Agroforestry in Agriculture is defined as planting and use of trees and shrubs in agricultural systems. It aims to achieve a very different environmental and social product in the world than is possible with conventional agriculture.
Agroforestry in Agriculture is defined as planting and use of trees and shrubs in agricultural systems. It seeks good cooperation between its components, aiming to achieve a very different environmental and social product in the world than is possible with conventional agriculture.
Agroforestry is a practical and low-cost approach to multilateral management (seeking to reduce human impacts on the world), and contributes to the environmental economy by promoting long-term, sustainable, and renewable forest management, especially for small-scale producers.
Although the modern concept of agroforestry in agriculture originated in the early 20th century, the use of wood grown for many years in agricultural systems is ancient, with written descriptions of a practice dating back to Roman times. Indeed, the combination of trees and plants with animals is a long-standing tradition throughout the world.
In 2004 the World Bank estimated that vegetable farming practices were practiced by 1.2 billion people.
History of Agroforestry in Agriculture
Agroforestry in agriculture was officially described in the early 20th century by the American economist J. Russell Smith in his book Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture (1929). Smith views “sustainable agriculture” based on trees as a solution to the destructive erosion that often follows sloping plantations.
However, his contributions were largely ignored during the green reforms of the 1960s and the subsequent and expanded research / extension (FSR/E) processes that were more inclusive (FSR/E) in the early 1970s that sought sustainable agricultural practices.
Such efforts have failed to meet the many basic needs of smallholder farmers in tropical areas, such as essential timber and non-timber products found in trees, including food, fuel, fodder, building materials, medicine and income, as well as environmental sustainability of trees.
Benefits of Agroforestry in Agriculture
Agroforestry in agriculture can occur at different levels of space (e.g., field or woodlot, farm, watershed) in a variety of natural and cultural areas. Used properly, agroforestry can improve lives through improved health and nutrition, increased economic growth, and strengthen environmental resilience and sustainability.
Also, such developments can contribute to increased social sustainability where human needs are met in a way that promotes environmental health.
Farm segregation is a growing strategy for economic competition, especially throughout the cooler industries, and agroforestry offers excellent promise for sustainable production of specialty nuts and fruits, high-value medicines, dairy and beef cattle, sheep, goats and biomass biofuel.
The benefits of agroforestry are found in the interaction between trees and shrubs with plants and livestock. It aims to promote good cooperation, such as co-operation and governance, as well as reduce crop and livestock consumption and competition within and between species.
Agroforestry Practices in Agriculture
Agroforestry programs are strictly regulated to maintain their production and protection functions in agriculture, fertilizer application, irrigation, pruning and pruning. Ideally, the components are integrated into the structure and function and are actively controlled to improve the fine biophysical integration between them.
In some systems, for example, trees are regularly copied (heavily cut), and the cuttings are used as mulch in the ground. Such treatment not only promotes the growth of new trees but also increases the light levels that reach the shady plants, reduces weeds, and helps maintain soil moisture.
Agroforestry in Agriculture methods
Riparian and upland buffers
Riparian forest buffers are made up of a combination of trees, shrubs, grasses, brakes and chemical structures adjacent to, or within, a distribution station designed to reduce the impact of land use on a stream. The word riparian applies to what is commonly called the floodplain, and designed buffers usually only reside in that part of the area.
At the geological level, riparian forest buffers connect the earth with the aquatic environment, and perform vital ecosystem services. By establishing, or controlling, trees, shrubs and grasses in the vicinity of streams, water quality and aquatic ecosystems can be supported or improved.
However, for it to work effectively, temporary design and management strategies must include plants that are familiar with certain natural areas (station conditions, flood states, soils, water table depth, and terrain structures), and provide management guidelines for landowners willing to follow to maintain healthy and efficient buffers.
Windbreak
Windbreak (shelterbelt) planting is usually done with one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a way as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect the soil from erosion. They are usually planted in castles around the edge of fields on farms. Properly covered, it will withstand a great deal of adverse conditions.
Windbreaks are also planted to help keep snow from eroding roads or yards. Farmers sometimes use storms to keep snow on the farmland, which will provide water when the snow melts in the spring. Other benefits include contributing to the mild climate around the plants (slightly drying and cold nights), providing wildlife shelter, and, in some areas, providing firewood when trees are harvested.
Air closure and planting of plants can be integrated into a farming process called alley cropping. Fields are planted in rows of various plants surrounded by rows of trees. These trees provide fruit, wood, or protection from the elements. Alley cultivation has been particularly successful in India, Africa, and Brazil, where coffee growers have combined farming with forestry.
Alley cropping
Alley sowing is the planting of trees or shrubs in two or more sets in one or more rows with agronomic, horticultural, or forage plants planted in the rows between rows of vigorous plants.
The cultivation of the tunnel is used to improve or diversify farm products, reduce water loss and erosion, improve nutrient utilization, reduce wind erosion, moderate climate change to improve crop production, improve wildlife habitat and improve landscape.
Silvopasture
Silvopasture is an agricultural method that combines trees with livestock production. Trees in the silvopasture system are often treated with high-quality sawlogs and, at the same time, provide shade and shelter for livestock and fodder.
Partial shade throughout silvopasture can reduce stress on the animal, and in some cases, can increase product quality and quality. In conifers or hardwoods or Christmas trees, managed pastures provide annual income from grass or livestock production.
Silvopasture is the most popular agroforestry system in the southeast, but has become very popular in some parts of the country where coniferous trees are present. Other nuts (e.g. walnut and pecan) and fruit juices can also be treated as silvopasture. Silvopasture is effective when trees, fodder, and livestock elements are all compatible.
Forestry farming
The planting of special plants with high value under the protection of forest over story provides a favorable microclimate. Forestry is the deliberate cultivation of edible, medicinal or ornamental plants under traditional or cultivated forests that are controlled by both wood and ground production.
It excludes the collection of plants that naturally occur in traditional forests, also known as wild crafting. Forestry can provide beneficial opportunities for forest and forest owners, peanut growers, maple sugar growers, and vegetable growers.
In addition to many tropical practices, tropical farming systems often include a variety of other agricultural methods. Home gardens and taungya, where food plants are grown among tree seedlings as they grow (commonly used in the production of teak or mahogany), are useful to support the nutritional needs of landowners who grow tree plants.
Planting terraces, live fences, various trees (e.g. Albida acacia [Faidherbia albida]), fodder trees, and multi-stranded systems (consisting of various tall trees, such as coffee grown in the shade) are used in tropical systems to combine trees with other crops and livestock.
This article is jointly written by Dr. Muhammad Shaukat1, Dr. Sher Muhammad1, Bushra Safdar2 and Dr. Ashfaq Ahmad2 from 1Department of Agricultural Sciences, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, and 2Department of Agronomy, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.