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.