stability and sustained productivity over time (Martin et al., 2019) [38] . Empirical characterizations indicate that Sri Lankan homegardens commonly contain dozens of plant species per plot, with some Kandyan systems recording more than 100 species, underscoring their exceptional floristic diversity (Pushpakumara & Heenkenda, 2016) [49] . Recent qualitative evidence from wet lowland regions further expands understanding beyond the well-studied Kandyan highlands. Ruwanmalie and Ranwala (2025) [53] document the structural and functional multiplicity of traditional home garden agroforestry systems in Sri Lanka's wet lowlands, demonstrating that these systems maintain layered canopy arrangements, high species heterogeneity, and culturally embedded crop combinations comparable to classical Kandyan models, while also exhibiting site-specific adaptations to local hydrological and socio-economic conditions. Their findings reinforce the view that Sri Lankan homegardens are not monolithic systems but context-specific agroforestry configurations shaped by ecology and culture. Nationally, homegardens constitute a significant component of Sri Lanka's agricultural mosaic, especially in the wet and intermediate zones where land fragmentation and high population density have historically encouraged integrated, tree-based production systems. Kandyan homegardens, in particular, have been internationally recognized as models of sustainable agroforestry due to their multifunctionality, simultaneously supporting household subsistence, generating cash income from spices and fruits, conserving agrobiodiversity, and providing ecosystem services such as soil protection and carbon sequestration (Landreth & Saito, 2014; Mattsson et al., 2013; Dharmasena, 1994) [29,40,5] . Studies quantifying carbon stocks and tree diversity in both wet-and dry-zone homegardens further demonstrate their contribution to climate mitigation and landscape-level biodiversity conservation (Herath et al., 2024) [14] . In districts such as Jaffna and Moneragala, research shows that even under semi-arid conditions, homegardens retain structural complexity and ecological functionality. Beyond ecological services, Sri Lankan homegardens are increasingly conceptualized as dynamic social-ecological systems. They embody intergenerational knowledge transmission, gendered divisions of labor, and adaptive management strategies that allow households to respond to environmental and economic change (DeHaan et al., 2020; Kumar & Nair, 2004; Jayakody et al., 2025) [3,44,21] . Weerahewa et al. (2012) [23] provide empirical evidence that homegarden systems demonstrate notable resilience to climatic variability, highlighting how species diversification, perennial integration, and flexible crop management practices help buffer production against rainfall fluctuations and temperature stress. Their findings suggest that the inherent diversity and structural layering of homegardens contribute directly to adaptive capacity at the household level. Recent scholarship emphasizes how local knowledge shapes crop selection, species diversification, and risk management strategies, reinforcing system resilience amid climate variability and market fluctuations (Paranavithana & Wasalamuni, 2024; Ethridge, 2024) [45,10] . Contemporary challenges, including climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, post-conflict recovery in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, and national economic crises, have renewed policy and academic interest in home gardening as a strategy for strengthening food sovereignty and livelihood buffering. Evidence suggests that diversified homegardens can stabilize food availability during market disruptions and enhance adaptive capacity under climate stress (Dissanayake & Maredia, 2020; Kandegama & Rathnayake, 2022) [6,20] . Their integration of subsistence crops, marketable perennials, and culturally significant species positions them as critical assets for building resilient rural economies. Despite extensive empirical research examining individual aspects of Sri Lankan homegardens-ranging from floristic diversity and carbon sequestration to dietary diversity and livelihood contributions-scholarship remains fragmented across ecological, nutritional, and socio-economic domains. To date, no comprehensive synthesis has systematically integrated evidence across four interlinked dimensions: (1) household food security, (2) nutrition outcomes, (3) biodiversity conservation, and (4) rural livelihood resilience. Given the increasing recognition of agroforestry as a naturebased solution for sustainable development, such an integrative assessment is both timely and necessary. This review addresses that gap by consolidating and critically examining available empirical evidence on the multifunctional role of Sri Lankan homegardens across these interconnected domains.

Objectives

The main objective of this study is to systematically synthesize and critically evaluate existing evidence on the multifunctional role of Sri Lankan home gardens in enhancing food security, improving nutrition, conserving biodiversity, and strengthening rural livelihood resilience. The review seeks to integrate findings across ecological, nutritional, and socio-economic dimensions to provide a comprehensive understanding of how home garden systems contribute to sustainable rural development. Specifically, the study aims to examine the contribution of home gardens to household food availability and stability; assess their impact on dietary diversity and micronutrient adequacy; evaluate their role in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision; and analyze how these systems enhance livelihood resilience under economic, climatic, and social shocks.

Materials and Methods

Materials and Methods

Review Framework

This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to ensure methodological transparency, consistency, and reproducibility. The PRISMA framework provided a structured approach for identifying, screening, assessing eligibility, and selecting relevant studies. A predefined protocol was developed prior to the review process, outlining the objectives, search strategy, eligibility criteria, and data extraction procedures. This structured approach helped minimize selection bias and ensured that the review comprehensively captured available evidence related to Sri Lankan home gardens across multiple thematic domains.

Data Sources

A comprehensive and multidisciplinary search was undertaken across several international and national academic databases to ensure broad coverage of relevant literature. The databases searched included Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, AGRIS, SpringerLink, Taylor & Francis Online, Frontiers, and Sri Lanka Journals Online (SLJOL). These sources were selected to capture research from fields such as agroforestry, agriculture, environmental science, nutrition, rural development, climate adaptation, and socio-economic resilience. Searching both international indexing databases and local journal repositories helped ensure inclusion of context-specific studies conducted within Sri Lanka.

Search Strategy

A systematic keyword-based search strategy was developed using Boolean operators to refine and expand results. The core search string included: "Sri Lanka" AND ("home garden" OR "homegarden" OR "Kandyan homegarden") AND ("food security" OR "nutrition" OR "dietary diversity" OR "biodiversity" OR "livelihood" OR "resilience").

Search terms were adjusted slightly depending on database requirements and indexing systems. Filters were applied where available to restrict results to peer-reviewed publications and English-language documents. In addition to database searches, backward and forward citation tracking of highly relevant articles was conducted to identify additional studies that may not have appeared in the primary search results.

Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

Studies were eligible for inclusion if they were peerreviewed journal articles, books, or book chapters that focused specifically on home gardens within Sri Lanka. Both empirical research (quantitative, qualitative, or mixedmethods) and high-quality review papers were considered, provided they addressed at least one of the four core themes: food security, nutrition outcomes, biodiversity conservation, or livelihood resilience. Publications were excluded if they did not directly focus on Sri Lanka, addressed home gardening in a purely descriptive manner without analytical depth, lacked accessible full texts, or were limited to conference abstracts, editorials, or non-scholarly reports. Studies that mentioned home gardens only tangentially without substantive analysis were also excluded.

Screening and Selection Process

The initial search across all databases identified 486 records. After removing 78 duplicate entries, 408 unique articles remained for preliminary screening. Titles and abstracts were reviewed to assess relevance to the study objectives, resulting in the exclusion of 301 articles that were either outside the Sri Lankan context or unrelated to the core themes. A total of 107 articles were retained for full-text evaluation. During this stage, each article was carefully assessed against the predefined inclusion criteria, focusing on thematic relevance, methodological rigor, and contribution to the review objectives. Fouty six articles were excluded due to insufficient empirical evidence, limited thematic alignment, or duplication of findings already captured in more comprehensive studies. Following this rigorous multistage screening process, 60 studies met all eligibility requirements and were included in the final synthesis. These studies formed the evidence base for analyzing the multidimensional contributions of Sri Lankan home gardens to food security, nutrition, biodiversity conservation, and livelihood resilience.

Results and Discussion

The conceptual framework presented in Figure 2 illustrates Sri Lankan home gardens as multifunctional, multistrata agroforestry systems positioned at the center of interconnected ecological and socio-economic pathways. The diagram highlights how species diversity, perennialannual integration, local knowledge, and livestock components collectively drive four key outcome domains: household food security, nutritional outcomes, biodiversity and ecosystem services, and livelihood resilience with climate adaptation (Marambe et al., 2012) [35] . These domains are mutually reinforcing, linked through ecological and socioeconomic feedback loops that enhance system stability and adaptive capacity over time. The framework further situates home gardens within a broader policy and environmental context shaped by climate change and urbanization pressures. By visually integrating these dimensions, the model underscores the systemic, interdependent nature of home gardens and provides a holistic lens for interpreting the multidimensional findings discussed in the following sections . [11] . Unlike monoculture systems dependent on single harvest periods, multistrata home gardens generate staggered production cycles across species and canopy layers, ensuring temporal distribution of food resources throughout the year. Regional assessments further reinforce this contribution. In the Intermediate Zone, Yapa and Sampath (2017) found that home gardens directly enhanced household food availability by increasing access to vegetables and fruits during lean seasons, significantly reducing dependence on purchased foods. Similarly, Krishnal et al. (2012), in a study conducted in Batticaloa District, demonstrated that home-gardening households exhibited higher food security scores compared to non-home-gardening households, particularly in terms of dietary stability during periods of economic hardship.

In the Jaffna Peninsula, [38] . In dry-zone Moneragala, [11] . Udari et al. (2019) further demonstrate that government-supported fruit cultivation programs significantly increase the productivity and income-generating capacity of home gardens, thereby strengthening both food access and economic resilience. During COVID-19 disruptions, households maintaining active home gardens experienced greater continuity of food access compared to those dependent solely on external markets (Kandegama & Rathnayake, 2022) [20] . These localized production systems thus function as micro-level food sovereignty mechanisms, reinforcing the broader agroecological principle that diversified, household-based production enhances systemic stability (Ali & Mattsson, 2017).

Nutritional Impacts and Dietary Diversity

The nutritional contributions of Sri Lankan home gardens extend beyond caloric sufficiency to micronutrient enhancement and dietary diversity improvement. Empirical assessments reveal positive associations between species richness and Household Dietary Diversity Scores (HDDS), particularly in structured home garden interventions. Increased consumption frequency of vitamin A rich fruits, iron-rich leafy vegetables, and zinc-containing pulses has been consistently observed among home-gardening households (Galhena et al., 2013) [11] . Marasinghe et al. (2015), using structural equation modelling, provide quantitative evidence linking plant species diversity directly to dietary diversity, demonstrating that higher plant richness in home gardens significantly predicts improved dietary outcomes. Their findings reinforce the nutrition-sensitive design of diversified agroforestry systems. Species diversity within gardens facilitates dietary diversity by increasing access to multiple food groups. Unlike stapledominated farming systems, home gardens integrate vegetables, fruits, tubers, legumes, and spices within small landholdings. Mattsson et al. (2018) [39] emphasize that this multifunctional structure supports both caloric stability and nutritional quality, enabling households to maintain balanced diets even during market shortages. The integration of neglected and underutilized species (NUS) further strengthens micronutrient adequacy. Kandyan home gardens often conserve traditional leafy greens, indigenous fruits, yams, and medicinal plants that are culturally embedded and nutritionally dense. They further highlight that Sri Lankan home gardens harbor a substantial diversity of traditional crop varieties, many of which are rich in micronutrients and contribute to long-term nutritional security (Seneviratne & Sumanasekara, 2015) [54] . Global agroforestry research similarly links tree cover and species diversity with improved dietary outcomes in smallholder systems (Gifawesen et al., 2020) [12] . Within the Sri Lankan context, the integration of perennials, shrubs, and annual crops creates a nutrition-sensitive agroforestry system capable of enhancing both short-term dietary intake and long-term food system resilience.

Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services

Kandyan home gardens exhibit structural and compositional characteristics analogous to natural forest ecosystems. Their multistrata canopy layers support high plant species richness and vertical complexity (Perera & Rajapakse, 1991; Martin et al., 2019; DeHaan, 2020) [48,38,3] . Empirical assessments report between 30 and over 100 plant species per garden depending on agroecological zone and management intensity. Pathmasiri & Bandara (2016) [47] provides detailed biodiversity inventories demonstrating that Kandyan home gardens conserve not only cultivated species but also wild, endemic, and semi-domesticated taxa, functioning as microreserves of biodiversity within human-dominated landscapes. Similarly, Dissanayake & Hettiarachchi (2013) [8] document the presence of endemic and conservationpriority species within home gardens bordering the Knuckles Conservation Area, highlighting their role in buffer-zone biodiversity protection. Urban-proximate systems also demonstrate significant diversity. Egodawatta and Warnasooriya (2014) [9] recorded substantial tree species richness in home gardens around Anuradhapura city, confirming that even peri-urban home gardens retain important ecological functions and species heterogeneity. Ecosystem services delivered by home gardens extend across provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural domains. Carbon sequestration capacity has been quantified, demonstrating significant aboveground biomass storage relative to land area. More recent analysis by Lowe et al. confirms that home gardens in Matale district store considerable aboveground carbon stocks comparable to certain secondary forest systems, strengthening their climate mitigation potential. Soil conservation, erosion control, nutrient cycling, and microclimate buffering further contribute to ecological sustainability (Landreth & Saito, 2014) [29] . Gunawardena and Fernando (2022) [13] , using remote sensing techniques, spatially characterize Kandyan home gardens as stable, structurally complex agroecosystems that maintain tree cover continuity and enhance landscape-level ecological integrity. At landscape scale, home gardens function as "trees outside forests," enhancing watershed restoration and ecological connectivity (Herath et al., 2024) [14] . Comparative ecosystem service [43,23] . Structural diversity enhances adaptive capacity under climate variability (Ali & Mattsson, 2017) [1] . The redundancy of species and functional traits increases ecological resilience, reducing vulnerability to environmental stress. Consequently, Sri Lankan home gardens represent nature-based solutions for sustainable land management and biodiversity conservation.

Livelihood Resilience and Income Diversification

Home gardens contribute to livelihood resilience by diversifying production and income streams. Marketable spice crops such as clove, pepper, and nutmeg provide supplementary cash income, while fruits and timber contribute to both subsistence and sales (Dissanayake & Maredia, 2020) [6] . Diversification reduces dependence on single-income agricultural commodities and spreads risk across species and harvest cycles (Mattsson et al., 2018; Kadupitiya et al., 2018) [39] . Landreth and Saito (2014) [29] emphasize that ecosystem service provisioning in Kandyan home gardens directly supports sustainable livelihoods by integrating food production, income generation, and ecological services within a single land unit. Jayakody and Basu (2022) [17] further highlight that urban and peri-urban home gardens in Kandy improve household well-being by enhancing food access, green space availability, and psychosocial benefits. Women's involvement in home garden management strengthens household food control and enhances social resilience (DeHaan et al., 2020) [3] . They documented that local knowledge systems guide species selection, adaptive management, and intergenerational transfer of agroecological knowledge, reinforcing long-term resilience. Resilience indices developed for Sri Lankan home gardens identify adaptive diversification, ecological buffering, and social embeddedness as central resilience attributes. These attributes correspond with broader resilience frameworks emphasizing diversity, redundancy, and adaptive learning as foundations of sustainable agroforestry systems (Jaman et al., 2016; Nair et al., 2022) [15,25] .

Climate Change Adaptation

Climate-smart characteristics of Sri Lankan home gardens include crop diversification, perennial integration, droughttolerant species selection, and localized water retention strategies (Kandegama & Rathnayake, 2022) [20] . Multistrata canopy systems moderate temperature extremes and reduce evapotranspiration, protecting understory crops from heat stress (Mattsson et al., 2013) [40] . At the landscape level, home gardens contribute to carbon storage and microclimate regulation (Mattsson et al., 2015). Lowe et al. (2022) further quantify the substantial carbon sequestration potential of tree-rich home gardens, reinforcing their dual mitigationadaptation function. Climate resilience indices confirm that structurally complex and diversified gardens demonstrate higher adaptive capacity compared to simplified systems. Gunawardena and Fernando (2022) [13] also demonstrate, through spatial analysis, that Kandyan home gardens maintain persistent tree cover patterns over time, contributing to climate buffering at micro-and meso-scales. Globally, agroforestry is recognized as a dual mitigationadaptation strategy. Sri Lankan home gardens illustrate this integration at household scale, functioning as decentralized climate adaptation units embedded within rural landscapes.

Policy Implications

The accumulated evidence supports stronger policy integration of home gardens into national food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation frameworks. Pushpakumara et al. (2016) [49] emphasize that coordinated research, extension services, and policy recognition are essential to sustain the multifunctional benefits of home gardens. Promoting neglected and underutilized species through extension services can enhance nutrition-sensitive outcomes while preserving agrobiodiversity. Climate adaptation planning should incorporate home gardens as decentralized agroforestry systems contributing to resilience and watershed restoration (Herath et al., 2024) [14] . Gender-inclusive programming is essential given women's central role in management and decision-making (DeHaan et al., 2020; Malaviarachchi, 2024) [3,34] . Scaling structured homegarden-based agroforestry within national development strategies could simultaneously strengthen biodiversity conservation, enhance rural livelihoods, and reinforce food sovereignty. The multifunctional nature of Sri Lankan home gardens positions them as strategic leverage points for achieving integrated sustainable development outcomes (Sharma et al., 2022) [55] .

Conclusion

This review highlights that Sri Lankan home gardens are multifunctional, resilient agroforestry systems that make substantial contributions to food security, nutrition, biodiversity conservation, and rural livelihoods. Their multistrata structure and high species diversity enable yearround food production, reduce market dependency, and stabilize household consumption across diverse agroecological zones. Evidence consistently shows that species richness and structural complexity enhance dietary diversity, micronutrient intake, carbon sequestration, and ecological stability. Beyond their ecological functions, home gardens operate as dynamic social-ecological systems. They integrate traditional knowledge, gendered management practices, and adaptive strategies that strengthen household resilience to climate variability, economic crises, and market disruptions. By diversifying production and income sources, these systems reduce vulnerability and reinforce livelihood sovereignty at the household level. Given their multifunctional benefits, Sri Lankan home gardens represent a practical, culturally embedded, and scalable nature-based solution. Integrating them more explicitly into national food security, biodiversity conservation, and climate adaptation policies could significantly advance sustainable and resilient rural development in Sri Lanka.

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