Abstract
Concepts used by various authors are analyzed in order to define agroforestry and discuss, in detail, some ambiguous terms often encountered (biological and economic interactions, time sequences, etc.). Only those concepts which differentiate agroforestry from other non-agroforestry forms of land use are retained as part of the definition, which is: agroforestry is a form of multiple cropping under which three fundamental conditions are met: 1) there e exist at least two plant species that interact biologically; 2) at least one of the plant species is a woody perennial; and 3) at least one of the plant species is managed for forage, annual or perennial crop production.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agroforestry Systems (1981) Editorial: What is agroforestry. Agroforestry Systems 1(1): 7–12
Bene JG, Beal HW and Cote A (1977) Trees, food and people: land management in the tropics. IDRC, Ottawa, Canada, 59 pp
Combe J and Budowski G (1979) Classification of traditional agroforestry techniques. In: Workshop on Traditional Agroforestry Systems in Latin America. De Las Salas G, ed, CATIE, Turrialba, Costa Rica, pp 17–47
Huxley PA (1983) Some characteristics of trees to be considered in agroforestry. In: Huxley PA, ed, Plant Research and Agroforestry, pp 3–12. Nairobi, Kenya, ICRAF
ICRAF (1979) Agroforestry defined. ICRAF Newsletter 1(1): 4
Kapp G (1989) La agroforestería como alternativa de reforestación en la zona Atlántica de Costa Rica. El Chasqui (CATIE, Costa Rica) 21: 6–17
King KFS (1979) Concepts of agroforestry. In: Chandler T and Spurgeon D, eds, International Cooperation in Agroforestry, pp 1–13. ICRAF, Nairobi, Kenya
King KFS (1989) The history of agroforestry. In: Nair PKR, ed, Agroforestry Systems in the Tropics, Forestry Sciences Vol. 31, pp 3–11. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Lundgren B and Raintree JB (1982) Sustained agroforestry. In: Nestel B, ed, Agricultural Research for Development: Potentials and challenges in Asia, pp 37–49. ISNAR, The Hague
Nair PKR (1985) Classification of agroforestry systems. Agroforestry Systems 3: 97–128
Nair PKR (1989) Agroforestry defined. In: Nair PKR, ed, Agroforestry Systems in the Tropics, Forestry Sciences Vol. 31, pp 13–18. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Raintree JB and Warner K (1986) Agroforestry pathways for the intensification of shifting cultivation. Agroforestry Systems 4(1): 39–54
Robinson PJ (1985) Trees as fodder crops. In: Cannell MGR and Jackson JE, eds, Attributes of Trees as Crop Plants, pp 281–300. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, England.
Spedding CRW (1988) An Introduction to Agricultural Systems, 2 ed. Elsevier Applied Science, London, England, 189 pp
Steiner KG (1984) Intercropping in Tropical Smallholder Agriculture with Special Reference to West Africa, 2 ed. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), Schriftenreihe # 137. Eschborn, West Germany, 304 pp
Wiersum KF (1981) Outline of the agroforestry concept. In: Wiersum KF, ed, Viewpoints in Agroforestry. pp 1–21. Agricultural University of Wageningen, The Netherlands
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Translated with modifications from ¿Que es agroforestería? El Chasqui (CATIE, Costa Rica) 24: 5–13, 1990.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Somarriba, E. Revisiting the past: an essay on agroforestry definition. Agroforest Syst 19, 233–240 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00118781
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00118781