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. 2019 Dec 23;16(1):e1066. doi: 10.1002/cl2.1066

Table 1.

Classification of agroforestry systems and specific practices

Agroforestry system Specific practices Definition
Agrisilvicultural (crops and trees) Improved or rotational fallow Land resting system using trees and shrubs to replenish soil fertility, sometimes in rotation with crops as in traditional shifting cultivation
Multipurpose trees on parklands or lots (mixed trees and crops) Scattered trees in parklands (landscapes derived from agricultural activities) or other land area or in systematic patterns on bunds, terraces, or plot/field boundaries
Mixture of plantation crops Combination of plantation crops in an intercropping system in alternate arrangement, including use of shade trees for cash crops
Tree gardens Cultivation of a mixture of several fruit and other useful trees, sometimes with the inclusion of annual crops. This arrangement is sometimes referred to as homegardens
Alley cropping Planting rows of trees with a companion crop grown in the alleyways between the rows
Shelterbelts Extended windbreak of living trees and shrubs established and maintained to protect farmlands (beyond a single farm)
Silvopastoral (pasture/animals and trees) Multipurpose fodder trees or shrubs around farmlands (protein bank) Production of protein‐rich tree fodder on farm/rangelands
Living fences and shelterbelts Trees as fences around plots and/or an extended windbreak of living trees and shrubs established and maintained to protect farmlands and provide fodder
Integrated production of animal/dairy and wood products Production of animal/dairy and wood products within the same land area
Trees/shrubs on pasture Trees scattered irregularly or arranged according to some systematic pattern
Agrosilvopastoral (crops, pasture/animals, and trees) Integrated production of animals (meat and dairy), crops, and wood/fuelwood Production of crops, animal/dairy, and wood products within the same land area, including around homesteads
Woody hedgerows for browse, green manure, soil conservation Multipurpose woody hedgerows for browse, mulch, green manure, soil conservation, and so forth
Wooded pasture products Land covered with grasses and other herbaceous species, and with woody species
Agroforestry including insects/fish Entomoforestry The combination of trees and insects (e.g., bees for honey and trees)
Aqua‐silvo‐fishery Trees lining fish ponds, tree leaves being used as “forage” for fish

Note: The broad systems listed in this table are based on Nair (1985) and specific interventions derived from Nair (1985, 1993), Sinclair (1999), and Atangana et al. (2014). Definitions are drawn from Huxley et al. (1997).