Agroforestry and Ecosystem Services.

Agroforestry is an intensive land management system that optimizes physical, biological, environmental, economical, and social benefits by intentionally integrating trees or shrubs with crops and/or livestock. This practice also enhances ecosystem services; (1) provisioning such as food, source of energy and fodder, (2) regulating such as environmental quality and control of climate and diseases, (3) supporting such as nutrient cycling and crop pollination, and (4) cultural services. Over the past three decades, agroforestry has been extensively studied in tropical as well as temperate regions as one of the integrated natural resource management interventions for addressing various environmental, economical, and social issues. However, literature lacks detailed long-term studies explaining these benefits for all regions and zones. This has led to limited adoption and integration of agroforestry practices in crop and livestock management around the world. The objective of this topical session is to synthesize recent findings and publicize the knowledge on ecosystem servicessuch as improvements in water quality, soil quality, carbon sequestration, and soil physical and chemical properties provided by agroforestry practices. The session also outlines challenges to wider adoption of agroforestry and makes recommendations for future research, development and policy to capitalize on ecosystem services.