Agroforestry for Ecosystem Services: Assessing the Role of Agroforestry for Water Regulation

Abstract Agroforestry is reputed for the plethora of ecosystem services it provides including provisioning, regulating, supporting, and providing cultural services. Although agroforestry provides numerous ecosystem services, most research has focused on a few of these services namely the role played by agroforestry in the provision of food, fuelwood, fodder, income, as well as carbon sequestration, grossly neglecting the role of agroforestry in water regulation. This paper, which is based on an in-depth review of literature, examines the contribution of agroforestry to water regulation in a bid to propose paradigm shifts in empirical research tackling issues of agroforestry and water regulation. Findings indicate that, agroforestry plays an important role in water regulation (on farmlands, pasturelands, watersheds, and protected areas) through the improvement of soil carbon and soil properties, which enhances soil water both in quality and quantity. The best agroforestry practices for water regulation are silvipastoral systems (trees on pasturelands), trees on croplands, improved fallows, home gardens, alley cropping, buffer zone agroforest, bamboo-based agroforest, cocoa-based agroforest, rubber-based agroforest, coffee-based agroforest, and live fences/hedges. It is incumbent on policymakers to formulate and implement policies that favor the adoption of water regulation-friendly agroforestry practices. Cite this article as: Awazi, N.P., Njamnjubo, N.A., & Ambebe, T.F. (2025). Agroforestry for ecosystem services: Assessing the role of agroforestry for water regulation. Forestist, 75, 0032, doi:10.5152/ forestist.2024.24032.