Agroforestry: a tool for mitigating global climate change
Keywords:
agroforestry, climate change, food security, povertyAbstract
Agroforestry, which involves the incorporation of trees and perennial woody plants within agricultural systems, is a time-honoured land management practice with profound implications for rural communities and the environment. This comprehensive review explores the multifaceted role of agroforestry in addressing contemporary challenges, particularly climate change. Climate change is an unprecedented global threat, exacerbating food insecurity, poverty, and environmental degradation. Developing countries, already facing critical development needs, will bear the brunt of its impact. This review examines the adaptation and mitigation functions of agroforestry systems, reevaluates the concept of sustainability, and investigates how agroforestry can enhance resilience and reduce vulnerability among smallholder farmers, particularly in tropical regions. Agroforestry contributes to carbon storage, biodiversity conservation, soil and water conservation, and diversified income sources. The review goes on to explore the capacity for carbon storage in agroforestry systems in both tropical and temperate.
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