Agroforestry: Diversity and Design

An Agroforestry system is much more than a tree plantation. A true agroforestry system needs to "bio mimic" a natural forest and include multiple species and families of trees, ground cover plants, vines, and shrubs.

The diversity is the system's key to resilience. Multiple heights of trees create more homes for more beneficial wildlife. An upper canopy is crucial for shade and to protect the soil from hard rainfall--especially the fragile soils of the neotropics.

In my "Syntropic Agroforestry" video I talked about the importance of starting the system with hardy pioneer plants. In this video, I address the question: "What comes after pioneers?"

Planning and executing a plan to get a return on the land in addition to subsistence foods is also important. Valuable crops like cacao, cardamom, black pepper, and medicinal fungi command high prices on the world market. Agroforestry is a real path forward to provide food and important ecological services like carbon sequestration. It's up to us to show that it CAN be done.