Tanika Scherbinski edited Agro Forestry.tex  almost 10 years ago

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\end{itemize}  In practice, agroforestry is often used as a strategy that involves the combination of regular crops with trees (and shrubs) to increase the resilince of the crops and thus to generate income security from crop sales. Several available methods include intercropping, alley cropping and hedgerow cropping or more complex systems that form a natural forrest ecosystem \cite{Mbow_2014a}. Trees have many advantages which can influence income through providing extra resources and helping with the production of better crop. Both will add security in changing climate. Furthermore, agroforestry can even to some extent help prevent climate change, limiting the influence on the farmers.  By planting trees farmers can directly benefit through for instance fruits, firewood and medicinal qualities. It is however the indirect effects that will help farmers adapt to a changing climate. For instance, nitrogen fixing trees bind nitrogen in the ground, fertilizing it. This extra nitrogen in the ground will help crops prosper without the need of synthetic fertilizers. A second benefit trees have is that it creates shade for the surface below them, which allows them to buffer against temperature extremes and therefore decrease evaporation \cite{Mbow 2014a}. \cite{Mbow_2014a}.  This can contribute to a longer growing period for the crops, making them less likely to fail.