Agroforestry as an Integrated, Multifunctional Land Use Management Strategy

This chapter demonstrates the linkages among emerging integrated management systems for agriculture and forestry and indicate possible roles that agroforestry could play in the continuing development of these new land use strategies. It suggests possible approaches to overcoming constraints limiting the development of agroforestry in the United States. The chapter examines agricultural and forestry land use practices relative to certain biophysical and socioeconomic principles basic to natural resources management. It provides a historical perspective for the evolution of forest management and agricultural production practices and for the development of domestic agroforestry activities. The chapter highlights opportunities for the development of domestic agroforestry practices. Opportunities for the development and application of domestic agroforestry practices can be separated into ecological, economic, and social components for discussion purposes. The need for continuing education and training in agroforestry for both professionals and practitioners was recognized in the early 1990s.