Directions in Tropical Agroforestry Research : Adapted From Selected Papers Presented to a Symposium on Tropical Agroforestry Organized in Connection with the Annual Meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, 5 November 1996, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Adapted from selected papers presented to a symposium on Tropical Agroforestry organized in connection with the annual meetings of the American Society of Agronomy, 5 November 1996, Indianapolis, Indiana, USALarge areas of the warm, humid tropics in Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa are hilly or mountainous. Jackson and Scherr (1995) estimate that these tropical hillside areas are inhabited by 500 million people, or one-tenth of the current world population, many of whom practice subsistence agriculture. The region most affected is Asia which has the lowest area of arable land per capita. Aside from limited areas of irrigated terraces, most of the sloping land, which constitutes 60% to 90% of the land resources in many Southeast Asian countries, has been by-passed in the economic development of the region (Maglinao and Hashim, 1993). Poverty in these areas is often high, in contrast to the relative wealth of irri­ gated rice farms in lowland areas that benefited from the green revolution. Rapid population growth in some countries is also exacerbating the problems of hillside areas. Increasingly, people are migrating from high-potential lowland areas where land is scarce to more remote hillside areas. Such migra­ tion, together with inherent high population growth, is forcing a transforma­ tion in land use from subsistence to permanent agriculture on fragile slopes, and is creating a new suite of social, economic, and environmental problems (Garrity, 1993; Maglinao and Hashim, 1993). Front Matter....Pages i-2 Biophysical interactions in tropical agroforestry systems....Pages 3-50 Soil improvement by trees in sub-Saharan Africa....Pages 51-76 Decomposition and nitrogen release patterns of tree prunings and litter....Pages 77-97 Nutrient cycling under mixed-species tree systems in southeast Asia....Pages 99-120 Agroforestry in the management of sloping lands in Asia and the Pacific....Pages 121-137 Shade management in coffee and cacao plantations....Pages 139-164 The domestication and commercialization of indigenous trees in agroforestry for the alleviation of poverty....Pages 165-176 Socioeconomic research in agroforestry: progress, prospects, priorities....Pages 177-193 Policy issues in agroforestry: technology adoption and regional integration in the western Brazilian Amazon....Pages 195-222 Directions in tropical agroforestry research: past, present, and future....Pages 223-245 Back Matter....Pages 247-249

The volume contains 10 state-of-the-art reviews of developments in specific areas of tropical agroforestry research during the past two decades, prepared by acknowledged world leaders in the respective topics, following their presentations at a one-day symposium held in connection with the annual meetings of the tri-societies of American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America in November 1996. Each paper synthesizes the results of research, summarizes the current state of knowledge, identifies knowledge gaps, and outlines the directions that research should take in the years ahead. Taken together, these papers provide insight into the accomplishments in agroforestry research so far and our current level of understanding. As such, the volume will be of interest to professionals and students alike, not only in agroforestry, but in all land-use disciplines.

Selected Papers from the Symposium on Tropical Agroforestry organized in connection with the Annual Meeting of ASA, 5 November 1996, Indianapolis, USA