Ecosystem services through Agroforestry: A review

Agroforestry, integrating trees and shrubs on the same land that is used for crop production and/or animal husbandry, promotes biodiversity and produces a multitude of ecosystem services. It is not a new practice; rather, mixing trees and crops has been a common way to produce food, fodder, fibre and fuels throughout the human history. Promotion and development of agroforestry for food production can help mitigate the challenges of climate change, environmental degradation and biodiversity loss (Kuyah et al., 2019). Agroforestry systems are believed to provide a number of ecosystem services. Major ecosystem services and environmental benefits of Agroforestry are; carbon sequestration, biodiversity conservation, soil enrichment and air and water quality. Past and present evidence clearly indicates that agroforestry, as part of a multi-functional working landscape, can be a viable land-use option that, in addition to alleviating poverty, offers a number of ecosystem services and environmental benefits Agroforestry is considered as sustainable agriculture system compared to conventional agriculture and forestry because it offers various environmental benefits through integrated natural resource management practices. This system provides numerous ecosystem services by bridging the gaps between agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry. This system not only produces food, fibre, fuel, feed, fruit, and fish but also has environmental impacts that affect a number of ES, including provisioning services (food and fodder), regulatory services (erosion control and carbon sequestration), and supporting services (soil fertility improvement, biodiversity conservation and pollination) (Jinger et al., 2019). These ES in turn, also enhance the agricultural productivity. Agroforestry system is very imperative panacea to improve the environmental, economic, and social benefits of ecological systems. Comprehending the effect of various agroforestry systems on ES would help us to identify the most promising agroforestry system and practices.