Digital Tools for Quantifying the Natural Capital Benefits of Agroforestry: A Review

Abstract

Agroforestry is one nature-based solution that holds significant potential for improving the sustainability and resilience of agricultural systems. Quantifying these benefits is challenging in agroforestry systems, largely due to landscape complexity and the diversity of management approaches. Digital tools designed for agroforestry typically focus on timber and crop production, and not the broader range of benefits usually considered in assessments of ecosystem services and natural capital. The objectives of this review were to identify and evaluate digital tools that quantify natural capital benefits across eight themes applicable to agroforestry systems: timber production and carbon sequestration, agricultural production, microclimate, air quality, water management, biodiversity, pollination, and amenity. We identified and evaluated 63 tools, 9 of which were assessed in further detail using Australia as a case study. No single tool was best suited to quantify benefits across each theme, suggesting that multiple tools or models could be combined to address capability gaps. We find that model complexity, incorporation of spatial processes, accessibility, regional applicability, development speed and interoperability present significant challenges for the tools that were evaluated. We recommend that these challenges be considered as opportunities to develop new, and build upon existing, tools to enhance decision support in agroforestry systems.