ABSTRACT
The agroforest is a major source of wood and familiar fixture in human-managed, high-rainfall, tropical landscapes. Variations exist, but are far less widespread, in dry and/or in temperate zones. Agroforests are the agricultural version of the natural forest. Agroforests contain a mix of useful plant species with greater emphasis on fruiting and other woody plants producing non-woody outputs. The important difference between natural forests and agroforests is the high productive capacity of the latter. For erosion, only the multi-storied agroforest has less comparative erosion than a natural rainforest. Clearly, agroforests outshine, in all ecological measures, other planned and managed ecosystems. Although formal evaluation techniques are lacking, widespread usage indicates strong economic advantage. In forest farming, the agroforest maintains a forest-like overstory canopy with heavily modified understory. Management of the agroforest is a bit more complex than the natural forest as the value of non-woody outputs enter into the picture. The most common versions of agroforest are based on full disarray.
