Mapping the territory: agroforestry awareness among Washington State land managers

There is growing interest in research to develop potential agroforestry models for temperate climates. In Washington State, recent studies and anecdotal information suggest that agroforestry is already employed by land managers, and if so, this experience should inform future research efforts. Because this population is not well defined, a mail survey was designed to: 1) Assess Washington land manager awareness of agroforestry, 2) assess perceptions of agroforestry as a land management tool, 3) assess the perceived potential opportunities or obstacles for land managers to practice agroforestry, and 4) identify landowner groups believed to be practicing agroforestry in Washington State.Three groups of land managers were surveyed: employees of the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service (WSUCE) and OTHER, consisting of university faculty, private land managers, State and Federal land managers and owners of small natural resource businesses.Agroforestry was not a new concept for most (94%) respondents, further 55% of those familiar with agroforestry were practicing agroforestry or providing advice to landowners who were practicing agroforestry. Use in (government mandated) soil conservation plans on farmland (100% of all respondents) was the most frequently cited potential application for agroforestry in the state followed by range and pasture land and managing non-commercial forest land (both 84%), use on commercial forest plantation (83%) and fruit and nut orchards (61%).Diversifies land use (25%), enhanced productivity (18%), aesthetics (13%) and income diversity (13%) were the four most frequently cited potential advantages to practicing agroforestry. Lack of information (28%), lack of technical assistance (18%), establishment costs (14%) and not an established practice (14%) were the most frequently identified potential obstacles to practicing agroforestry. Respondents suggested there is great potential for application of agroforestry throughout the state, and non-industrial private forest land owners were selected for future study of this potential.     

Agroforestry training and extension: the experience from Haiti

An agroforestry project was funded by the US Agency for International Development and implemented by the Pan American Development Foundation in Haiti from 1981 to 1991. This project is considered by many to be one of the most successful projects of its kind in Haiti, and in the tropics as a whole. Over the ten years of its implementation, the project, referred to in Haitian Creole as Pwoje Pyebwa (Tree Project), evolved from a tree production and planting project to a much broader soil-conservation-based program involving trees. This paper summarizes the training and extension systems that developed during that period. The socioeconomic background studies that were done before the project began, and the flexible, consultative mode of field-team implementation, incorporating elements of the learning process approach, were important to the success of the project. During the implementation of the project, however, concern for farmer input and participation should have been incorporated more systematically into the field operations of the regional teams.     

Paraiso (Melia azedarach var. “Gigante”) woodlots: an agroforestry alternative for the small farmer in Paraguay

This paper describes the salient aspects and analyses the potential of the Paraiso Woodlot System, which is becoming popular as an agroforestry alternative to land use in the degraded acid sandy soils of the humid sub-tropical Guayaybi area of Paraguay. The system consists of a combination of paraiso (Melia azedarach var gigante) with other trees, especially Leucaena leucocephala, and annual crops.The fast growth habit, deep root system, addition of large quantities of organic matter through leaf and litter fall, compatibility with agricultural crops, high value of the sawlogs and production of substantial quantities of poles and firewood make paraiso an excellent species for agroforestry combination. Preliminary results of the trials indicate that the woodlots are successful and with increasing efforts of the extension agencies, they are being accepted as a viable alternative to traditional agricultural systems.Besides discussing the potential of these woodlots based on initial results, the paper identifies the constraints of the system and highlights the priority research areas.     

Agroforestry diagnostic survey of some parts of Niger State of Nigeria

A diagnostic survey of agroforestry practice carried out in seven Districts within Zone III of Niger State of Nigeria revealed that the agro-silvi-pastoral and the scattered farm trees systems were the most common agroforestry practices adopted by the farmers. About 99.5% of agroforestry trees planted by the farmers were fruit/vegetable-producing while the remaining 0.5% were meant for other purposes. Tree-planting appears to be more linked with farmers' awareness rather than age, family size and farm size. The farmers' earnings could be increased by intensified agroforestry practice, while the latter can be achieved by intensified agroforestry extension and provision of incentives.     

FAO initiatives in agroforestry training in Latin America

In response to the request of its member countries from the Latin America and the Caribbean to help promote agroforestry, FAO has initiated a number of activities in the region. These include a regional project Demonstration and Training in Agroforestry in Latin America, an International Workshop on the Formulation of a Project on Demonstration and Training in Agroforestry for the Amazon, held in January 1993, and the project Participative Forestry Development in the Andes. Currently, FAO assistance to the countries of the region in their efforts to promote agroforestry include The Latin American Technical Cooperation Network on Agroforestry Systems, FAO's country-specific technical cooperation projects, and assistance in obtaining development-bank loans through missions of the FAO Investment Center.     

Toward a rationally robust paradigm for agroforestry systems

Because people need improved agroforestry and because there are perceived limitations in a largely scientific approach to agroforestry research and development in the past, an alternative paradigm to gaining knowledge for use in this area is suggested. It is an encompassing approach to gaining knowledge which we call the rationally robust paradigm, RRP. The paradigm has 11 components: 1. Concentrating on site-specific knowledge, often in a geographic information system; 2. being aware of the limited funds to achieve agroforestry objectives; 3. de-emphasizing induction and deduction, and their replacement by or addition of other epistemological bases; 4. accepting lower confidence levels for conclusions and subsequent action; 5. using estimates of median values; 6. using knowledge of the range limits of agroforestry phenomena and factors; 7. giving attention to the system's phenomenon of equifinality and its consequences; 8. de-emphasizing time as a factor in system analysis, and replacing it with other system phenomena; 9. using statistical regression techniques but simultaneously seeking to identify and use independent factors (e.g., solar radiation) that function significantly in many models; 10. appropriately using regression techniques emphasizing the use of hypothesized, often-non-linear relationships; and 11. operating in a conceptual clinical milieu. The paradigm is proposed for use throughout agroforestry.     

Defining competition vectors in a temperate alley cropping system in the midwestern USA: 2. Competition for water

A study was carried out in an alley cropping system in the Eastern Maize Belt of the United States with the objective of quantifying the competition for water between trees (black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) and red oak (Quercus rubra L.) and maize (Zea mays L.). Spatial and temporal variation in soil moisture, tree and maize rooting patterns, tree and maize water uptake, and maize leaf area expansion were determined in three treatments; barrier (polyethylene root barriers separating maize and tree roots), trench (trenching without a polyethylene barrier), and no barrier (control). Significant temporal variation in soil moisture was observed in both black walnut and red oak alley cropping systems. The barrier and trench treatments resulted in higher soil moisture in the maize alley and lower soil moisture in the tree row than the no barrier treatment. Uptake of water by maize was higher in the barrier than the no barrier treatment. However, tree water uptake was higher in the no barrier treatment than in the barrier treatment because tree roots utilized water from the maize alley. Maize leaf area was negatively impacted by water stress in the no barrier treatment. Quantification of rooting patterns revealed that maize and tree roots were concentrated in the top 30 cm soil layer where water fluctuations were greatest. The barrier and trench treatments successfully eliminated the belowground root competition between trees and maize and resulted in greater leaf area and higher grain yields than the no barrier treatment. Thus, competition for water rather than competition for light seems to be critical in defining the productivity and sustainability of this alley cropping system.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Die Anfälligkeit verschiedener Sommerweizensorten gegenüber Befall durch die beiden Weizengallmü ckenarten (Dipt., Cecidomyidae)

The susceptibility of some spring wheat varieties to the attack by the two wheat blossom midge species (Dipt., Cecidomyidae) The susceptibility of 20 spring wheat varieties to the attack byContarinia tritici (Kirby) andSitodiplosis mosellana (Géhin) was studied from 1971 to 1976 on small plots. Some varieties proved to be very susceptible, others were partly resistant. Meritus showed a high susceptibility to both wheat blossom midge species, while Arm showed a very low one. The resistance observed could not be explained by incoincidence. Of the varieties still being in trade, Opal should not be grown in areas of damage byS. mosellana. Kleiber and Kolibri are apt for this. Arin can be recommended to be grown in areas, where damage by both wheat blossom midges occurs.     

The economic potential of leguminous tree crops in zero-tillage cropping in Nigeria: a linear programming model

If agroforestry technologies are to be generated rapidly and effectively there has first to be established a sound basis for research methodology. This may entail no more than a repackaging of existing experimental agricultural or forestry techniques, in other cases new approaches will need to be investigated. Some of the special problems relevant to experimenting with multipurpose trees are noted. ICRAF has available a set of source materials and guidelines on Research Methodology for the Exploration and Assessment of Multipurpose Trees which are listed, and the establishment of an informal Experimental Agroforestry Network is mentioned.

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Resumen Para generar tecnologias agroforestales en forma rapida y efectiva debe primero haberse establecido bases solidas en metodologia de investigacion. Esta puede involucrar solo el re-empaque de tecnicas experimentales ya existentes en agricultura y bosques o, en otros casos, investigar nuevas formas de abordar el problema. Se señalan algunos de los problemas especiales importantes para la experimentacion con arboles de uso multiple, y se lista un conjunto de materiales y guias sobre Metodologia de Investigacion para Examinar y Evaluar Arboles de Uso Multiple, a la vez que se menciona el establecimiento de una Red Informal de Experimentaciones Agroforestales.

     

Effect of cutting position on rooting and shoot growth of two poplar clones

One-year-old shoots from stooling beds of Populus × deltoides Walker and Populus jackii Northwest were collected in late fall to determine the effect of cutting position on rooting and growth of hardwood poplar cuttings. Cuttings with a minimum diameter of 9.0 mm were obtained from basal, middle and distal locations on the poplar shoot. Rooting and shoot growth were assessed in the greenhouse and under field conditions. Walker poplar cuttings collected from basal portions of the shoot and planted in the field had 87.6% rooting and 103.8 cm growth compared to 78.8% and 103.4 cm and 67.6% and 88.8 cm for middle and distal locations respectively. For Northwest rooting and growth under field conditions was 84.4% and 94.7 cm for basal, 78.4% and 90.5 cm for mid and 64.4% and 84.3 cm for distal locations. Rooting in the greenhouse was superior to the field. Walker cuttings had fewer roots and buds per cutting than Northwest, however, growth of Walker in the field was superior.     

Agroforestry pathways for the intensification of shifting cultivation

As a system of land use which entails the deliberate association of trees with herbaceous field crops in time, shifting cultivation is one of the most ancient, widespread and, until recently, ecologically stable forms of agroforestry. However, under pressure of population and competing uses for land and labour, traditional swidden systems have been observed historically to undergo more or less predictable processes of intensification. Since shifting cultivation is an indigenous form of agroforestry, scientific agroforestry is not, strictly speaking, an alternative to shifting cultivation, but rather a systematic approach to the recombination of its basic elements into more intensive, sustainable and politically viable forms of land use, whenever pressures signal the need for change in traditional swidden systems.Different agroforestry options open up from different stages of intensification in swidden systems. A review of evolutionary typologies of shifting cultivation gives rise to a framework for the identification of agroforestry interventions and development pathways appropriate to specific systems. technological proposals are limited to a short list of the most promising agroforestry interventions in main sequence swidden systems. These include integral taungya, economically and biologically enriched fallows, variations on the alley cropping theme, and various tree crop alternatives to annual cropping systems. Examples and quantitative data are cited to substantiate the main hypotheses behind the proposals.     

The tree/crop interface — or simplifying the biological/environmental study of mixed cropping agroforestry systems

A key to understanding the biological potentials and restraints of agroforestry systems, and the environmental responses of plant components within them, is the tree/crop interface. All agroforestry systems can be studied by separating the growth and yield characteristics of the three basic sets of variables (a) the sole agricultural crop (b) the effects of the tree/crop interface on the crop and tree and (c) the growth of the tree as a whole crop.The interface can be studied wherever it occurs in natural situations, or conventional or systematic experimental layouts, but very simple forms of geometric layouts can be very space efficient.

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Resumer La interfase arbol/cultivo, o como simplificar los estodios biologicoambientales de sistemas mixtos de cultivos agrogorestales.La interface arbol/cultivo es la clave para entender el potencial y las limitaciones biologicas de los sistemas agroforestales, y de la respuesta ambiental de las plantas dentro de los mismos. Todos los sistemas agroforestales pueden ser estudiados separando las caracteristicas de crecimiento y rendimiento de los tres conjuntos basicos de variables: (a) el cultivo agricola solo; (b) los efectos de la interfase arbol/cultivo sobre el cultivo y los arboles; y (c) la plantation forestal sola.La interfase puede ser estudiada cuando ella ocurre en situaciones naturales, o en arreglos experimentales convencionales o sistematicos, pero formas simples de arreglos geometricos pueden ser muy eficientes en el uso del espacio.

     

Systematic designs for field experimentation with multipurpose trees

Systematic field layouts are especially useful with MPT species for examining plant responses e.g. to density stress, and where a wide range of treatment levels are needed because of lack of previous data. Examples of a fan and a parallel-row layout are given (with suitable sets of dimensions) and the development of parallel-row designs for management trials and mixed cropping is illustrated.A revised version of ICRAF working Paper No. 12 which has been incorporated into Research Methodology for the Exploration and Assessment of Multipurpose Trees (Ed. P.A. Huxley), 1984. ICRAF, Nairobi — Financial support for the latter publication was provided by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council by means of a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.     

The espinal: agroforestry systems of the mediterranean — type climate region of Chile

The Central Valley of Chile is largely occupied by a pseudo-savanna called espinal consisting of a single dominant tree species, Acacia caven (Mol.) Mol. (Leguminosae), and some 215 annuals, most of which were inadvertently introduced from the Mediterranean Basin. The probable origin and current distribution of the espino (Acacia caven) and the espinales in Chile are described. Predominant production systems of the espinal in both the semiarid and subhumid regions of Chile are outlined, with emphasis on the later region. Causes of the current low levels of productivity are discussed, and various strategies for long-term improvement of the espinal are presented.     

An outline of the research and education program of CIES/Consortium

The CIES/Consortium was created in 1992 for increasing the personnel capability and conducting research in natural resources, sustainable development, and human health in the Chiapas region of Mexico. Research is being conducted in four principal study areas: Highlands of Chiapas, the Lacandon rain forest, Soconusco, and El Ocote Reserve. There are four research departments: Conservation of Natural Resources, Alternative Production Systems, Health and Population, and Agroecological Technology. Agroforestry research, within the Department of Alternative Production Systems, includes agroforestry systems diagnosis in the highlands of Chiapas, ethnobotanical survey of potentially useful woody plants, silvicultural evaluation of woody forage species, management alternatives for the fallow vegetation in the Lacandon rain forest, and forest regeneration ecology and biomass dynamics in the Highlands of Chiapas and Lacandon rain forest after human interference. The CIES/Consortium researchers are also involved in the training of professionals and supervision of bachelor- and master- theses in their respective study areas. In January 1994, CIES/Consortium started a Postgraduate program in Natural Resources and Rural Development.Centro de Investigaciones Ecológicas del Sureste; since October 19, 1994 the name has changed to El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR).     

Conflict management and participation in community forestry

In this paper consideration is first given to how community forestry practitioners have commonly understood the term participation, and why the concept of conflict does not seem to have overlapped with notions of participation. Failure to perceive conflict as inherent in participation is shown to have led to problems in implementation of community forestry programmes. The emerging awareness of conflict today is shown to be associated with the move away from community forestry in the form of village-based tree planting schemes towards community forest management, which involves devolution of state authority over natural forests. The paper presents a number of methods for managing conflict and discusses their strong and weak points. Using the experience of the introduction of participation as a comparison, the paper considers the extent to which conflict management might be adopted as standard practice by forest agencies in community forestry. The paper concludes that because of the limited mandate of forest agencies, it is unlikely that they will be able to use conflict management tools to bring about social justice in forest conflict situations. However, the paper suggests that use of such tools could result in heightened awareness of the importance of conflict and in this way improve forest practice.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

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.     

Use and management of secondary vegetation in a humid-tropical area

This work deals with the experimental management of secondary succession in a tropical forest region in Uxpanapa, Veracruz, México. The goal is to establish a system of diversified units, which will maintain production and biodiversity while obtaining valuable products, primarily for self-sufficiency, and secondarily as cash crops. Three different diversifield units of production have been identified: a) the traditional milpa, maize polyculture, b) the diversified home orchard and c) the enriched fallows. These units were established in three secondary forests areas, where once thinned or cleared, valuable annual and perennial species were introduced.Total biomass and product yields were analyzed, also labour invested on each production unit was recorded, units were compared on an efficiency basis. Maize yield of polyculture is low but total production is more than twice that of maize monoculture. Efficiency in the polyculture is also higher and its weeds were better controlled. After three years the milpa has become an orchard with more than 150 individual fruit trees belonging to 10 different species. Enriched secondary forests show the highest biomass production in the open treatment, 68% transmittance, and the highest survivorship in the moderate shade treatment, 37%.Schizolobium parahybum andCordia alliodora were the most successful forest species due to their fast growth.     

Farmer adoption of contour hedgerow intercropping,a case study from east Indonesia

The results of a study to assess the initial impact of the introduction of contour hedgerow intercropping on the Indonesian islands of Lombok and Sumbawa are described. The study focused on the reasons for adopting this technique and its initial effect. The results of detailed case studies in four villages indicated that the process of adoption is heterogeneous. Land-use conditions in the four villages were much more diverse and dynamic than the project anticipated. Rather than being an off the shelf technique as assumed by the project, hedgerow cropping proved to be a prototype technique; the farmers' ability to adapt the practice to their specific farming conditions such as subsistence food production or cash crop cultivation was an important motive for its adoption. In some cases the introduction competed with the extension of other promising land-use practices. Several farmers adopted the technique not because of its productive benefits, but as a means to gain access to land or credit, or to demonstrate their allegiance to social networks. The results indicate that there were significant discontinuities between what the project intended to achieve by introducing the technique and the farmers' motives for adopting it.     

Defining competition vectors in a temperate alley cropping system in the midwestern USA: 3. Competition for nitrogen and litter decomposition dynamics

An experiment was conducted in an 11-year-old black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), red oak (Quercus rubra L.), maize (Zea mays L.) alley cropping system in the midwestern USA to examine the extent of tree-crop competition for nitrogen and decomposition dynamics of tree leaves and fine roots. A below-ground polyethylene root barrier (1.2 m deep) isolated black walnut roots from maize alleys in half the number of plots providing two treatments viz. barrier and no barrier. The percentage of N derived from fertilizer (%NDF) and fertilizer use efficiency (%UFN) were determined using ¹⁵N enriched fertilizer. Further, maize grain and stover biomass, tree leaf biomass, tissue N concentration, and N content were quantified in both treatments. The barrier treatment resulted in a significantly greater grain (67.3% more) and stover (37.2% more) biomass than the no barrier treatment. The %NDF in both grain and stover was higher in the no barrier treatment as a result of competition from tree roots for water and mineralized N in soil. Maize plants growing in the no barrier treatment had a lower %UFN than those in the barrier treatment due to their smaller size and inability to take up fertilizer. Analysis of tree leaf and fine root decomposition patterns revealed faster release of N (39% over 15 days for black walnut and 17.7% for red oak) and P (30% over 15 days for both species) from roots compared to the leaves of both species. Following an early release of P (11.3% over 45 days), red oak leaves exhibited significant immobilization for the rest of the incubation period. The data indicate that competition for N from fertilizer is minimal since nutrient acquisition is not simultaneous among black walnut and maize. However, competition for mineralized N in soil can exist between black walnut and maize depending on water availability and competition. Tree leaves and fine roots can enhance soil nutrient pools through the addition of soil carbon and nutrients. Tree fine roots seem to play a more significant role in nutrient cycling within the alley cropping system because of their faster release of both N and P as compared to leaves. Selection of tree species and their phenology will impact the magnitude and rate of nutrient cycling.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.