Table 4 General advantages and problems of agroforestry systems of tropical, temperate and arid zones
Ecological zone | Uses | Main agroforestry practices | Ecosystem benefits | Problems |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tropical | • Shade crops (coffee. cocoa) | Fringes | Soil protection | Intensification |
• Fruit production | Living fences | Shade | ||
• Timber products | Isolated trees | Soil fertility | Loss of TEK | |
• Pest control | High biodiversity | Pesticides, deforestation | ||
Temperate | • Windbreaker | Windbreaker barriers | Microclimate conditions | Intensification |
• Snowing damage | Living fences | Buffering winds | No replacement of trees | |
• Fruit production | Fringes, isolated trees | Soil protection | Fruit commercialization | |
• Timber products | Vegetation patches | Reduction of damages by frosts | Loss of TEK | |
• Control of pests | Vegetation patches | Biodiversity | Industrialization | |
Arid | • Resistance to dryness | Windbreaker barriers | Water management | Specificity of native species |
• Retention of humidity and soil | Isolated trees | Soil protection | Abundance of rare species | |
• Timber and non-timber | Vegetation patches | Shade | Intensification | |
• Medicinal | Living fences, fringes | Biodiversity | I |