Agroforestry for Soil Conservation

Wallingford

1989

276 S.

Monographie

0-85198-648-X

94312

Agroforestry covers land use systems in which trees and shrubs are grown in association with herbaceous crops, either in a spatial arrangement or a rotation. It has productive functions, such as the capacity of the tree component to produce fuelwood, fodder and fruit, and service functions, chief among which is that of soil conservation. Soil conservation is treated her in its wider sense, to include borth control of erosion and maintenance of fertility. In the current search for sustainability, which involves the comination of production with conservation of the resources on which that production depends, soil conservation plays a major role. This book is a review of the potential of agroforestry to contribute to soil conservation. Its aims are to summarize the present state of knowledge, including both known capacity and apparent potential, and to indicate the needs for research. The overall conclusion is that appropriate agroforestry systems have the potential to control erosion, maintain soil organic matter and physical properties, and promote efficient nutrient cycling. This applies to a wide range of climatic zones and soil types. There is an urgent need for research to acquire further experimental evidence to support this conclusion. Many obstacles, social and economic as well as technical, need to be overcome if the potential is to be fuilfilled. If this effort is successful, then agroforestry can make a major contribution to sustainable land use.