Agroforestry education and training activities at the University of Florida

The interdisciplinary program in agroforestry was established at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Science in 1987 in response to the growing interest in the subject among students and faculty members from different units of the university. It is now an internationally recognized center for education, training, and research in the subject. Pursuant to the overwhelming student and faculty interest in agroforestry issues in developing countries of the tropics and subtropics, the program is particularly active in those areas. Educational activities of the Program are at the post-graduate level. In conjunction with the degree granted in one of the designated departments or other academic units, students can earn a Specialization or Minor in Agroforestry by fulfilling certain requirements. Research projects are undertaken in such diverse topics as biophysical processes, production/conservation technologies, and socioeconomic aspects. Training activities include various short-term courses for professionals involved in management, development/extension, or research related to agroforestry.     

Agroforestry training and education at ICRAF: accomplishments and challenges

This article is a review of ICRAF's efforts over the past six years to strengthen the capability of national institutions in developing countries for the diagnosis of land management problems, identification of agroforestry potentials and research priorities, and design of appropriate agroforestry systems. The article highlights the development of the programme structure and organization as well as the main accomplishments. The evolution of the focus of T&E in support of ICRAF's collaborative research activities is based on the conviction that it is mainly by strengthening national research capabilities that appropriate agroforestry technology will be generated in response to countries' needs.Since 1982, the Council has organized seven international training courses which were held in Kenya as well as regionally and in-country; twenty-two resident trainees completed 3- to 6-month internships at ICRAF and project sites; and four research fellows/visiting scientists undertook long-term agroforestry research alongside ICRAF's multidisciplinary team, bringing the total number of researchers directly trained by ICRAF to over 250. Training modules and training materials were also developed to be used by other institutions in teaching agroforestry-related topics.Principal Training Officer, ICRAF     

Agroforestry education

Development of agroforestry education is following the pattern of evolution of some other areas of study such as plant pathology, genetics, and statistics. At universities these three areas began within another department or departments, and after being moved into their own departments began to flourish and develop their own identity. However, the main question is what can or should be done to further the process? The increasing number of agroforestry projects in the world, the lack of trained agroforesters, and the estimated increased need for agricultural scientists are all indicators for the future demand for trained agroforesters. Career opportunities for professional agroforesters lie in three areas: as research scientists, as extension agents, or as development agroforesters. Two broad educational approaches to setting educational objectives are to (1) set objectives on the basis of the perceived problems likely to be encountered in agroforestry and (2) set objectives according to roles which agroforesters are likely to assume. The design of both undergraduate and postgraduate curricula are discussed. The unique core is the agroforestry system per se and the development of a systems analysis methodology. The institutional structure and clear goal definition can facilitate the development of an agroforestry program, but in the final analysis it is the dedication and enthusiasm of the individual staff that will count for success.     

Agroforestry in central,northern, and eastern Europe

Integrated management of natural resources and the multiple use of trees and forests have prevailed in most European societies since prehistoric times. In the Middle Ages, expanding and intensified agriculture resulted in the separation of trees from agricultural fields. During the last century, with the introduction of sustainable and highly productive forest management, the goal of increased wood production has been achieved in most parts of central, northern, and eastern Europe. Today, agroforestry is not considered to be an important land-use option within the region; however, there are many practices that could rightfully be classified as agroforestry. These include tree/crop systems in which trees provide products and/or environmental benefits, and tree/animal systems in which animals are grazed in forests or open woodlands.The future seems to offer some prospects for agroforestry. Large areas, hitherto used for food production, are either marginally suited to agriculture, or will probably be taken out of production due to agricultural policy considerations. Agroforestry may, at least in part, offer alternatives for the use of such lands. The availability of (surplus) fertile soils, capital, and labor may provide incentives for site-adapted forms of agroforestry, including improved fallow management. The focus of such systems would be on maintenance of biodiversity in the landscape, environmental protection, recreation, and product diversification.There are numerous expectations as to what agroforestry might provide for the land holder and for society as a whole. These expectations should be carefully analyzed and evaluated prior to political decisions on future land use. The promotion of agroforestry requires overall investment; agroforestry does not happen by itself. A set of integrated actions — not isolated efforts — must be implemented if agroforestry is to become a successful land-use option.     

农林复合经营系统及其实践

在阐述农林复合经营系统概念的基础上，将该系统划分为６个类型即农林复合型，林农复合型，林牧复合型，农林渔复合型，林特复合型，地域性农林复合型，并作概要描述，对国内外农要复合经营系统的实践也作了典型介绍，这些典型的共同特点是根据生态学和经济学原理，利用物种在时空上合理布局，保持组合的动态平衡，提高经济效益。     

Agroforestry and organic agriculture

Current conventional agriculture is considered unsustainable and inadequate to address great societal challenges such as climate change, environmental pollution, food security, dependence on fossil energy as well as the decline of natural resources and biodiversity. Many of these problems are related to agricultural specialization (i.e. monoculture) and the consequent simplification of the agroecosystem. In this respect, efforts aimed at improving individual agronomic techniques and at increasing the use-efficiency of external inputs (e.g. synthetic inputs, fossil fuels), without modifying the structure and functions of the whole system, appear to be insufficient to achieve sustainability in most conventional and intensive farming systems. Current organic farming systems adopting the so-called input substitution approach remain intensive and highly specialized and not necessarily able to significantly improve their sustainability. This would require system diversification and redesign of the agroecosystem to increase the spatial and temporal diversification of all its components and promote positive ecological relationships between them. Agroforestry is an agricultural approach based on the diversification of the agroecosystem production components (woody perennials, such as trees or shrubs, plus crops and/or livestock) and on the intensification of the agroecological relationships between these components. As such, it has transformative potential, providing an opportunity for increasing the sustainability of organic farming. In this article we review how the adoption of agroforestry practices could contribute to increasing sustainability in organic farming, and discuss the challenges and opportunities of this adoption.

     

Agroforestry for soil health

Healthy soil is one of the most critical resources for the health and sustainability of ecosystems, including agroecosystems. Although the agroforestry community has long been convinced of the soil health benefits of agroforestry practices, many of such practices remain to be fully accepted by the mainstream agriculture community. Agroforestry, as a sustainable land management practice, has shown solid evidence of its role in improving soil quality and health based on at least four decades of data gathered from the world over. This thematic issue presents 28 papers that add further to the body of knowledge to reaffirm that agroforestry can improve the major measurable soil metrics that define soil health. Collectively, these papers show that agroforestry has the ability to (1) enrich soil organic carbon better than monocropping systems, (2) improve soil nutrient availability and soil fertility due to the presence of trees in the system, and (3) enhance soil microbial dynamics, which would positively influence soil health. It is imperative that agroforestry, as part of a multifunctional land-use strategy, should receive increased attention in our policy discussion for the future of soil and soil health.     

Agroforestry practices in Nigeria

The problems of too much pressure on land for the production of food and wood for the increasing population have made it mandatory to look into the various ways of maximising the uses of agricultural land in different parts of the world. Under this high demand for land, the system of shifting cultivation which has been practised from time immemorial can no longer support the needs of farmers in Nigeria. As a result of this, the different agroforestry practices have received increased attention. The experiences obtained with shifting cultivation, homestead gardens, taungya, alley-farming and scattered farm tree methods including shelterbelt planting in the country are reviewed in this paper and some research findings on these practices are highlighted.     

Agroforestry and portfolio theory

Portfolio theory is used to analyse the risk of hypothetical agroforestry systems. It is shown that the relationship of the returns of the components of an agroforestry system, expressed in terms of the covariance or correlation of returns, is of vital importance in correctly defining risk. Agroforestry systems can be classified as efficient or inefficient. Inefficient systems are such that an alternative system exists which has a greater return for the same level of risk. Thus, inefficient systems do not represent rational choices for agroforestry systems. Finally, the conclusion is reached that it is impossible to design a best system, but rather a set of efficient systems of differing risk and return can be defined. This set of efficient systems is referred to as the efficient frontier.     

Agroforestry and the environment

Agroforestry is a traditional land use system that may contribute to the solution of environmental problems in agriculture. Agroforestry is the practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crops and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions. Recent research indicates that a wider adoption of agroforestry principles and practices is a key means by which the global agri-food sector might achieve more sustainable methods of food and fiber production by producing both economic benefits for farmers and environmental benefits for society. Agroforestry provides numerous provisioning, regulating, cultural and supporting ecosystem services and environmental benefits while promoting eco-intensification based on a more efficient use of the resources. Nevertheless, there is only little published recent information on the contribution of agroforestry to the environment in general and on climate change, carbon sequestration and forest fires in particular. In this special issue a number of articles are included that provide a kaleidoscope of the environmental benefits that agroforestry provides to the environment.

     

云南山区林农结合模式的探讨

针对云南山区农村的综合治理和开发的现实,面向山区农业的两个转变及体制改革,遵照生态经济原则,从农业生态系统的生态经济协调出发,遵循林农结合系统的“整体、协调、循环、再生”的原则,把云南山区区划为冷温性湿润型、温凉性湿润型、暖温性湿润型、暖温性半湿润型、暖热性湿润型、热性湿润型、热性半干旱型7种林农结合系统,分系统论述该区域的行政范围、自然条件、资源状况、农林生产特点、林农结合的经营模式.经比较分析,归纳与发掘出80种以上的云南山区林农经营模式.每个系统中都有10种以上模式.既反映山区自然的特点,又具有地方、民族特色.     

Agroforestry adoption in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve,Campeche, Mexico

Since farmers engage in a complex, dynamic process of learning-by-doing, evaluating economic incentives, and assessing risks in deciding whether to adopt agroforestry systems, a multi-pronged research approach is required for a complete analysis of adoption potential and to develop effective technological and institutional interventions. A case study is presented for using multiple approaches to analyse the potential for reforestation and improving livelihoods of small farmers through the adoption of agroforestry systems in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche, Mexico. Specifically, the results from a participatory research project are combined with revealed preference analysis of a household survey to analyse past adoption decisions and preferences, identify limitations, test and evaluate alternatives, and evaluate methods for risk reduction. The participatory research trials suggest that continuous intercropping and line cleaning are equally effective for tree growth, while continuous cropping during the first years offers the additional advantage of early returns to investments through crop production. Farmer participation in the research process, planning of production systems, and annual evaluations, assisted farmers and researchers in identifying limitations, testing and evaluating alternatives, and improving the viability and sustainability of systems. The revealed preference analysis provides insights as to which households are most likely to initially adopt agroforestry systems developed through the participatory research trials. In general, households that originated from the Yucatan Peninsula with more education, more experience both in age of the head of household and technical and project experience, higher incomes, and those that had cleared more forestland were more likely to have experimented with agroforestry systems in the past.     

浅论林农复合生态系统

从林农复合生态系统的研究历史，阐述了林农复合生态系统的定义，技术类型，开发途径，功能与作用，并对江西发展林农复合生态系统提出了几点建议。     

农林复合系统研究概述

文章从农林复合系统的结构选择、对生态环境的影响和系统内部作物与环境相互作用三个方面对农林复合系统研究现状进行分析,并指出要在把握农林系统整体性的基础上,采用多种方式开展复合结构模式研究,重点开展农林复合系统种间相互作用机理的研究。     

农林复合模式蒸散耗水的研究

应用土壤分层水量平衡模型，对林带与冬小麦的根系吸水量、林带和农田的蒸散耗水量、林带影响农田土壤水分范围与程度进行了研究，结果表明：（１）冬小麦拔节至乳熟期间，林带根系吸水以消耗农田土壤水分为主，主要表现在０．０～１．５Ｈ（Ｈ为树高）范围内。（２）林带可降低１２．３％的农田蒸散量。（３）由于林带的影响，在农田中，０．０～０．５Ｈ为土壤水分降低区，０．５～５．０Ｈ为土壤水分提高区。总体平均，０～２００ｃｍ农田土壤贮水量可提高１１．２％。