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Concept
Agroforestry
Summary
Agroforestry refers to any of a broad range of land use practices where pasture or crops are integrated with trees and shrubs. This intentional combination of agriculture and forestry has multiple benefits, such as greatly enhanced yields from staple food crops, enhanced farmer livelihoods from income generation, increased biodiversity, improved soil structure and health, reduced erosion, and carbon sequestration. Trees in agroforestry systems can also produce wood, fruits, nuts, and other useful products with economic and practical value. Agroforestry practices are especially prevalent in the tropics, especially in subsistence smallholdings areas with particular importance in sub-Saharan Africa. However, due to its multiple benefits, for instance in nutrient cycle benefits and potential for mitigating droughts, it has been adopted in the USA and Europe .
Agroforestry shares principles with intercropping but can also involve much more complex multi-strata agroforests containing hundreds of species. Agroforestry can also utilise nitrogen-fixing plants such as legumes to restore soil nitrogen fertility. The nitrogen-fixing plants can be planted either sequentially or simultaneously.
According to Paul Wojtkowski, the theoretical base for agroforestry lies in ecology, or agroecology. Agroecology encompasses diverse applications such as: improved nutrient and carbon cycling; water retention of soils; biodiverse habitats; protection from pest, disease and weed outbreaks; protection of soils from water and wind erosion, etc. From this perspective, agroforestry is one of the three principal agricultural land-use sciences. The other two are agriculture and forestry.
There is still not enough data to determine the full range of the impacts and benefits varying agroforestry practices could have. The indigenous practices that form the inspiration and basis for agroforestry are frequently complex, including a large array of species. The most studied agroforestry practices involve a simple interaction between two components, such as simple configurations of hedges or trees integrated with a single crop.
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Silviculture
Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin silvi- ('forest') and culture ('growing'). The study of forests and woods is termed silvology. Silviculture also focuses on making sure that the treatment(s) of forest stands are used to conserve and improve their productivity. Generally, silviculture is the science and art of growing and cultivating forest [crops], based on a knowledge of silvics .
Forest gardening
Forest gardening is a low-maintenance, sustainable, plant-based food production and agroforestry system based on woodland ecosystems, incorporating fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and perennial vegetables which have yields directly useful to humans. Making use of companion planting, these can be intermixed to grow in a succession of layers to build a woodland habitat. Forest gardening is a prehistoric method of securing food in tropical areas.
Afforestation
Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no recent tree cover. Many government and non-governmental organizations directly engage in afforestation programs to create forests and increase carbon capture. Afforestation is an increasingly sought-after method to fight climate concerns, as it is known to increase the soil quality and organic carbon levels into the soil, avoiding desertification. Afforestation is mainly done for conservational and commercial purposes.