Agroforestry for carbon and ecosystem management: an overview

Abstract

Agroforestry is a land use practice that provides environmental protection and ecological restoration of degraded habitats. Globally it plays a vital role in carbon (C) and ecosystem management and helps to achieve food, nutritional, economic, and environmental security. Combating mega events in this human-altered world has necessitated the practice of agroforestry to cope with changing climate. Further, agroforestry tends to rehabilitate various forms of degraded lands and ecosystems. The agricultural system is the production of crops and livestock management. Agroforestry also offers extra advantages by increasing biological productivity. Consequently, agroforestry is more widely accepted by the scientific community as a producer of many ecosystem services. The potential of agroforestry systems for efficient C management, ecosystem services, and ecological restoration of damaged ecosystems was demonstrated through research evidence. To preserve the overall integrity of the ecosystem, agroforestry has also demonstrated tremendous promise in managing plant and soil C pools through appropriate biomass addition in the soil ecosystems to maintain the environmental sustainability. © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.