A meta-analysis and conceptual framework for site-specific evaluation The World Agroforestry Centre, an autonomous, non-profit research organization, aims to bring about a rural transformation in the developing world by encouraging and enabling smallholders to increase their use of trees in agricultural landscapes. This will help to improve food security, nutrition, income and health; provide s...

Essentially every living thing on Earth has applied the basic concepts of economics. That is, every living thing has had to use a limited set of resources to meet a minimum set of needs or wants. Although the study of economics is often confused with the study of markets or finance, economics is simply a social science that studies the choices people make. As a social science, economics is the ...

T two best candidate species for truffle cultivation in the south-central U.S. are the Burgundy truffle (Tuber aestivum Vitt., syn. T. uncinatum Ch., Fig. 1a) and the Périgord black truffle (T. melanosporum Vitt., Fig. 1b). These common names (Burgundy truffle and Périgord black truffle) are derived from the names of two of the many regions in France where they are famous. Though native to Euro...

Variable-charge soils of the humid tropics are frequently infertile in the extreme. In addition to low nutrient status, highly weathered subsoils may present physical and chemical barriers to roots. Limited resource farmers do not have the means to apply synthetic fertilizers but must maintain soil fertility through management of organic inputs. This work investigates differences in soil qualit...

The plains of Sumatra and Kalimantan were sparsely populated at the turn of the 19th century (less than 4 inhabitants/km2), and the local population relied mainly on shifting cultivation of upland rice. The introduction of rubber by Dutch private Estates in the 1910's triggered a radical change in the landscape but no fundamental change in farming practices, at least at the beginning, with the ...

BACKGROUND Agroforestry is a sustainable land use method with a long tradition in the Bolivian Andes. A better understanding of people’s knowledge and valuation of woody species can help to adjust actor-oriented agroforestry systems. In this case study, carried out in a peasant community of the Bolivian Andes, we aimed at calculating the cultural importance of selected agroforestry species, and...

As the world faces alarming rates of tropical forest loss, some agricultural systems offer a glimmer of hope. In particular, agroforestry, where crops are cultivated in association with trees, provides some of the ecological benefits of natural forest while allowing farmers to make a living off their land (1–3). However, only in agroforestry systems that involve the production of globally trade...

Agroforestry values can be diversified and enhanced by capitalizing on natural associations of trees with specialty fungi. Fungi with potential agroforestry application include ectomycorrhizal as well as wood and litter decay species. Mushroom cultivation can provide profitable avenues for recycling low-value stemwood (either intact or in particle form) and in-place stump systems of harvested t...

the quantitative performance of wheat crop under 1-5 year old poplar plantations in irrigated agro-ecosystem was studied to ascertain the biological yield of tree and crop. results revealed that growth and yield of wheat decreased significantly with the increase in poplar age. the per cent reduction in net grain yield was 17% under one year old poplar plantation, which increased to 52.15% under...