By Mark S. Ashton (Yale University) and Florencia Montagnini (CATIE, Costa Rica)
CRC Press, 1999, 296 p., ISBN 0849322065

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    During the Green Revolution in many developing countries, agroforestry systems tended to reflect modern agricultural systems by their intensive use of fertilizers, pesticides, and site modifications to fit the desired crop. Since the 1980's, agroforestry has learned from traditional indigenous systems to work more closely with the fertility of marginal lands through the use of less intensive cultivation and fallow periods.

    True to its title, this volume provides a silvicultural framework for thinking about the design and practice of agroforestry systems. Unlike many general agroforestry books, The Silvicultural Basis for Agroforestry Systems emphasizes research and thoughts from a forestry perspective rather than an agricultural o­ne. Many of the examples used in this reference are based o­n the ecological theory of forests that concern the competition for resources of plant-plant and plant-animal mixtures. This guide also uses the knowledge gained about the temporal and spatial dynamic and productivity of forests as the basis for silvicultural applications in agroforestry systems.

Contents

• Introduction: A Philosophical Approach to Silviculture in Agroforestry - M.S. Ashton and F. Montagnini

Part I: Understanding Plant-Environment Interactions: A Basis for Silviculture in Agroforestry Systems

• Light, Moisture and Nutrient Use by Plants - G.P. Berlyn and J. Cho
• Nitrogen-Fixing Leguminous Trees and Shrubs: A Basic Resource of Agroforestry - J.A. Bryan
• Ecological Theory of Diversity and Its Application to Mixed-Species Plantations - P.S. Ashton
• Some Applications of Multi-Trophic Level Ecological Theory to Agroforestry Systems - A.P. Beckerman

Part II: Pattern and Process of Forests as Templates for Silvicultural Applications in Agroforestry Systems

• Water Use and Climatic Relationships in Agroforestry - D.M. Smith
• Nutrient Cycling and Nutrient Use Efficiency in Agroforestry Systems - F. Montagnini, C.F. Jordan, and R.M. Machado
• Nitrogen-Fixation in Traditional and Modern Agroforestry Systems - J.A. Bryan
• Species Interactions, Stand Structure, and Productivity in Agroforestry Systems - M.J. Kelty
• Agroforestry Systems As Successional Analogs to Native Forests - M.S. Ashton and M.J. Ducey

Part III: Putting The Silvicultural Framework Together For Agroforestry Systems

• Site Classification and the Management of Landscape Pattern in Agroforestry Systems - M.J. Ducey, M.S. Ashton, and B.C. Larson
• Defining Silvicultural Systems Within Agroforestry - M.S. Ashton, F. Montagnini, and M.J. Kelty