What are the advantages of agroforestry?
- #1 Soil fertility and closed nutrient cycles Soils are under enormous pressure. ...
- #2 Control of soil salinity ...
- #3 Prevention of runoff, better water management and cleaner groundwater ...
- #4 Stabilization of soils and microclimate ...
- #5 Lower input of agrochemicals ...
- #6 Improvement of wildlife and pollinator habitat ...
- #7 Remediation of polluted soils ...
- #8 Provision of diverse products and poverty reduction ...
What are the disadvantages of agroforestry?
What are the disadvantages of agroforestry?
- Labor intensive system. A successful agroforestry system requires adequate knowledge, planning and periodic tree maintenance.
- Long waiting time for payback. There are very few downsides to agroforestry. ...
- Limited possibilities to sell products. ...
- Lack of legal support for agroforestry farmers. ...
- Knowledge and technology intensive method. ...
What are the general principles of agroforestry?
Basic Principles of Agroforestry Minimize competition between the plants: This can be achieved by planting them in such a way that they are not using the... Maximize complementarity among the plants: Complementarity and competition depend on the root system of the crops and...
What are the types of agroforestry?
Types of agroforestry practices
- Agri-silvicultural systems The components in these systems are the crops and tree crops that are intercropped between the trees. ...
- Silvopastoral System In Silvopastoral systems; Woody plants are used to grow pasture. ...
- Agrosilvopastoral systems
Does agroforestry conserve trees?
Agroforestry is a management system that combines agriculture and trees to address conservation needs and build more profitable and weather-resilient farms, ranches and communities. Agroforestry practices provide opportunities to integrate productivity and profitability with environmental stewardship resulting in healthy and sustainable agricultural systems that can be passed on to future ...
What additional benefits does agroforestry?
Agroforestry practices can be designed to:protect soil, animals, crops, and homes from extreme weather.improve water quality.produce jobs and income.produce products (food, fiber, bioenergy, wood, floral and medicinal/botanical products, and more)improve pollinator habitat.More items...
How does agroforestry help the economy?
Three general economic benefits are typically ascribed to agroforestry: (1) spreading (sharing) of fixed costs because of the joint-production relation- ship; (2) reducing the initial time period required to produce income from land devoted exclusively to tree production; and (3) diversifying income sources, in effect ...
How is agroforestry profitable?
Growing farmer profitability: In addition to enhancing land productivity, practicing agroforestry diversifies revenue streams for farmers. Trees are permanent crops that produce high-margin fruits, nuts, timber, and biomass - generating up to eight times more profit than a traditional row crop operation.
What problems does agroforestry solve?
These agroforestry practices are used to enhance crop and livestock production; protect soil, air, and water quality; provide wildlife habitat; and diversify income sources. Figure 1. Categories of common agroforestry practices used in the United States.
Is agroforestry good for environment?
The environmental benefit of the agroforestry are the protection of soils and water resources, micro climate, sequestration of carbon, and the high degree of spontaneous regeneration which allow conservation of a proportion of the original forest biodiversity.
How is agroforestry sustainable?
Agroforestry integrates crops, trees and livestock in the same area and at the same time. Together these components can create long-lasting sustainable farming practices which can provide short-, medium-, and long-range economic, environmental and social benefits for farmers.
What are the methods of agroforestry?
There are three main types of agroforestry systems: Agrisilvicultural systems are a combination of crops and trees, such as alley cropping or homegardens. Silvopastoral systems combine forestry and grazing of domesticated animals on pastures, rangelands or on-farm.
What is agroforestry in agriculture?
Simply defined, agroforestry is the intentional integration of woody vegetation, such as trees and shrubs, with crops and/or livestock simultaneously or sequentially on a land management unit.
What is the relationship between agriculture and agroforestry?
Agroforestry is an agricultural approach based on the diversification of the agroecosystem production components (woody perennials, such as trees or shrubs, plus crops and/or livestock) and on the intensification of the agroecological relationships between these components.
What are disadvantages of agroforestry?
Disadvantages of Agroforestry With such diverse use, day-to-day farming issues are far more complex than in a straight forestry operation or monoculture farm. In addition, agro- forests often see reduced yields as the smaller crops compete with the trees for light, water and nutrients from the soil.
Where is agroforestry used?
Agroforestry Farming Systems Forest farming operations grow food, herbal, botanical, or decorative crops under a forest canopy that is managed to provide ideal shade levels as well as other products. Forest farming is also called multi-story cropping.
Where is agroforestry most common?
tropicsAlthough it is also found in the U.S., Europe, and Australia, agroforestry is predominantly practiced in the tropics and sub-tropics.
What are the disadvantages of agroforestry?
Limitations of Agroforestrypossible competition of trees with food crops for space, sunlight, moisture and nutrients which may reduce food crop yield;damage to food crop during tree harvest operation;potential of trees to serve as hosts to insect pests that are harmful to food crops; and.More items...•
What are the agroforestry practices?
Description of the Agroforestry Practices. The components of the dominant agroforestry system (AFS) practiced by the farmers are mainly woody perennials (forest and fruit trees) and agricultural crops (rice, vegetables, tobacco) with grass in fallow areas.
What are the types of agroforestry?
There are three basic types of Agroforestry systems viz: Agrisilviculture (Crops + trees), silvopastoral (Pasture/animal + trees); and Agrosilvopastoral (crops + pasture + trees).
Why is agroforestry important?
Agroforestry systems have capacity to simultaneously generate food, biomass and raw products that can be utilized in other economic activities. They encourage diversification of the rural economy and create new socio-economic opportunities for rural populations, especially for the world’s poorest that are often challenged by the lack of jobs and resources.
How does agroforestry help the environment?
There are two ways how agroforestry helps to address problems that are contributing to climate change. Agroforestry systems: 1 sequester atmospheric carbon; 2 reduce deforestation, restore degraded lands and biodiversity.
What is agroforestry system?
Modern agroforestry finds its roots in development issues stemming from the 1970s, as a response to social and environmental downsides of high input agricultural practices on the poor populations.
What are the disadvantages of agroforestry?
Agroforestry systems can be as diverse as natural ecosystems are. What works on one farm, may not work on another farm. The combination of crops, animals and tree species interacts in complex ways that can be difficult to predict.
How do trees help soil fertility?
When managed well, trees have a great capacity of maintaining soil fertility by building up organic matter and mediating nutrient cycling. In fact, soils in agroforestry systems are richer in nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and organic carbon [4].
Why is land infertile?
More than 900 million hectares of land worldwide is infertile because of high soil salinity [8]. This land cannot sustain common crops and is often abandoned. But one of the main reasons why the salt content in soils increases is irrigation-dependent agriculture in areas with drier climate.
How much of the world's land has trees?
The analysis of the World Agroforestry Centre revealed that 46 percent of the world’s agricultural land had at least 10 percent tree cover, which represents more than 10 million square kilometers (almost 4 million square miles) of land being managed under some agroforestry system [3].
Why is agroforestry important?
Agroforestry landscapes also provide plenty of corridors for wildlife to move between habitats: crucial when it comes to foraging and breeding. 4. Better for the planet. If we are to feed a growing world population, we need to think of clever solutions that can deliver food from sustainable and resilient sources.
How does agroforestry help the environment?
This is a way to increase crop yields, while also benefitting the environment in the following ways: 1. Resilient and sustainable food production. Agroforestry mimics natural ecosystems far more closely than monocultures do, where one single crop is grown over large areas of land.
How does agroforestry support farm businesses?
Diversified cropping through agroforestry can support farm businesses to operate throughout the year and avoid the peaks and troughs of seasonal demands and therefore providing a source of year round income.
How does agroforestry work?
Agroforestry works because it’s farming in 3D – the roots reach deep into the ground to cycle nutrients and store carbon, while above ground, the trees protect crops and animals against the elements.
Why are trees important to farmers?
Increased productivity. Trees add an extra crop that gives the farmer protection against poor harvests. Fruit, nuts or timber can provide an alternative income stream if the main crop fails due to unlucky circumstances such as wet summers or mild winters.
Why are extra habitats important?
In some trials, these extra habitats have even helped with pest control, because they act as a home for “friendly predators”, who combat some of the pests that would otherwise eat or destroy crops.
Can wildlife be used in the landscape?
Wildlife has an equal right to the landscape as we do. If farmers can get the same yield out of a smaller field through agroforestry, the rest of the space could be used to plant extra trees and hedgerows to house wildlife.
How does agroforestry help?
Agroforestry enhances the internal uilization of resources which makes the enterprise more independent from expensive external inputs. By implementing agroforestry it is possible to reduce external dependency and regain control to pursue the ventures that is right for you.
How does agroforestry help the environment?
Agroforestry improve soil health and watersheds, which in turn increases the resilience of the land. This helps to reduce the impact extreme weather like droughts and floods have on the enterprise. Adapt your farm to more extreme climate through agroforestry and lower your risks.
What is soil in agriculture?
Soil is a farmers greatest resource. Soil is a system of complex organic and inorganic components that provide invaluable services to the enterprise and society. From storage of carbon and water to nutrient cycles – The soil food web creates enormous value. Trees and shrubs have a unique relationship with soil microbes and fungi. This is also the case in agroforestry systems where the presence of trees and shrubs increase SOC, water retention, nutrient availability and various other processes either directly or through their symbiosis with microbes and fungi.
How does agroforestry help the environment?
On an environmental level, agroforestry’s ability to help prevent soil erosion while simultaneously aiding water retention and promoting soil fertility could help provide a solution for areas where rainfall is irregular or might become irregular due to climate change while dense plantations of trees would also help absorb CO2 and regulate local temperature.
How does agroforestry affect land use?
Agro forestry can augment soil water availability to land use systems . In dry regions, though, competition between trees and crops is a major problem.
How do trees increase nutrient inputs to agroforestry systems?
Trees can probably increase nutrient inputs to agro forestry systems by retrieval from lower soil horizons and weathering rock.
How does decomposition of tree residues affect nutrient uptake?
The release of nutrients from the decomposition of tree residues can be synchronized with the requirements for nutrient uptake of associated crops. While different trees and crops will all have different requirement, and there will always be some imbalance, the addition of high quality pruning to the soil at the time of crop planting usually leads to a good degree of synchrony between nutrient release and demand.
What is agroforestry science?
Scientifically speaking, agroforestry is derived from ecology and is one of the three principal land-use sciences, the other two being agriculture and forestry. Agroforestry differs from the latter two principals by placing an emphasis on integration of and interactions among a combination of elements rather than just focusing on each element individually.
What is the role of roots in agroforestry?
In the maintenance of soil fertility under agro forestry, the role of roots is at least as important as that of above-ground biomass.
Why do trees help lower water tables?
Trees help to lower water tables, acting as pumps to take up water from the soil and then evaporating it to the atmosphere.
