What is meant by agroforestry?
Agroforestry is a land use system (farming) that combines trees with agricultural crops to increase profits, both economically and environmentally. In this system, plant diversity is created in an area of land so that it will reduce the risk of failure and protect the soil from erosion and reduce the need for fertilizer or nutrients from outside the garden because of the recycling of crop residues.
The following is an example of some agroforestry systems (allometric equations for estimating biomass in Silvopastoral System)
1. Grass Strip
Grass strips are a form of transition from an annual crop farming system to an agroforestry system. The grass strip is a row of grass with a width of 0.5-1 m and the distance between the 4-10 m strips planted parallel to the height line (contour). On terraced soil, grass is planted on the edge (lip) of the terrace.
The suitable type of grass is grass that has a dense root system and can be used as fodder forage, for example elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum), BD grass (Brachiaria decumbens), BH grass (Brachiaria humidicola), bitter grass (Paspallum notatum) and others . Sometimes fragrant root grass (Vetiveria zizanioides) is also used as a grass strip plant. Fragrant roots are not preferred by livestock, but produce essential oils which are the raw material for making cosmetics. Advantages of grass strips: Reducing surface flow velocity and erosion Strengthening core lip Providing forage forage. Helps accelerate the process of forming the terrace naturally.
2. Hallway Planting
This system is an agricultural system in which annual crops are planted in a corridor between rows of hedges arranged according to contour lines. Types of plants that are suitable for hedges are legumes (legumes), gamal (Flemingia congesta Gliricidia sepium), lamtoro (Leucaena leucocephala), and Calliandra callothirsus. The distance between rows of hedgerows ranges from 4 to 10 m. The steeper the slope, the distance between the rows of hedges is getting closer.
Advantages of hedgerows:
Donating organic matter and nutrients, especially nitrogen, for alley plants.
Reducing the rate of surface runoff and erosion.
Weaknesses of hedgerows and grass strips:
Hedges or grass strips take up 5-15% of the total area
land.
Often there is competition with aisle plants.
Sometimes the effect of allelopathy (a liquid or gas released by a hedge plant that interferes with the growth of the aisle plant).
The need for labor is high enough for planting and maintaining hedges.
3. Living Fence
A living fence is a line of shrubs or trees planted on the edge of a garden. If the garden is on steep sloping land, the living fence will form a network that is beneficial for soil conservation. The pruning can be used as a source of organic material or as
fodder forage.
Types of plants used for fences should be easily planted and easily obtained seeds, for example gamal with cuttings, turi, lamtoro and calliandra with seeds.
For legume tree species of shrubs (lamtoro, gamal), planted with a spacing of ± 20 cm. This tight space is to keep the hedges from growing too tall.
Advantages of life fence:
Protecting the garden from livestock The pruning can be used as fodder forage
Become a source of organic matter and soil nutrients
Providing firewood
Reducing wind speed
4. Multistrata System
Multistrata system is a multi-level canopy agricultural system, consisting of tall canopy plants (such as mango, candlenut), medium (such as lamtoro, gamal, coffee) and low (annual crops, grass) planted in one garden (see picture on the front page ). Between one plant and one
others are arranged so that they do not compete with each other.
Certain plants such as coffee, cocoa need a little shade, but if too much shade grows and production will be disrupted.
Advantages of multistrata systems:
Reducing the intensity of sunlight, for example for coffee and chocolate that need shade.
Because there are many types of plants, it is expected that the harvest can take place alternately throughout the year and this can avoid the lean season.
The soil is always covered with plants so it is safe from erosion
1. Agroforestry: New Sciences, Old Techniques
Planting various types of trees with or without annual crops (a year) on the same plot of land has long been carried out by farmers (including cultivators) in forest. Examples of this kind can be seen in the fields around the residence of farmers. This practice has become more widespread lately, especially in forest margins due to the increasingly limited availability of land. The conversion of natural forests into agricultural land creates many problems, for example decreasing fertility
land, erosion, extinction of flora and fauna, floods, drought and even environmental changes. Globally, this problem is getting worse in line with the increase in the area of forest that is converted into other business land.
This event was triggered by efforts to meet the needs, especially food both globally, caused by an increase in population.
In the midst of this development agroforestry was born, a new branch of science in agriculture and forestry that tried to combine plant and tree elements. This science tries to recognize
and developing agroforestry systems that have been practiced by farmers since centuries ago.
2. What Is meant by Agroforestry?
Until now there has been no unity of opinion among experts on the definition of "agroforestry". Almost every expert proposes a different definition from the other. Defining agroforestry is as difficult as defining forest. In the journal "Agroforestry Systems" Volume 1 No.1, pages 7-12 of 1982 displayed no less than 12 definitions, including:
Agroforestry is
integrated land use system, which has social and ecological aspects, is carried out through the combination of trees with agricultural crops and / or livestock (animals), either together or in rotation, so that from one unit of land an optimal total vegetable or animal yield is achieved in the sense sustainability (PKR Nair)
sustainable land management system and able to increase overall land production, is a combination of agricultural crop production (including annual crops) with forest plants and / or animals (livestock), both together or in rotation, carried out on one plot of land with
apply practical management techniques that are appropriate to the culture of the local community (K.F.S. King and M.T. Chandler)
planting trees simultaneously or in sequence with agricultural and / or livestock crops, both within the scope of small families or large companies.
Agroforestry is not the same as community forestry, but is often appropriate for the implementation of community forestry projects "(L. Roche)
Some definitions of agroforestry used by international agroforestry research institutions (ICRAF = International Center for Research in Agroforestry) are (Huxley, 1999):
land use system that combines woody plants (trees, shrubs, bamboo, rattan and others) with non woody plants or can also be with grass (pasture), sometimes there are components of livestock or other animals (bees, fish) to form ecological interactions and economical between woody plants with other components.
land use system that combines woody plants with non woody plants (sometimes with animals) that grow together or take turns on a land, to obtain various products and services (services) so as to form ecological and economic interactions between plant components.
Ecologically dynamic natural resource management system by planting trees on agricultural land or pasture to obtain a variety of products in a sustainable manner so as to increase social, economic and environmental benefits for all land users
Next Lundgren and Raintree (1982) propose a summary of many agroforestry definitions with the following formula:
Agroforestry is a collective term for land use systems and technologies, which is planned to be implemented on one land unit by combining woody plants (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboo, etc.) with agricultural crops and / or animals (livestock) and / or fish, which are carried out at the same time or in rotation so as to form ecological and economic interactions between various components.
From the various definitions cited in full, agroforestry is a new term from traditional land use practices that have the following elements:
Land use or land use system by humans
Application of technology
Components of annual plants, annual plants and / or livestock or animals
The time can be the same or take turns in a certain period
There are ecological, social, economic interactions