Abstract
Planted forests are often considered to consist of tree plantings at a scale large enough to satisfy such objectives as commercial production of timber and fiber, protection of watersheds, and preservation of natural habitats. However, trees are planted also at greatly reduced scales in agroforestry systems or as community woodlots to provide a mixture of products and services to resident households, local communities, and regional cultures.
Agroforestry systems represent a major form of small-scale tree planting, where trees are grown in purposeful combinations with agricultural crops and/or livestock in order to take advantage of tree-crop interactions, and thereby enhance crop production, diversify farm output, stabilize or improve soils, or ameliorate harsh environmental conditions. Some important examples of these systems in tropical countries include homegardens, alley cropping, improved fallows, intercropped trees for shade and fodder production, and trees planted in hedgerows and along fence lines. Throughout the tropics, there is a large variety of indigenous practices and species mixtures that represent adaptations of these systems to meet localized needs and opportunities. Research and development programs have supported the expansion and refinement of many of these systems during the last 20 years, but substantial constraints on tree planting still exist in the form of land-tenure practices, population pressures that relegate agroforestry practices to degraded lands, subsistence needs that prevent extended periods of tree growth, and insufficient technical information or technology dissemination.
Agroforestry systems in temperate, industrialized countries include combinations of trees, pasture, and livestock; fruit or nut trees interplanted with vegetable or grain crops; windbreaks and shelterbelts; multispecies riparian buffer strips; and forest farming systems for specialty crops. Compared to the tropics, however, temperate-zone systems tend to focus on one or two high-value crops, often involve some level of mechanization, and frequently represent an opportunistic approach to improving the economic profitability of farms rather than meeting subsistence needs. In both tropical and temperate regions, agroforestry systems and community woodlots will be an important component of new sustainable agriculture and environmental protection programs.
Although species diversity is an essential feature of all agroforestry systems, community forests generally involve planting only a few species in small woodlots near farms, around villages, along roads, and as riparian buffers. Provincial or state governments and the local populace are often involved in landownership and plantation establishment. Major objectives of these forests are production of fuelwood for local consumption and of other tree products for market; soil stabilization, reclamation, or improvement; and protection of water quality. As with many other planted forests, the number of species widely used in community forests has been relatively small, with the genera Eucalyptus, Pinus, and Acacia providing the bulk of the species. Major issues with these “planted forests” focus on rights for use of the products, tending responsibilities once trees are established, protection until trees are large enough for their designated use, increasing interest in using “native” species, and greater community involvement in planning and management.
Trees planted along streets and waterways, or as woodlots in parks and other public places, represent a major group of planted forests in many urban and periurban landscapes. In addition to providing many of the same environmental services that agroforests and community forests do, these urban plantings have unique aesthetic and recreational value. For much of the world's ever-increasing urban population, these may be the only tangible reference points for understanding planted forests.
These relatively little-recognized forms of planted forests -- planted trees, to be more appropriate -- are now receiving much greater attention. There are, however, some serious technical and sociopolitico-institutional constraints to their development as more widely adopted systems in both tropical and temperate regions.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agboola, A.A., Wilson, G.F. and Yamoah Getahun, A. 1982. Gliricidia sepium: A possible means to sustained cropping, pp. 141–143. In: MacDonald, L.H. (Ed) Agroforestry in the African Humid Tropics. United Nations University, Tokyo.
Alvim, R. and Nair, P.K.R. 1986. Combination of cacao with other plantation crops: An agroforestry system in southeastern Bahia, Brazil. Agrofor. Syst. 4: 3–15.
Arnold, J.E.M. 1992. Policy issues related to the role of trees in rural income and welfare security, pp. 15–32. In: Gregersen, H., Oram, P. and Spears, J. (Eds) Priorities for Forestry and Agroforestry Policy Research: Report of an International Workshop. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC.
Baumer, M. 1987. Agroforesterie et désertificatión. Centre Technique de Coopération Agricole et Rurale, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Bavappa, K.V.A., Nair, M.K. and Kumar, R.P. 1982. The Arecanut Palm (Areca catechu Linn). Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod, India.
Benneh, G. 1972. Systems of agriculture in tropical Africa. Econ. Geogr. 48(3): 244–257.
Boonkird, S.A., Fernandez, E.C.M. and Nair, P.K.R. 1984. Forest villages: An agroforestry approach to rehabilitating forest land degraded by shifting cultivation in Thailand. Agrofor. Syst. 2: 87–108.
Bruce, J.W., Rudrappa, S. and Zongmin, L. 1995. Experimenting with approaches to common property forestry in China. Unasylva 180 46: 44–49.
Budowski, G. 1987. The development of agroforestry in Central America, pp. 69–88. In: Steppler, H.A. and Nair, P.K.R. (Eds) Agroforestry: A Decade of Development. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Byington, E.K. 1990. Agroforestry in the temperate zone, pp. 228–289. In: MacDicken, K.G. and Vergara, N.T. (Eds) Agroforestry Classification and Management. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Campbell, G.W., Lottes, G.J. and Dawson, J.O. 1991. Design and development of agroforestry systems for Illinois, USA: Silvicultural and economic considerations. Agrofor. Syst. 13: 203–224.
Chew, S. 1989. Agroforestry Projects for Small Farmers: A Project Manager's Reference. Special Study No. 59. United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC.
Conklin, H.C. 1980. Ethnographic Atlas of Ifuagao: A Study of Environment, Culture and Society in Northern Luzon. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Dangerfield, C.W., Jr. and Harwell, R.L. 1990. An analysis of a silvopastoral system for marginal land in the southeast United States. Agrofor. Syst. 10: 187–197.
Dijkman, M.J. 1950. Leucaena - a promising soil erosion control plant. Econ. Bot. 4: 337–347.
Dwyer, J.F. and Schroeder, H.W. 1994. The human dimensions of urban forestry. J. For. 92(10): 12–15.
Ehrlich, M., Conway, F., Adrien, N., LeBeau, F., Lewis, L., Lauwerysen, H., Lowenthal, I., Mayda, Y., Paryski, P., Smucker, G., Talbot, J. and Wilcox, E. 1987. Haiti: Country Environmental Profile. United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 1984. Changes in Shifting Cultivation in Africa. FAO Forestry Paper No. 50. FAO, Rome.
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). 1992. Mixed and Pure Forest Plantations in the Tropics and Subtropics. FAO Forestry Paper No. 103. FAO, Rome.
Fassbender, H.W., Beer, J., Heuveldop, J., Imbach, A., Enrique, G. and Bonnemann, A. 1991. Ten-year balances of organic matter and nutrients in agroforestry systems of CATIE, Costa Rica, pp. 173–183. In: Jarvis, P.G. (Ed) Agroforestry: Principles and Practice. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Fernandes, E.C.M. and Nair, P.K.R. 1986. An evaluation of the structure and function of tropical homegardens. Agri. Syst. 21: 279–310.
Follis, M.B. and Nair, P.K.R. 1994. Policy and institutional support for agroforestry: An analysis of two Ecuadorian case studies. Agrofor. Syst. 27: 223–240.
Garrett, H.E., Jones, J.E. and Slusher, J.P. 1989. Integrated forestry-farming (agroforestry) with eastern black walnut - a case study, pp. 248–259. In: Proceedings of the Fourth Black Walnut Symposium. Walnut Council, Indianapolis, IN.
Getahun, A., Wilson, G.F. and Kang, B.T. 1982. The role of trees in farming systems in the humid tropics, pp. 28–35. In: McDonald, L.H. (Ed) Agroforestry in the African Humid Tropics. United Nations University, Tokyo.
Gittinger, J. 1982. Economic Analysis of Agricultural Projects. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Gold, M.A. and Hanover, J.W. 1987. Agroforestry systems for the temperate zone. Agrofor. Syst. 5: 109–121.
Gregersen, H.M. and McGaughey, S.E. 1985. Improving Policies and Financing Mechanisms for Forestry Development. Economic and Social Development Department, Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC.
Gregersen, H., Draper, S. and Elz, D. 1989. People and Trees: The Role of Social Forestry in Sustainable Development. The World Bank, Washington, DC.
Gregersen, H.M., Oram, P. and Spears, J. 1992. Priorities for Forestry and Agroforestry Policy Research. International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC.
Gregersen, H., Arnold, J.E.M., Lundgren, A., Contreras, A., de Montalembert, M.R. and Gow, D. 1993. Assessing Forestry Project Impacts: Issues and Strategies. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Forestry Paper No. 114. FAO, Rome.
Harris, J.W. 1977. Publius Vergilius Maro on trees plus crops plus cattle. Farm For. 19(3): 83–86.
Hegde, N.G. 1987. Scope for increasing the profitability of social forestry programme, pp. 68–85. In: Khosla, P.K. and Kohli, R.K. (Eds) Social Forestry for Rural Development. Indian Society of Tree Scientists, Solan, H. P., India.
Hoskins, M.W. 1987. Agroforestry and the social milieu, pp. 191–203. In: Steppler, H.A. (Eds) Agroforestry: A Decade of Development. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Jama, B.A., Nair, P.K.R. and Rao, M.R. 1995. Productivity of hedgerow shrubs and maize under alley cropping systems in semiarid Kenya. Agrofor. Syst. 31: 257–274.
Jodha, N.S. 1995. Common property resources and the dynamics of rural poverty in India's dry regions. Unasylva 180 46: 23–29.
Johnson, D.V. and Nair, P.K.R. 1984. Perennial-crop based agroforestry systems in northeast Brazil. Agrofor. Syst. 2: 281–292.
Jordan, C.F., Gajaseni, J. and Watanabe, H. 1993. Taungya: Forest Plantations with Agriculture in Southeast Asia. CAB International, Wallingford, United Kingdom.
Kang, B.T., Wilson, G.F. and Sipkens, L. 1981. Alley cropping maize (Zea mays) and Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) in southern Nigeria. Plant Soil 63: 165–179.
Kang, B.T., Wilson, G.F. and Lawson, T.L. 1984. Alley Cropping: A Stable Alternative to Shifting Cultivation. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Kang, B.T., Reynolds, L. and Atta-Krah, A.N. 1990. Alley farming. Adv. Agron. 43: 315–359.
Kedharnath, S. 1987. Social forestry in India - some research issues, pp. 1–6. In: Khosla, P.K. and Kohli, R. K. (Eds) Social Forestry for Rural Development. Indian Society of Tree Scientists, Solan, H. P., India.
Khosla, P.K. and Kohli, R.K. 1987. Social forestry for Rural Development. Indian Society of Tree Scientists, Solan, H. P., India.
Knowles, R.L. 1991. New Zealand experience with silvopastoral systems: A review, pp. 251–267. In: Jarvis, P.G. (Ed) Agroforestry: Principles and Practice. Elsevier, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Kumar, R. and Kohli, R.K. 1987. Social forestry - a hope for rural uplift, pp. 7–13. In: Khosla, P. K. and Kohli, R.K. (Eds) Social Forestry for Rural Development. Indian Society of Tree Scientists, Solan, H. P., India.
Kurtz, W.B., Garrett, H.E. and Kincaid, W.H., Jr. 1984. Investment alternatives for black walnut plantation management. J. For. 82: 604–608.
Laarman, J. and Sedjo, R. 1992. Global Forests: Issues for Six Billion People. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Lamprecht, H. 1989. Silviculture in the Tropics: Tropical Forest Ecosystems and Their Tree Species: Possibilities and Methods for Their Long-Term Utilization. Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, Eschborn, Germany.
Landauer K. and Brazil, M. (Eds) 1990. Tropical Homegardens. United Nations University Press, Tokyo.
Lassoie, J.P. and Buck, L.E. 1991. Agroforestry in North America: New challenges and opportunities for integrated resource management, pp. 1–19. In: Garrett, H. (Ed) Proceedings of the Second Conference on Agroforestry in North America. University of Missouri, Columbia.
Le Houérou, H.N. 1987. Indigenous shrubs and trees in the silvopastoral systems of Africa, pp. 139–151. In: Steppler, H.A. and Nair, P.K.R. (Eds) Agroforestry: A Decade of Development. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Long, A.J. and Nair, P.K. 1991. Agroforestry system design for the temperate zones: Lessons from the tropics, pp. 133–139. In: Garrett, H. (Ed) Proceedings of the Second Conference on Agroforestry in North America. University of Missouri, Columbia.
MacDicken, K.G. 1990. Agroforestry management in the humid tropics, pp. 98–149. In: MacDicken, K.G. and Vergara, N.T. (Eds) Agroforestry: Classification and Management. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
May, P.H., Anderson, A.B., Frazao, J.M.F. and Balik, J.M. 1985. Babassu palm in the agroforestry systems in Brazil's mid-north region. Agrofor. Syst. 3: 275–295.
McKean, M. and Ostrom, E. 1995. Common property regimes in the forest: Just a relic from the past? Unasylva 180 46: 3–15.
Mead, D.J. 1995. The role of agroforestry in industrialized nations: The southern hemisphere perspective with special emphasis on Australia and New Zealand. Agrofor. Syst. 31: 143–156.
Mercer, D. E. 1992. The economics of agroforestry, pp. 111–143. In: Burch, W.R. and Parker, J.K. (Eds) Social Science Applications in Asian Agroforestry. Winrock International, USA and South Asia Books, Arlington, VA.
Merlo, M. 1995. Common property forest management in northern Italy: A historical and socio-economic profile. Unasylva 180 46: 58–63.
Moll, G. 1989. The state of our urban forest. Am. For. 95(11/12): 61–64.
Montagnini, F. and 18 collaborators 1992. Sistemas Agroforestales: Principios y Applicaciones en los tropicos (second edition). Organization for Tropical Studies, Inc., San José, Costa Rica.
Nair, P.K.R. 1983. Agroforestry with coconuts and other tropical plantation crops, pp. 79–102. In: Huxley, P.A. (Ed) Plant Research and Agroforestry. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Nair, P.K.R. 1984. Soil Productivity Aspects of Agroforestry. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Nair, P.K.R. 1990. The Prospects for Agroforestry in the Tropics. Technical Paper No. 131. The World Bank, Washington, DC.
Nair, P.K.R. 1993. Agroforestry, pp. 9–11. In: McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology. McGraw-Hill, New York.
Nair, P.K.R (Ed). 1989. Agroforestry Systems in the Tropics. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Nair, P.K.R., Kang, B.T. and Kass, D.C.L. 1995. Nutrient cycling and soil-erosion control in agroforestry systems, pp. 117–138. In: Juo, A.S.R. and Freed, J.D. (Eds) Agriculture and the Environment: Bridging Food Production and the Environmental Protection in Developing Countries. American Society of Agronomy, Madison, WI.
Nowak, D.J. 1994. Understanding the structure of urban forests. J. For. 92(10): 42–46.
Noweg, T.A. and Kurtz, W.B. 1987. Eastern black walnut plantations: An economically viable option for conservation reserve lands within the corn belt. North. J. Appl. For. 4(3): 158–160.
Nye, P.H. and Stephens, D. 1962. Soil fertility, pp. 127–143. In: Wills, J.B. (Ed) Agriculture and Land Use in Ghana. Oxford University Press, London.
Okigbo, B.N. and Lal, R. 1979. Soil fertility maintenance and conservation for improved agroforestry systems in the lowland humid tropics, pp. 41–77. In: Mongi, H.O. and Huxley, P.A. (Eds) Soils Research in Agroforestry. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Olofson, H. 1983. Indigenous agroforestry systems. Philipp. Q. Cult. Soc. 2: 149–174.
Ong, C.K. 1994. Alley cropping - ecological pie in the sky? Agrofor. Today 6(3): 8–10.
Ong, C.K., Corlett, J.E., Singh, R.P. and Black, C.R. 1991. Above-and below-ground interactions in agroforestry systems. For. Ecol. Manage. 45: 45–57.
Padoch, C. and deJong, W. 1987. Traditional agroforestry practices of native and Ribereno farmers in the lowland Peruvian Amazon, pp. 179–194. In: Gholz, H.L. (Ed) Agroforestry: Realities, Possibilities and Potentials. Martinus Nijhoff, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Poffenberger, M. 1990. Joint Management for Forest Lands: Experiences from South Asia. Ford Foundation, New Delhi, India.
Prinsley, R. 1990. Agroforestry for Sustainable Production: Economic Implications. Commonwealth Science Council, London.
Raintree, J.B. and Warner, K. 1986. Agroforestry pathways for the intensification of shifting cultivation. Agrofor. Syst. 4: 39–54.
Ramirez, A., Sere, C. and Uquillas, J. 1992. An economic analysis of improved agroforestry practices in the Amazonian lowlands of Ecuador. Agrofor. Syst. 17: 65–86.
Randall, A. 1987. Resource Economics. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
Rao, M.R., Sharma, M.M., and Ong, C.K. 1990. A study of the potential of hedgerow intercropping in semiarid India using a two-way systematic design. Agrofor. Syst. 11: 243–258.
Rocheleau, D., Weber, F. and Field-Juma, A. 1988. Agroforestry in Dryland Africa. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Ruthenberg, H. 1980. Farming Systems in the Tropics (third edition). Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Salisbury, R.F. 1962. From Stone to Steel. Cambridge University Press London.
Schoeneman, R.S. and Ries, P.D. 1994. Urban forestry: Managing the forests where we live. J. For. 92(10): 6–10.
Schultz, R.C., Colletti, J.P. and Faltonson, R.R. (Eds) 1995. Agroforestry opportunities for the United States of America. Agrofor. Syst. 29(3): 181–331.
Southgate, D. 1988. The Economics of Land Degradation in the Third World. Environmental Department Working Paper No. 2. The World Bank, Washington, DC.
Staver, C. 1989. Shortened bush fallow rotations with relay-cropped Inga edulis and Desmodium ovalifolium in wet central Amazonian Peru. Agrofor. Syst. 8: 173–196.
Sullivan, G.M., Huke, S.M. and Fox, J.M. (Eds) 1992. Financial and Economic Analyses of Agroforestry Systems: Proceedings of a Workshop. Nitrogen-Fixing Tree Association, Paia, Hawaii.
Sumberg, J.E., MacIntire, J., Okali, C. and Atta-Krah, A.N. 1987. Economic analysis of alley farming with small ruminants. Int. Livest. Cent. Afr. Bull. 28: 2–6.
Szott, L.T. and Kass, D.C.L. 1993. Fertilizers in agroforestry systems. Agrofor. Syst. 23: 177–194.
Szott L.T., Fernandes, E.C.M. and Sanchez, P.A. 1991. Soil-plant interactions in agroforestry systems. For. Ecol. Manage. 45: 127–152.
Tejwani, K.G. 1987. Agroforestry practices and research in India, pp. 109–136. In: Gholz, H.L. (Ed) Agroforestry: Realities, Possibilities and Potentials. Dordrecht, Martinus Nijhoff, The Netherlands.
Tejwani, K.G. 1994. Agroforestry in India. Oxford and IBH Publishing, New Delhi.
Thomson, J.T. and Coulibaly, C. 1995. Common property forest management systems in Mali: Resistance and vitality under pressure. Unasylva 180 46: 16–22.
Torres, F. 1983. Potential contribution of leucaena hedgerows intercropped with maize to the production of organic nitrogen and fuel wood in the lowland tropics. Agrofor. Syst. 1: 323–345.
Tschinkel, H. 1987. Tree planting by small farmers in upland watersheds: Experience in Central America. Int. Tree Crops J. 4(4): 249–266.
Unruh, J.D. 1990. Iterative increase of economic tree species in managed swidden-fallows of the Amazon. Agrofor. Syst. 11: 175–197.
Vergara, N.T. and MacDicken, K.G. 1990. Extension and agroforestry technology delivery to farmers, pp. 354–373. In: MacDicken, K.G. and Vergara, N.T. (Eds) Agroforestry: Classification and Management. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
von Maydell, H.J. 1986. Trees and Shrubs of the Sahel: Their Characteristics and Uses. Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit, Eschborn, Germany.
von Maydell, H.J. 1987. Agroforestry in the dry zones of Africa: Past, present and future, pp. 89–116. In: Steppler, H.A. and Nair, P.K.R. (Eds) Agroforestry: A Decade of Development. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Warui, C.M. 1980. Research on agroforestry at the coast, Kenya, pp. 361–366. In: Buck, L. (Ed) Proceedings of the Kenya National Seminar on Agroforestry. International Centre for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.
Watson, G.A. 1983. Development of mixed tree and food crop systems in the humid tropics: A response to population pressure and deforestation. Exp. Agri. 19: 311–332.
Weinstock, J.A. 1983. Rattan: A complement to swidden agriculture. Econ. Bot. 37(1): 58–68.
Wijewardene, R. and Waidyanatha, P. 1984. Conservation Farming. Department of Agriculture, Peredeniya, Sri Lanka; Commonwealth Secretariat, London.
Williams, P.A. and Gordon, A.M. 1991. The potential of intercropping as an alternative land use system, pp. 166–175. In: Garrett, H.E. (Ed) Proceedings of the Second Conference on Agroforestry in North America. University of Missouri, Columbia.
Young, A. 1989. Agroforestry for Soil Conservation. CAB International, Wallingford, United Kingdom.
Zhaohua, Z., Mantang, C., Shiji, W. and Youxu, J (Eds) 1991. Agroforestry Systems in China. Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing, China; International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Long, A.J., Nair, P.R. Trees outside forests: agro-, community, and urban forestry. New Forests 17, 145–174 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006523425548
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006523425548