Carbon Sequestration in Agroforestry Systems

Abstract

Agroforestry systems have great potential as carbon (C) sinks, through C sequestration both above- and belowground. The C-sequestration potentials of tropical agroforestry systems are highly variable. The variation may be caused by (i) the estimates of C-sequestration potential of agroforestry systems that are not rigorous, (ii) lack of widely and easily adoptable methodologies for estimating the soil C potential under different conditions, and (iii) the natural variability of soil C stock in agroforestry systems in different agroecological zones. Reported data on soil C sequestration are also highly variable, partly because the term “carbon sequestration potential” can have different meanings depending on the context. Various agroforestry practices and technologies such as alley cropping/intercroping, silvopasture, riparian buffers, parklands, forest framing, homegardens, woodlots, windbreaks, and other similar land-use systems can be valued as carbon sinks in both tropical and temperate regions. The C sequestration potential of agroforestry systems justifies the plea made for its inclusion in the United Nations-based REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) programme for tropical developing regions, aimed at reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. An accurate estimation of C changes is necessary to improve the implementation of REDD + (i. e., conservation and sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of C stocks, on top of REDD) mechanisms, which use financial incentives to promote and popularize the use of any method that would reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.