This textbook is one of the finest books on agroforestry that offers a global review of the approaches, tools and technologies, research innovations and real-world practices in agroforestry. The book offers a comprehensive guide to basic principles, techniques and applications, integrative strategies, economic and environmental concerns, and future trends in agroforestry in different regions of the world. It will help all scientists, students, professors, farmers, foresters, decision-makers, and politicians who wish to build a safe land use system for food, energy and better environment for future generations. This textbook will enormously benefit the students for their preparation of competitive exams like UPSC-Civil Services, UPSC-Indian Forest Service, ICAR-ARS Scientist/NET Exam, ICFRE Forestry Scientist Exam, State Public Service Commission Exams and University Entrance Exam for admission to M.Sc. and Ph.D. programmes.

Agroforestry (AF) is a dynamic, ecologically based, natural resources management system that, by integrating trees on farms, ranches, and in other landscapes, diversifies and increases production and promotes social, economic, and environmental benefits for land users. Further, it is receiving increasing attention as a sustainable land-management option worldwide because of its ecological, economic, and social attributes. Advances have been achieved by building on past research accomplishments and expanding AF’s stakeholder base, which now includes private/public partnerships, communities, ecologists, farmers, indigenous peoples, and policymakers in both temperate and tropical countries. AF has now been recognized as a valuable problem-solving approach to ensuring food security and rebuilding resilient rural environments. Recent studies have shown that more than 1 billion hectares of agricultural land have more than 10% tree cover. Of this area, 160 million hectares have more than 50% tree cover. Agricultural ecosystems can be further improved through AF to achieve environmental restoration, greater farm productivity, and key ecological services, including climate change mitigation and adaptation for improved rural livelihood. In fact, it is largely considered synonymous with climate smart agriculture and a remedy for many modern environmental challenges. Consequently, AF’s knowledge base is being expanded at a rapid rate, as illustrated by the increasing number and quality of scientific publications on various forms and different aspects of AF. This book offers state-of-the-art information on the fundamental concepts and history of AF and its evolution as a science, presenting a wealth of advanced research results and evaluations relating to different aspects of AF. Accordingly, it will be useful for a broad readership, including students, foresters, farmers, local communities, indigenous peoples, civil society institutions, media, policymakers and the general public.

Agroforestry – the practice of growing trees and crops in interacting combinations – is recognized the world over as an integrated approach to sustainable land-use. Agroforestry systems, being multifunctional, facilitate not only the production of food and wood products but also provide a variety of ecosystem services such as climate-change mitigation, biodiversity conservation, and soil quality improvement. Agroforestry research has made rapid strides since organized efforts started in the late 1970s. Today, a vast body of scientific knowledge and an impressive array of publications on agroforestry are available. Four World Congresses on Agroforestry conducted once every five years since 2004 have brought together the global community of agroforestry professionals and practitioners to share and discuss the emerging trends and paradigm shifts in this field. The fifth Congress is scheduled to be held in Québec, Canada. However, a comprehensive college-level textbook incorporating these research findings did not exist until this book was first published. The first edition of this book in 1993 (Nair, P. K. R., 1993) is out of print and somewhat dated. This revised edition, with emphasis on the scientific developments during the past more than four decades, addresses this long-felt need.

This college-level textbook summarizes the state of current knowledge in the rapidly expanding field of agroforestry. The book, organized into 25 chapters in six sections, reviews the developments in agroforestry during the past 15 years and describes the accomplishments in the application of biophysical (plant and soil related) and socioeconomic sciences to agroforestry. Although the major focus of the book is on the tropics, where the practice and potential of agroforestry are particularly promising, the developments in temperate zone agroforestry are also discussed. This text is recommended for students, teachers, and researchers in agroforestry, farming systems, and tropical land use.