Agroforestry Benefits

My aim in this essay is to give a full critical review on the contents of the above-cited scientific paper. The article focuses on the major benefits as well as numerous and varied ecosystem services provided by agroforestry systems. In addition to that, the author outlines how the scientific background of agroforestry systems has been evolving during the latest decades. Until recently, due to the paucity of scientific evidence, the benefits of agroforestry were merely perceived based on the non-scientific observations made in practice. In the latest years though, the amount of scientific data concerning agroforestry has considerably increased and the former assumptions were verified in several cases. The author expresses his view that all

Besides verifying the high importance of agroforestry systems in the phenomenon of carbon sequestration – and in the potential future growth in carbon sequestration owing to the desirable spread of agroforestry – this section of the paper also gathers some information on how the intensity of carbon sequestration varies between systems with distinct characteristics, management practice or climate conditions. Carbon sequestration is an ecosystem service of agroforestry that has beneficial impacts on a global scale by reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The importance of carbon sequestration has been recognized by numerous global conventions and agreements, although – according to the author – whether society is to be willing to pay attention to other ecosystem services – with the same great fervor as it does to carbon sequestration – remains a question. I am inclined to agree that the importance of carbon sequestration might be overemphasized, while issues that are of the same importance as carbon sequestration and have a tactile impact on many people’s lives – conservation of biological diversity, combating desertification – might not earn the same attention as carbon sequestration does. However, I believe the author treats the question with the appropriate amount of consideration since data collected on carbon sequestration has the highest potential to draw the attention of policy-makers to the

In the biodiversity section, the collected case studies generally confirm that agroforestry ensures the presence of different mammalian, avian, insect and other species in the system by providing habitat and improved environmental and living conditions for them. Likewise, few of the presented studies indicate that agroforestry systems – to varied extent – resemble the structural complexity and biological diversity of natural forests. Besides these studies, there has been one reference that I have found particularly interesting. Brodt et al. (as cited in Shibu (2009)) examined why Californian landowners were not willing to apply biodiversity enhancing agroforestry systems, such as hedgerows and windbreaks, on their land. The farmers’ response included supposed high costs of planting a windbreak system and fear of enhancing weediness and rodent spread. Also, they were not certain about the ecological benefits of an agroforestry system. In my view, this particular example also proves that education in agroforestry, such as presenting the collected scientific evidence on the benefits of agroforestry to local landowners, might favor the spreading of different agroforestry systems in the world. The last discussion is on agroforestry’s role in air and water quality improvement.