An article on the website, Delicious Living, provides an overview of the practice of agroforestry, specifically focusing on its gaining popularity in America for the many benefits it can provide.

“Agroforestry seeks to integrate trees into agriculture, a method that offers countless benefits for humans, animals, and the land itself,” says the article.

The article explains how, when the right trees are planted in the right place, agroforestry can help protect crops from extreme weather, improve water quality, restore soil fertility, increase biodiversity, improve the drought-resilience of farms, reduce the need for pesticides and produce materials such as wood, medicines and bioenergy. Trees also have a valuable role in sequestering carbon.

In the US, agroforestry become popular during the Dust Bowl area when trees were planted in shelter belts to halt wind erosion. Today, this has broadened to include silvospasture, alley cropping and forest farming, also known as multi-story cropping.

“The case for adopting this innovative farming philosophy is pretty hard to ignore,” concludes the article.

Read the full story: What is agroforestry?