Agroforestry Systems: An Effective Toolfor Carbon Sequestration

Abstract

The consequences of global warming on climate change (CC) are now evident to all. The escalating level of greenhouse gases is the root cause of global warming is the increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs). As per reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the levels of current GHG, especially CO2 have increased drastically about 30% in the atmosphere as compared to the pre-industrial levels. Such drastic increase of CO2 has occurred due to anthropogenic activities like vehicular emission due to combustion of fossil fuels, emission from industries and replacement of tropical forests by agricultural lands. In order to mitigate this hazard C-sequestration has emerged as an effective way wherein the atmospheric carbon is being converted and stored in a form that is unavailable. In terms of sequestration, plant and soil organic carbon (SOC) act as an excellent carbon sink (25% of global carbon (GC) stocks, i.e., 2,000 ± 500 Pg) and their benefits can be maximized if they are managed and manipulated in various biomes. One such option is agroforestry systems which judiciously combine the woody perennials or trees with crops, livestock, and pastures for deriving maximum ecological benefit from their interaction. The tree component in such systems serve as a long-term sink for carbon. Moreover, agroforestry systems have the ability to sequester carbon both in the aboveground andbelowground biomass portions as well as soil. It is estimated that the agroforestry systems can potentially store approximately up to 30–300 Mg C ha–1 in one meter soil depth. Thus, the chapter encapsulates brief definitions, extent, and types of agroforestry systems present across world, mechanism C-sequestration by agroforestry systems and ancillary benefits associated with them. In addition, some lights have been thrown on international policies for promoting agroforestry all of the world, their execution, loopholes, and recommendations. © 2025 by Apple Academic Press, Inc.