B.Sc. Ag. 5th Semester. Lamjung Campus Agroforestry B.Sc. Ag. 5th Semester. Lamjung Campus

Agroforestry New name for set of age old practices Cultivating trees and agricultural crops in intimate combination with one another is an ancient practice that farmers have used throughout the world This is the practices developed for meeting most of the requirements of farming family i.e. yielded almost everything which farming communities needed Crops: Food grain, fodder and income Trees: Food, firewood, timber, medicine and income Animals: Food, income and labor

Agroforestry Forest (Trees) Pasture (Animals) Forestry Agriculture Agrisilvipasture Silvipasture Agrisilviculture

Land use system in which woody perennials form a part or are grown deliberately on the same piece of land as agricultural crops and/or animals either in the form of spatial arrangement or in sequence With the development of intensive agriculture practices, shrinkage of forest and acute shortage of wood and forest products was felt Therefore, there have been serious efforts to deliberately introduce trees in various agriculture systems AF system refers to such distinct practices in which agriculture and forestry are combined temporally or spatially

A strictly scientific definition of agroforestry should stress two characteristics common to all forms of agroforestry and separate them from the other forms of land use, namely: the deliberate growing of woody perennials on the same unit of land as agricultural crops and/or animals, either in some form of spatial mixture or sequence; there must be a significant interaction (positive and/or negative) between the woody and nonwoody components of the system, either ecological and/or economical

Agroforestry is a collective name for land-use systems and technologies where woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos, etc.) are deliberately used on the same land-management units as agricultural crops and/or animals, in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence. In agroforestry systems there are both ecological and economical interactions between the different components (Lundgren and Raintree, 1982).

This definition implies that: agroforestry normally involves two or more species of plants (or plants and animals), at least one of which is a woody perennial; an agroforestry system always has two or more outputs; the cycle of an agroforestry system is always more than one year; and even the simplest agroforestry system is more complex, ecologically(structurally and functionally) and economically, than a monocropping system.

Agroforestry has developed as an interface between agriculture and forestry in response to the special needs and conditions

There are three attributes which, theoretically, all agroforestry systems possess. These are: Productivity: Agroforestry systems aim to maintain or increase production (of preferred commodities) as well as productivity (of the land). 2. Sustainability: By conserving the production potential of the resource base, mainly through the beneficial effects of woody perennials on soils, leads to sustainability 3. Adoptability: The fact that agroforestry is a relatively new word for an old set of practices means that, in some cases, agroforestry has already been accepted by the farming community. However, the implication here is that improved or new agroforestry technologies that are introduced into new areas should also conform to local farming practices. These attributes are so characteristic of all agroforestry systems that they form the basis for evaluation of various agroforestry systems

AF is the system of land use In which woody perennials and herbaceous crops are grown together in mixtures with or without animals Which provides greater benefits form agriculture or forestry alone Which sustain soil fertility, soil conservation, increased yield, diminished risk of crop failure, ease of management, pest and disease control and greater fulfillment of the socioeconomic needs of local population

King (1978) suggests that to be good practices AF practices vary considerably from place to place, region to region and country to country King (1978) suggests that to be good practices The combined width of the row of agriculture crops do not exceed the height of the forest trees at maturity Combine width of rows of forest trees do not exceed the height of the crops at maturity

Components of AF Tree, crops and animals Interaction AF is deliberate growing of woody perennials on the same unit of land as agricultural crops and/or animals either in some form of spatial mixture or in sequence Interaction There must be significant interaction between the woody and non woody components of the system either ecological and/or economical Production and income This is production system which tends to harmonise the production of various components and also maximise the total income from the given unit of land

Technologies Time Land AF system combines the use of modern technologies and local experience and should be compatible with the social and cultural life of the local population Time It is the long term land management system and the cycle of the AF system is always more than one year Land More complex form of land management both ecologically and economically than other agricultural or forestry system alone

Advantages of AF system Maximize production Only annuals fails to utilize Solar radiation throughout the year In sole ag. repeated ploughing of top soils leads to excessive leaching of nutrients Loss of soil and nutrients due to erosion in agriculture monoculture is tremendous The reasons for higher production under agroforestry system may include: Greater efficiency of perennial crops for photosynthesis Tapping nutrients and water from deeper layers by perennial crops Creating better env. Conditions for the growth of annual crops Soil fertility management, some of trees can fix nitrogen, leaves can be used as green manure

Supplement food and fodder Several trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers yield a substantial quantity of food materials which are used by rural poor and particularly by tribals E.g. Ziziphus: Fruits Koiralo: flower buds Chiuri: Flower and fruits Agele: Fruit Arthocarpus: Fruit Sufficient fodder supply from the trees to raise cattle particularly in dry season Trees of several sps yield palatable and nutritious fodder e.g. Bauhinia, Morus alba, Leucaena, Moringa The branches of fodder acts as fuelwood which is an additional advantages

Improve soil Reduction of loss of soil as well as nutrients through redn of runoff Addition of carbon and its transformation through leaf twig, bark falls etc Nitrogen enrichment by fixation of nitrogen fixing trees, shrub etc Improvement of physical conditions of soil such as water holding capacity, permeability and drainage Release and recycling of nutrients by affecting biochemical nutrient cycling More moicrobial associations and addition of more root biomass Moderating effect on extreme conditions of soil acidity and alkalinity Creating more favourable microclimate by windbreak and shelterbelts effect Augmenting of soil water availabiity in arid and semi arid conditions by reducing surface evaporation

Utilize wastelands and degraded lands Wasteland and degraded lands are not being effectively utilised under ag land These lands can be successfully utilised for the cultivation of trees Once the area is vegetated, ecological succession and restoration processes start which leads to improvement of soil condition

Improve environment Serious problems of environment degradation all over the world Increase in CO2, global warming, serious soil losses, repeated droughts and floods, pollution are major problems: due to deforestration AF system deviate people to their own farm for forest products, Helps to reduce forest pressure Trees protect us from different kinds of pollution (Air, sound, noise) One Ha of close forest can filter about 50 tonnes of dust and dirt (Durk, 1966) Forest and trees increase precipitation by 10% and humidity and decrease temperature (3-8ºC less) Trees protect strong winds and cyclones Trees protect the annual crops from frost and damage

Minimize adverse effect of climatic factors Increase farm income During severe drought and flood tree crops gives insurance for survival Increase farm income Several studies in different parts of world suggests that agroforestry is more profitable to farmers than agriculture and forestry In order to obtain maximum net returns per unit area, suitable tree crop and fodder combinations need to be identified for each agroclimatic region It is more economical particularly in marginal and waste lands It is more economical where the cost of forest products is very high Aid industrial growth AF system able to sustain both kinds of industries i.e. those based on agriculture and forestry

Provide employment opportunities Agriculture labor are underemployed Nursery management, plantation, care and management of trees, harvesting, processing and marketing of forest products create employment opportunities Meet diverse need of people Land resource is limited; production system should be efficient and sustainable enough to meet the diverse need of the people Food grains, fodder, forage, firewood, timber, medicinal and aromatic plants, others NTFPs

Role of trees Immediate benefits Protective role Ameliorative role Minimization of soil erosion Minimization of landslide Minimization of surface runoff Minimization of nutrient loss Minimization of evaporation Ameliorative role Improvement in nutrient status Improvement of soil organic matter Improvement of soil pH Improvement of soil structure Improvement of pest and disease control Reduction of soil temperature and solar radiation

B. Long term benefits Increased crop productivity Sustained crop productivity Improved socioeconomics Improved nutrition and health Stabilized land use policy Improved environmental conservation

Conceptual framework for the protective and ameliorative roles of agroforestry