Agroforestry for Plant Diversity and Livelihood Security in Southwest Asia

Abstract

AgroforestryAgroforestry systems deliver livelihood securityLivelihood security and multiple ecosystem servicesEcosystem services to sustain societies and environments. Many multipurpose forest trees with food, timber, medicinal, and industrial values have been introduced in different agroforestryAgroforestry systems in many countries of southwest AsiaSouthwest Asia to sustain livelihoodLivelihoods and environmental securityEnvironmental security. Depending upon the need and environmental conditions of a particular country, the tree species have been identified and selected for growing as agroforestryAgroforestry tree component. The main agroforestryAgroforestry systems distributed in the Southwest AsiaSouthwest Asia region are agrisilvicultural systemsAgrisilvicultural systems, with mainly trees such as chestnut (Castanea sativa)Chestnut (Castanea sativa), jujube (Ziziphus lotus)Jujube (Ziziphus lotus), date palm (Phoenix dactylifera)Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera), and fruiting pine (Pinus pinea)Fruiting pine (Pinus pinea); silvopastoral systemsSilvopastoral systems, with carob (Ceratonia siliqua)Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) and Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica)Euphrates poplar (Populus euphratica) trees; and agrosilvopastoral systems, with tree species of mahlabMahlab (Prunus mahaleb syn. Cerasus mahaleb) (Cerasus mahaleb), sumac (Rhus coriaria)Sumac (Rhus coriaria), laurel (Laurus nobilis)Laurel (Laurus nobilis), and mangrovesMangroves. In addition, the systems of entomoforestryEntomo-forestry with Christ’s thorn jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi)Christ's thorn jujube (Ziziphus spina-christi) and carobCarob (Ceratonia siliqua) are also prominent. Practices such as wind breaksWind breaks and shelter belts, riparian forest buffersRiparian forest buffers, alley croppingAlley cropping, and forest farmingForest farming are also adopted in some countries in Southwest AsiaSouthwest Asia region. In this chapter, the role of these agroforestryAgroforestry systems in livelihoodLivelihoods and food securityFood security, and the environmental services they provide are discussed, and the future thrust of agroforestryAgroforestry and forest plans development is recommended.