Agroforestry

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Parkland in Burkina Faso: Sorghum grown under Faidherbia albida and Borassus akeassii near Banfora, Burkina Faso

Agroforestry is an agricultural approach of using the interactive benefits from combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock. It combines agriculture and forestry technologies to create more integrated, diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems.^[1]

1 Definitions
2 Impact
3 Alley cropping
4 See also
5 References
6 Footnotes
7 External links

[edit] Definitions

"Agroforestry is a collective name for land use systems and practices in which woody perennials are deliberately integrated with crops and/or animals on the same land management unit. The integration can be either in a spatial mixture or in a temporal sequence. There are normally both ecological and economic interactions between woody and non-woody components in agroforestry". -World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) 1993

It means that trees are intentionally used within agricultural systems. Knowledge, careful selection of species and good management of trees and crops are needed to maximize the production and positive effects of trees and to minimize negative competitive effects on crops.

Alternatively, agroforestry might be defined as simply: trees on farms [1]. Hence, agroforestry, farm forestry and family forestry can be broadly understood as the commitment of farmers, alone or in partnerships, towards the establishment and management of forests on their land. Where many landholders are involved the result is a diversity of activity that reflects the diversity of aspirations and interests within the community.

[edit] Impact

Biodiversity in agroforestry systems is typically higher than in conventional agricultural systems. Agroforestry incorporates at least several plant species into a given land area and creates a more complex habitat that can support a wider variety of birds, insects, and other animals. Agroforestry also has the potential to help reduce climate change since trees take up and store carbon at a faster rate than crop plants.

[edit] Alley cropping

Alley cropping or Intercropping is a strategy used by farmers to combat soil erosion. In this method, several crops are planted together in strips or alleys between trees and shrubs. This design provides shade (reducing water loss from evaporation), ensures retention of soil moisture, and can also produce fruit, fuelwood, fodder, or trimmings to be made into mulch.