Global distribution of agroforestry systems

摘要: In land-use parlance, the terms tropical and temperate are used loosely as approximate synonyms for developing countries and industrialized regions, respectively. From the agroforestry perspective, the arid and semiarid lands, and the subhumid and humid lowlands and highlands recognized in the FAO reports are considered as tropical developing regions and the temperate and Mediterranean regions as industrialized. The types of agroforestry systems (AFS) in these two major regions are different because of their climatic and socioeconomic characteristics. The common systems in the humid and subhumid tropics include forms of shifting cultivation and tree intercropping, homegardens, and shaded perennial associations, whereas various forms of silvopastoral systems, extensive tree intercropping, and windbreaks dominate the agroforestry scene in the semiarid and arid tropics. The major AF practices …