Agroforestry systems in the Garhwal Himalayas of India

Agroforestry systems, though at subsistence level are well established in Garhwal Himalayas. The farmers undertake cultivation of various crops, seasonal and biennials crops with trees all in mixtures on the same piece of land. Farm animals and poultry form an essential component of the systems. The intimate association of different species provides both subsistence and commercial products which give additional income to the farmer. The paper describes the general scenario of socio-economic condition and existing agroforestry practices and some suggestions for their improvement in the Garhwal Himalayas.     

Farmer’s Perception of and Factors Influencing Agroforestry Practices in the Indus River Basin,Pakistan

Agroforestry practices of farming communities are investigated in southern Punjab province, Pakistan. It is hypothesized that rural people of this areas are more inclined than elsewhere in the province to practice agroforestry due to greater profitability than cropping. A landholder survey revealed that the majority of farmers are inclined to plant trees on their land. Low accessibility of institutional credit is a constraint for both agroforestry farmers (AF) and non-agroforestry farmers. However, among AF respondents only 24% were found to need credit for agroforestry practice, as against nearly 76% for crop production. Mostly farmers were found to have positive perceptions regarding agroforestry practice, because they understand the multiple benefits from growing trees, compared with cropping where farmers face various constraints, including poor access to credit, natural hazards, and little support from local authorities. Further, effort to sensitize farmers that growing trees has multiple benefits compared to only cultivation of field crops can bring about change in farmer’s perceptions and attitudes in the Indus River basin, resulting in motivation for agroforestry adoption.     

Alternate cycle agroforestry

Agroforestry research and design has heavily favored intergrated production of annuals and perennials, that is production of tree crops on the same parcel of land and at the same time as production of food crop annuals. For areas having high population densities and intensive modes of agricultural production, integral agroforestry may be appropriate, but for areas of sparse population where extensive agriculture is practiced or marginal hill lands, alternate cycle agroforestry may prove more suitable. Alternate cycle agroforestry, in the form of modified forest swidden systems, is discussed and compared to integral agroforestry systems. Advantages and disadvantages of each system are discussed relative to their use on marginal hill and forest lands.The author wishes to thank N.T. Vergara, L.S. Hamilton, A.T. Rambo and K.F.Wiersum at the Environment and Policy Institute of the East-West Center for their comments.     

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.

     

Agroforestry in the management of sloping lands in Asia and the Pacific

Steeply sloping lands are widespread in the tropics. An estimated 500 million people practice subsistence agriculture in these marginal areas. Continued population growth has led to the intensified cultivation of large areas of the sloping lands, exacerbating the problem of soil erosion. Although research shows that alley cropping and other contour agroforestry systems can stabilize the sloping lands, these systems have not been widely adopted by farmers. The Framework for Evaluating Sustainable Land Management (FESLM) has been tested in sloping land areas in the Philippines. Sustainable land management must be productive, stable, viable, and acceptable to farmers, while protecting soil and water resources. Farms on which contour hedgerow intercropping has been adopted meet the multifaceted requirements of FESLM, whereas the farmers' current practice does not. Appropriate land management measures for particular locations depend on a complex suite of social, economic, and biophysical factors, and need to be developed in participation with farmers. The role of agroforestry in sustainable management of sloping lands is the subject of networks coordinated by the International Board for Soil Research and Management (IBSRAM) in seven countries in Asia (ASIALAND) and four countries in the Pacific (PACIFICLAND). We review selected outcomes from a wealth of network data. From these results the following conclusions about the sustainability of various agroforestry systems for sloping lands can be drawn: • In the Pacific, soil loss from sloping lands due to water erosion under farmers' current practices is episodic, unpredictable, and possibly not severe; • Agroforestry systems that utilize legume shrubs, fruit trees, coffee (Coffea spp.) or rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) provide useful economic returns, but are not an essential component in terms of soil protection because grass or pineapple (Ananas comosus) planted on the contour are equally effective in reducing erosion; • Agricultural intensification will lead to nutrient mining, reduction of aboveground biomass, declining yields, and less soil protection unless external sources of nutrients are used; • nitrogen can be effectively supplied using legumes; • Cash derived from hedgerow trees and/or shrubs may providean incentive for their adoption by farmers, as well as funds to purchase external inputs such as fertilizers; • Labor may be a major constraint to the adoption of complex agroforestry systems. We also discuss the information management systems required to effectively manage and utilize the extensive sets of experimental and indigenous data being accumulated. We believe such information systems can facilitate technology transfer across and between regions, and improve the efficiency of research into agroforestry and other land-management approaches. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Agroforestry: working trees for sequestering carbon on agricultural lands

Agroforestry is an appealing option for sequestering carbon on agricultural lands because it can sequester significant amounts of carbon while leaving the bulk of the land in agricultural production. Simultaneously, it can help landowners and society address many other issues facing these lands, such as economic diversification, biodiversity, and water quality. Nonetheless, agroforestry remains under-recognized as a greenhouse gas mitigation option for agriculture in the US. Reasons for this include the limited information-base and number of tools agroforestry can currently offer as compared to that produced from the decades-worth of investment in agriculture and forestry, and agroforestry’s cross-cutting nature that puts it at the interface of agriculture and forestry where it is not strongly supported or promoted by either. Agroforestry research is beginning to establish the scientific foundation required for building carbon accounting and modeling tools, but more progress is needed before it is readily accepted within agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation programs and, further, incorporated into the broader scope of sustainable agricultural management. Agroforestry needs to become part of the agricultural tool box and not viewed as something separate from it. Government policies and programs driving research direction and investment are being formulated with or without data in order to meet pressing needs. Enhanced communication of agroforestry’s carbon co-benefit, as well as the other benefits afforded by these plantings, will help elevate agroforestry awareness within these discussions. This will be especially crucial in deliberations on such broad sweeping natural resource programs as the US Farm Bill.     

Pasture or permanent crops after slash-and-burn cultivation? Land-use choice in three Amazon colonies

Land use was examined in three settlements – Pedro Peixoto in Acre and Theobroma in Rondonia, Brazil, and Pucallpa, in Peru. Research aimed at characterizing the differences in land use after initial slash-and-burn, and presenting hypotheses to assess the feasibility of improved land uses. Settlers in the Amazon practice slash-and-burn agriculture in forest lands to produce annual crops. After cropping, lands are converted to pasture, or planted with perennial crops, or fallowed in anticipation of future annual crop production. Land use after slash-and-burn cultivation in forest lands differed among the colonies examined. Whereas colonists in Pedro Peixoto converted lands to pasture for cattle production, settlers in Theobroma adopted a strategy encompassing both dual-purpose (milk and meat) cattle and perennial crop production. The more heterogeneous settlers in Pucallpa, who included small-scale cattle ranchers and riverine and forest slash-and-burn farmers, gave more importance to perennial crops. Hypotheses are suggested regarding the described land use differences, and implications for the adoption of agroforestry are discussed. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Agroforestry practices of non-industrial private forest landowners in Washington State

A mail survey was conducted to gain understanding of the agroforestry practices of non-industrial private forest landowners (NIPF) in Washington State, located in the north-western USA. Although NIPF owners control 1.5 million hectares of the state's commercial forestland base, their diversity of forestland uses, land management practices and objectives as land managers are not well understood. Past NIPF surveys and anecdotal information suggest agroforestry is a major use of NIPF lands. We defined agroforestry as a potentially sustainable land use practice combining the deliberate growing of woody perennials with agricultural crops and/or animals. Objectives of this study were to:

1. determine the extent that agroforestry is used by Washington's NIPF owners,
2. develop insight into NIPF owners' motivations for practicing agroforestry,
3. describe the agroforestry practices within three distinct physiographic and agroecological zones in Washington, and
4. determine the agroforestry information needs of NIPF owners.

The target population consisted of NIPF owners in 4 counties within each of the three regions. Response to the August 1990 mail survey was 63.5%, yielding 296 useable questionnaires. Fifty-seven percent of all respondents practice agroforestry. Forestland grazing is the most common agroforestry practice (39% of all respondents), followed by windbreaks (34%), harvest of special forest products (12%), livestock enrichment plantings for forage or shelter (7%), orchard grazing (5%), orchard intercropping (2%), and Christmas tree grazing (0.34%). The most frequent motives for owning land were passing land on to children (80%), keeping it natural and income from timber (both 72%). Respondents saw aesthetics (77%), increasing land unit income (74%), and water conservation (70%) as possible advantages of practicing agroforestry. High establishment costs (66%) and livestock damage to trees or crops (64%) were the most frequently selected potential disadvantages to practicing agroforestry. Lack of technical and educational support (67%) and lack of access to livestock/livestock facilities (58%) were disincentives to practicing agroforestry. Landowners are interested in learning more about agroforestry and how agroforestry techniques might be incorporated in their land management tool kit. A significant number of non-industrial private forest land owners in Washington believe that management of forestland, balancing conservation and production goals, can be furthered by suitable agroforestry practices.     

农林业系统工程与农桐间作的结构模式

国名{造林树种}一’造林方式及生长量}备注日·…::‘“馨双__…一煲忿童筹;嘿哼6万株’当‘产量…力口重物髻翼子矗羹羹、‘材二….按树.….2。竺鬓:;:,收获后萌.芽更‘,年均生长‘…生一 …·…·短轮伐期:伐期l。·,株行足巨3·3。,预计·… 卜、…、卿咖,树高‘sm,年均生长歇。一30ms/ha。{ }}超短轮伐期:伐期l一3年,株行距。.3xo.gm,}用于造纸工业,也适用于 加拿大}白杨{{ }…干物质年均生长量为15t/hao{能源。 {{中短轮伐期’伐翔5一6年,“固氮植物混植,} {{收获后萌芽更新。}一…鬓:羹攫、!方翼二熏轰氨“;!Zt/ha。开展栽植密度、育…     

Global and European policies to foster agricultural sustainability: agroforestry

Agroforestry is a sustainable land management system recognized worldwide but not implemented in a extensive form in temperate and developed countries. Agroforestry has been promoted in the last decades at global level as it provides more efficient and sustainable farming systems. This review aims at summarizing the main research findings explaining why agroforestry is a sustainable land management that fulfils and is affected by different Global, Pan-European and European policies as well as how innovation is currently fostered in Europe, therefore linking research, policy and innovation. This review specially targets researchers and policy makers working in integrated land systems. There is a global and European recognition of the role that agroforestry can play to provide products but also to deliver highly important ecosystem services. However, the promotion of agroforestry practices at European level is still not well addressed by the Common Agricultural Policy. The clear identification of agroforestry practices, the link of management plans to establish agroforestry pursuing a final eligible tree density for the Pillar I payments should be addressed as initial steps to foster agroforestry in Europe. There is a lack of knowledge transfer that promotes agroforestry at field level, which should be approached by using stakeholder integration within the policy development as it is currently done by the EIP-Agri.

     

Agroforestry in Europe: a review of the disappearance of traditional systems and development of modern agroforestry practices, with emphasis on experiences in Germany

Agroforestry is a new name for a rather old practice. From a historical point of view, various agroforestry systems existed in Europe, of which the wood pastures (Neolithicum), the Dehesas in Spain (~4,500 years old) and the Hauberg of the Siegerland (established in the Middle Age) are the most prominent. Other widespread systems in Europe were hedgerows, windbreaks and Streuobst (orchard intercropping). Due to mechanisation and intensification of agriculture, trees have been progressively removed from agricultural fields and traditional agroforestry systems slowly disappeared. Today, agroforestry systems are again increasing in interest as they offer the potential to solve important ecological and, especially, biodiversity problems, while at the same time enabling the production of food, wood products and fodder for cattle. Although agroforestry systems offer many advantages, many farmers are sceptical of these systems and are critical and risk-averse with regard to adopting new practices. However, in comparison to traditional systems, modern agroforestry systems can be adapted to current farming practices. By selecting suitable trees and appropriate tree management, high-quality timber can be produced without influencing agricultural crops excessively. In future, agroforestry systems will become increasingly important as they offer the prospect of producing woody perennials for bioenergy on the same land area as food and/or fodder plants, while enhancing overall biodiversity.     

Soil productivity,soil conservation and land evaluation

ICRAF's main contributions to research related to soils have been a symposium, Soils Research in Agroforestry; a review of soil productivity aspects of agroforestry; a further review of the potential of agroforestry for soil conservation, covering both erosion control and maintenance of fertility; the construction of a computerized model to predict soil changes under agroforestry systems; and a handbook of practical methods of agroforestry for soil and water conservation in dryland Africa. In research on land evaluation, an environmental data base has been established, leading to a capacity to obtain information, for environmental conditions similar to those of a given site or area, on publications, multipurpose trees, crops, existing agroforestry systems and current experimental work. Land evaluation for agroforestry cannot be achieved merely by synthesis of methods from agriculture and forestry, but will require more data on the performance of agroforestry land utilization types. Recognition of problems of environmental degradation has become an integral part of planning for agroforestry research. By means of a partial synthesis between land evaluation and diagnosis and design, a procedure of site selection for agroforestry research and development has been established.Principal Scientist, ICRAF     

林业的集约经营与发展农林复合经营

农林复合经营是一种充分利用自然力的劳动密集型集约经营方式。作者认为它适合中国国情,是一种切实可行的促进林业发展的途径,文中还详细介绍了中国农林复合经营中的成功范例。     

Agroforestry practice and policy in the United States of America

Agroforestry practices and the policies influencing development and adoption within the United States are reviewed. Agroforestry is defined as ‘intensive land-management systems that optimize the benefits from biological interactions created when trees and/or shrubs are deliberately combined with crops and/or livestock’. The five agroforestry systems identified as having importance in the US are tree-agronomic crop systems (alley cropping and intercropping), riparian vegetative buffer strip systems, tree-animal systems (silvopasturing), forest/speciality crop systems (forest farming) and windbreak systems (shelterbelts). A lack of federal policy relating specifically to agroforestry exists. If agroforestry is to achieve its full potential in the United States, adequate financial, institutional and technical support for its development must be provided.     

农用林业及其与社会林业的关系

本文论述了在用林业的概念及分类,以及农用林业与社会林业的关系,农用林业是一独立学科,没有社会林业的介入,农用林业照样生存。农用林业是社会林业的基础,社会林业又是农用林业及其用户—农民的中间桥梁。     

Agroforestry education and training in European institutions

Integrated land uses, many now referred to as agroforestry, have a long history in Europe. In the past, the main trend was the movement of agricultural and pastoral activities into forests. The introduction of trees into non-forested (or once forested) lands is a much more recent occurrence, particularly the cultivation of high value fruit and nut trees in the Mediterranean countries, hedgerows/windbreaks in northwestern Europe and windbreaks in eastern Europe and the southern Soviet Union. Environmental concerns of intensive agriculture are increasing the demand for alternate production systems such as agroforestry. Education and training in agroforestry in Europe is very diverse because of the country specific issues regarding land use.     

豫东平原杨农复合系统物质生产与碳截存

农林复合系统由于林分、农作物和土壤之间的相互作用而对储藏和固定碳具有巨大的潜力.其已经成为减少大气CO2浓度、解决全球气候变暖问题的重要土地利用方式之一,将会对陆地生物圈中通量的输入和碳的长期贮藏产生重要的影响.对豫东平原农区5,9,11和13年4个不同林龄的杨农间作复合系统的生物量、生产力和碳截存量进行测定和研究,结果表明:豫东平原农区5,9,11和13年4个不同年龄段的杨农间作复合系统的总生物量分别为33.03,103.06,124.30和154.60 t·hm-2.4个年龄的杨农间作复合系统平均净生产力分别为19.95,29.30,33.24和56.94t·hm-2a-1.豫东平原农区5,9,11和13年4个年龄的杨农间作复合系统总碳截存量分别达到了19.86,52.42,62.45和76.44 t·hm-2.     

Agroforestry systems recover tree carbon stock faster than natural succession in Eastern Amazon,Brazil

Agroforestry Systems - The potential of agroforestry systems (AFS) for atmospheric carbon sequestration in degraded tropical lands is of key interest for climate change and rural development...     

A knowledge-based expert system for planning and design of agroforestry systems

Computer-based Expert Systems that use knowledge, facts, and reasoning techniques to solve problems, normally requiring the abilities of human experts, are increasingly being used in many activities. The United Nations University (UNU) Agroforestry Expert System (AES) is a first attempt to apply this technique to agroforestry. UNU-AES is a prototype Knowledge-Based Expert System (KBES) designed to support land-use (agricultural, forestry, etc.) officials, research scientists, farmers, and individuals interested in maximizing benefits gained from applying agroforestry management techniques in developing countries. This prototype addresses the options for alley cropping, a promising agroforestry technology which has potential applicability when used under defined conditions in the tropics and subtropics. Alley cropping involves the planting of crops in alleys or interspaces between repeatedly pruned hedgerows of fast-growing, preferably leguminous, woody perennials. The primary benefits from this technique include nutrient enrichment, soil improvement, and erosion control. UNU-AES, which is the first known attempt at the application of expert system procedures in the field of agroforestry, uses a total of 235 decision rules to develop its recommendations. With the inclusion of more climatic and socio-economic data and improved advisory recommendations, UNU-AES can be expanded to provide advice on alley cropping in more diverse geographical and ecological conditions and eventually address other agroforestry techniques.     

Participatory agroforestry development for restoring degraded sloping land in DPR Korea

Participatory approaches in agroforestry combine land, labor, and knowledge, by blending local experience with external expert support for sloping land restoration. We describe and analyze over a decade of bottom-up agroforestry development processes that today are influencing national policies. In the 1990s, after economic upheaval following the collapse of trade with the USSR (Soviet Union) rapid conversion of sloping lands to agriculture, in association with heavy rainfall events, caused widespread erosion and landslides. In response, pilot scale ??user groups?? obtained rights-to-use, rights-to-harvest and rights-to-plan or access to sloping lands for tree products and food. All three rights were novel in the DPR Korea and jointly contributed to success, together with active research support. Innovations in double-cropping annual food crops together with non-competitive contour strips of valuable fruits (aronia berry: Aronia melanocarpa) and/or high-value timber (larch: Larix leptolepis) emerged as preferred local agroforestry systems. Broad support for agroforestry practices has now emerged within the Ministry of Land and Environmental Protection as well as a number of universities and research centres. Further development will require increased engagement with agricultural and horticultural agencies, while the social dimensions of participatory agroforestry continue to provide rich learning.