Agroforestry

Agroforestry or agro-sylviculture is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. It combines shrubs and trees in agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy, and sustainable land-use systems.

As a science

The theoretical base for agroforestry comes from ecology, via agroecology. From this perspective, agroforestry is one of the three principal land-use sciences. The other two are agriculture and forestry.

Agroforestry has a lot in common with intercropping. Both have two or more plant species (such as nitrogen-fixing plants) in close interaction, both provide multiple outputs, as a consequence, higher overall yields and, because a single application or input is shared, costs are reduced. Beyond these, there are gains specific to agroforestry.

Benefits

Agroforestry systems can be advantageous over conventional agricultural, and forest production methods. They can offer increased productivity, economic benefits, and more diversity in the ecological goods and services provided .(An example of this was seen in trying to conserve Milicia excelsa.)