Agroforestry

Agroforestry is a way of using land that mixes growing trees with crops or animals. It brings together ideas from farming and taking care of forests. In agroforestry, people can grow wood for building, fruits, nuts, mushrooms, medicine, and beautiful plants, as well as raise animals.

People use agroforestry because it helps in many ways. It can make farms more productive, keep the environment healthy, and help farmers feel safer from problems. Agroforestry can also make farms more beautiful, increase profits, stop soil from washing away, give homes to wild animals, reduce pollution, and help the soil stay strong.

This way of farming is common in warm places, especially in parts of Africa where families grow food on small pieces of land. Because it has many good points, such as helping plants get nutrients and dealing with dry times, places like the United States and Europe have started using it too.

Definition

Agroforestry is a way of farming that mixes trees with crops or animals on the same land. It helps the plants and animals work together in helpful ways, copying how forests naturally grow. This method can include many different plants and animals, making the land healthier and more productive.

Ecology is the study of how plants, animals, and the world around them interact. It helps us understand how to take care of our environment. When we use ecology in farming, called agroecology, we make sure our farming is good for the planet and for people. This means growing food in ways that are healthy for the earth and for communities, not just for making money.

History and scientific study

The word "agroforestry" was first used in 1973 by a Canadian forester named John Bene, but the idea of combining trees with farming has been around for thousands of years. People have been using trees and plants together in smart ways long before scientists started studying it.

Many communities, especially those close to forests, have used agroforestry for centuries. For example, some groups in California used controlled burns to keep their forests healthy and provide better homes for plants and animals. In parts of the world near the tropics, people have created "home gardens" with many different kinds of trees and crops growing together. These gardens can include up to 25 different types of plants in a very small space!

In 1929, a book called Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture suggested that farming could change to use more trees, especially on land that isn’t good for regular farming. By 2025, about 55 million hectares of land in 91 countries were used for agroforestry, with most of it in Asia, especially in India and Indonesia.

Benefits

Agroforestry has many benefits. It can make farms more productive and profitable while helping the land. It protects soil from washing away, creates homes for animals, and helps keep the land healthy.

Agroforestry supports many different plants and animals by providing many places for them to live. It also helps keep soil in good condition and can reduce pollution in water. This way of farming can help meet our needs without harming the environment, and it can even help us deal with changes in the weather. Trees can also help capture carbon from the air, which is good for the planet.

Tropical

See also: Applications of agroforestry

Trees in agroforestry systems can produce wood, fruits, nuts, and other useful products. Agroforestry is very common in tropical areas, especially in small farms in places like sub-Saharan Africa.

Research with a special tree called Faidherbia albida in Zambia showed that farmers can grow more maize when they plant these trees among their crops. With the right number of trees, they got much more maize than farms without trees.

Hillside systems

One well-known agroforestry system is found in the Lempira Department of Honduras. This area used to have farming methods that hurt the soil. Heavy rains would wash away the soil, leaving it dry and useless. People had to move their farms every few years. With help from experts, a new system was created:

1. Thin and prune small forests on hillsides, keeping useful trees that help the soil.
2. Plant maize, a common local crop.
3. After harvesting, plant beans. The maize stalks help the beans grow.
4. Plant pumpkins to give extra shade and keep moisture in the soil.
5. Every few seasons, let cattle graze to add nutrients to the soil.
6. Repeat these steps.

Kuojtakiloyan

The kuojtakiloyan of Mexico is a special way to grow many plants together in a jungle-like setting. It includes avocadoes, sweet potatoes, cinnamon, black cherries, and many other useful plants. This system helps provide food, medicine, and other resources while caring for the environment. It comes from the knowledge of local people and helps keep nature balanced.

Kuojtakiloyan is a term meaning 'useful forest'. It is used by people in the Sierra Norte of the State of Puebla, Mexico. This system grows many plants together, such as avocados, sweet potatoes, cinnamon, black cherries, and citrus fruits. It also includes wild mushrooms and herbs. Some plants are grown for their fibers or to make structures. Coffee is often grown in the shade of these trees, which helps the coffee grow better. Bees are also encouraged because they pollinate the plants and provide honey and other products.

Shade crops

Some crops are grown under the shade of trees. This protects the crops and can improve their quality. For example, shade-grown coffee tastes better and needs less weeding. In places like Sumatra, coffee is grown together with durian and papaya to help protect natural areas.

Alley cropping

Main article: Alley cropping

In alley cropping, rows of crops are planted between rows of trees or bushes. The trees are often cut before planting crops, and their leaves are spread to give nutrients to the soil. The trees also protect the crops from wind and help prevent soil erosion. In tropical parts of North and South America, special trees like Inga are used for this purpose.

Syntropic systems

Syntropic agroforestry is an organic farming method developed in Brazil. It tries to copy how natural forests work to create productive lands that give food, help the environment, and provide other forest products. This system uses dense planting, quick cutting of fast-growing plants to add nutrients, and ways to keep more water in the soil. It started in tropical Brazil but has been tried in other places to restore soil and ecosystems.

The main ideas of syntropic systems include better water absorption in soil, higher productivity on tough land, and more balanced soil temperatures.

Temperate

Agroforestry, which combines trees with farming, is useful in many places, including the US and Europe. It helps with things like keeping soil healthy and dealing with dry spells.

The United States Department of Agriculture lists five ways to use agroforestry in cooler areas. These are alley cropping, forest farming, riparian forest buffers, silvopasture, and windbreaks.

Alley cropping

Alley cropping works well in cooler climates too. In alley cropping, trees are planted in single rows between crops. This helps give nutrients to the crops and protects them from strong winds and soil loss.

Forest farming

Forest farming grows valuable plants under trees. This is also called multi-story cropping. It needs some care and management, but it lets people grow many useful plants together.

Riparian forest buffers

Riparian buffers are strips of plants along rivers or ditches. They help keep dirt and nutrients out of the water.

Silvopasture

In silvopasture, animals like cows, goats, or sheep eat grass that grows under trees. This helps both the animals and the trees.

The dehesa or montado system in Spain and Portugal is a good example, where pigs and bulls live in large areas.

Windbreaks

Windbreaks are rows of trees that block strong winds. This helps crops grow better by keeping them from drying out or being blown over.

Urban

Urban agroforestry uses the ideas of agroforestry in cities and nearby areas where nature doesn't always work as well. It means putting trees, bushes, and crops together in places like backyards, parks, and streets to grow food and other useful things.

The UN says that urban agroforestry can help cities in many ways. It can make cities cooler during hot weather by giving shade and releasing cool air. It also helps keep air clean and manage water better. These green spaces can give people fresh food, help wildlife, and create places for people to relax and learn about nature. However, setting up urban agroforestry can be hard because it costs money and needs care over many years. Cities also have challenges like hot temperatures, dirty soils, and limited space for these projects.

Forest gardening

Forest gardening is a simple way to grow food by mixing fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines, and vegetables together in layers, like a small forest. This method has been used since ancient times, especially in warm places. In the 1980s, a man named Robert Hart started using this idea in cooler climates, showing that it can work almost anywhere.

People have used forest gardens for thousands of years. They are common in tropical areas and places like south India, Indonesia, and Mexico. These gardens grow many different plants together, which helps keep the soil healthy and provides a lot of food and other useful things. Some people even compare forest gardens to the Garden of Eden because they are so full of life and growth.

The Agroforestry Research Trust runs experiments with forest gardens in the United Kingdom. They show that growing food this way needs less work and helps the environment. Other people, like Ken Fern, have created lists of plants that grow well together in these gardens. Books and films about forest gardening have been written by people who love this way of growing food.

Many places around the world have forest garden projects. For example, there is one on the border of Belize and Guatemala that shows old farming methods. In the United States, there is a big food forest in Seattle, Washington. In Canada, people in British Columbia and Ontario have also started forest gardens. In the United Kingdom, there are projects in Wales, and in Spain, near Barcelona, people are testing small forest gardens to learn more about them.

Forest farming

Forest farming is growing special crops, like plants and fungi, under trees. These trees give shade and help the crops grow better. Forest farming is a type of agroforestry, which means mixing trees with farming. It is done in a planned, careful, and smart way.

People have used forest farming for a long time. They have eaten fruits, nuts, and leaves from trees and bushes for years. In 1929, a teacher named J. Russell Smith wrote a book saying that trees could give food for animals and help the environment. A person named Toyohiko Kagawa in Japan started growing crops under trees in the 1930s. He planted trees that gave food for animals and sold the animals for money. Later, other people around the world started doing the same thing.

Forest farming can help the soil, water, and land. It can also give people food and wood. Today, animals are not always part of forest farming. Instead, people focus on growing plants under the trees.

Permaculture is a way of managing land to help nature. It started in the 1970s in Australia. Permaculture uses nature’s ways to grow food. One part of permaculture is the food forest, where different layers of plants grow together to make a garden that feeds people. Food forests can be in many places and are good for the environment.

For thousands of years, Indigenous peoples have used smart farming ways. For example, the Maya people grew crops together so they help each other. Today, many people are using these old ways again to help the planet and grow food in cities too.