Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Forest gardens as an ‘intermediate’ land-use system in the nature-culture continuum: Characteristics and future potential

  • Chapter
New Vistas in Agroforestry

Part of the book series: Advances in Agroforestry ((ADAG,volume 1))

Abstract

Forest gardens are reconstructed natural forests, in which wild and cultivated plants coexist, such that the structural characteristics and ecological processes of natural forests are preserved, although the species composition has been adapted to suit human needs. These agroforests include a range of modified and transformed forests, and form an integral part of local land-use systems. They lie between natural forests and tree-crop plantations in terms of their structure and composition, and low intensity of forest extraction systems and the high intensity plantation systems in terms of their management intensity. Their management is characterized by combined use of silvicultural and horticultural operations, and spatial and temporal variations. These ecologically sustainable systems are often dynamic in species composition in response to changing socioeconomic conditions. Evolved over a long period of time as a result of local community’s creativity, forest gardens have still received little attention in agroforestry research, just as in the case of the more intensively domesticated homegardens. The study of forest gardens offers good opportunities for obtaining a better understanding of the ‘nature-analogous’ agroforestry systems and for developing multifunctional agroforestry systems combining production and biodiversity values.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Anderson A.B. 1990. Extraction and forest management by rural inhabitants in the Amazon estuary. pp. 65–85. In: Anderson A.B. (ed.), Alternatives to Deforestation: Steps Towards Sustainable Use of the Amazon Rain Forest. Columbia University Press, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson L.S. and Sinclair F.L. 1993. Ecological interaction in agroforestry systems. Agroforest Abstracts 6: 57–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Angelsen A., Asbjørnsen H., Belcher B., Michon G. and Ruiz-Pereze M. 2000. Cultivating (in) Tropical Forests? The evolution and sustainability of intermediate systems between extractivism and plantations. International Workshop Cultivating (in) Tropical Forests. Kraemmervika, Lofoten, Norway, June 28-July 1, 2000 (Proceedings in press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnold J.E.M. 2001. Forests and People: 25 years of Community Forestry. FAO, Rome, Italy. 134 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnold J.E.M. and Dewees P.A. 1995. Tree Management in Farmer Strategies. Responses to Agricultural Intensification. Oxford University Press, London, 292 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnold J.E.M. and Ruiz Perez M. 2001. Can non-timber forest products match tropical conservation and development objectives? Ecological Economics 39: 437–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aumeeruddy Y. and Sansonnens B. 1994. Shifting from the simple to complex agroforestry systems: an example for buffer zone management from Kerinci (Sumatra, Indonesia). Agroforest Syst 28: 113–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Belsky J.M. 1993. Household food security, farm trees, and agroforestry: a comparative study in Indonesia and the Philippines. Hum Organ 52: 130–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes F., Colding J. and Folke C. 2000. Rediscovery of traditional ecological knowledge as adaptive management. Ecol Appl 19: 1251–1262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boerboom J.H.A. and Wiersum K.F. 1983. Human impact on tropical moist forest. pp. 83–106. In: Holzner W., Werger M.J.A. and Ikusima I. (eds), Man’s Impact on Vegetation. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bourke R.M. 1985. Food, coffee and casuarina: an agroforestry system from the Papua New Guinea highlands. Agroforest Syst 2: 273–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chase A. K. 1989. Domestication and domiculture in northern Australia: a social perspective. pp. 42–54. In: Harris D.R. and Hillman G.C. (eds), Foraging and Farming, the Evolution of Plant Extraction. Unwin Hyman, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chokkalingam U. and De Jong W. 2001. Secondary forest: a working definition and typology. Int For Rev 3: 19–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colfer C., Peluso N. and See Chung C. 1997. Beyond slash and burn: building on indigenous management of Borneo’s tropical rain forests. New York Botanical Garden, USA, Advances in Economic Botany Vol. 11.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jong W. 1995. Diversity, variation, and change in ribereno agriculture and agroforestry. Ph.D. dissertation, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 168 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jong W. 2002. Forest products and local forest management in West Kalimantan, Indonesia: implications for conservation and development. Tropenbos International, Wageningen, the Netherlands. Tropenbos-Kalimantan Series No. 6, 120 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Den Hertog W.H. and Wiersum K.F. 2000. Timur (Zanthoxylum armatum) production in Nepal, dynamics in nontimber forest resource management. Mountain Research and Development 20 (2): 32–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denevan W.M., Treacy J.M., Alcorn J.B., Padoch C., Denslow J. and Paitan S.F. 1984. Indigenous agroforestry in the Peruvian Amazon: Bora Indian management of swidden fallows. Interciencia 9: 346–357.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ewel J.J., 1999. Natural systems as models for the design of sustainable systems of land use. Agroforest Syst 45: 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fortmann L. and Bruce J.W. 1988. Whose Trees? Proprietary Dimensions of Forestry. Westview, Boulder and London, 135 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fujisaka S. and Wollenberg E. 1991. From forest to agroforests and logger to agroforester: a case study. Agroforest Syst 14: 113– 129.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour D.A. 1990. Resource availability and indigenous forest management systems in Nepal. Society and Natural Resources 3: 145–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gómez-Pompa A. and Kaus A. 1990. Traditional management of tropical forests in Mexico. pp. 45–64. In: Anderson A.B. (ed.), Alternatives to Deforestation: Steps towards Sustainable Use of the Amazon Rain Forest. Columbia University Press, New York, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henkemans A., Persoon G.A. and Wiersum K.F. 2000. Landscape transformations of pioneer shifting cultivators at the forest fringe. pp. 53–69. In: Wiersum K.F. (ed.), Tropical forest resource Dynamics and Conservation: from Local to Global Issues. Wageningen University, The Netherlands, Tropical Resource Management Papers No. 33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higman S., Bass S., Judd N., Mayers J. and Nussbaum R. 1999. The Sustainable Forestry Handbook. A Practical Guide for Tropical Forest Managers on Implementing New Standards. Earthscan Publications, London, UK, 289 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs R.J. and Morton S.R. 1999. Moving from descriptive to predictive ecology. Agrofor Syst 45: 43–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kessy J.F. 1998. Conservation and utilization of natural resources in the East Usambara Forest Reserves: conventional views and local perspectives. Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands, Tropical Resource Management Papers No. 18, 168 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landauer K. and Brazil M. (eds) 1990. Tropical Homegardens. United Nations University Press, Tokyo, Japan, 257 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence A. (ed.) 2000. Forestry, Forest Users and Research: New Ways of Learning. European Tropical Forest Research Network, Wageningen, The Netherlands, ETFRN Series No. 1, 190 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lefroy E.C., Hobbs R.J., O’Connor M.H. and Pate J.S. (eds) 1999. Agriculture as a mimic of natural ecosystems. Agroforest Syst 45: 1–436.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar M.B., Kumar S. and Mathew t. 1995. Floristic attributes of small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum ( L.) Maton) growing areas in the Western Ghats of peninsular India. Agroforest Syst 31: 275–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar B.M. and Nair P.K.R. 2004. The enigma of tropical homegardens (This volume).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mary F. and Michon G. 1987. When agroforests drive back natural forests: a socio-economic analysis of a rice-agroforestry system in Sumatra. Agroforest Syst 5: 27–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Michon G. and De Foresta H. 1996. Agroforests as an alternative to pure plantations for the domestication and commercialization of NTFPs. pp. 160–175. In: Leakey R.R.B., Temu A.B., Melnyk M. and Vantomme P. (eds), Domestication and Commercialization of Non-Timber Forest Products in Agroforestry Systems. FAO, Rome, Italy, Non-Wood Forest Products No. 9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michon G. and De Foresta H. 1997. Agroforests: pre-domestication of forest trees or true domestication of forest ecosystems? Neth J Agr Sci 45: 451–462.

    Google Scholar 

  • Michon G. and De Foresta H. 1999. Agro-forests: incorporating a forest vision in agroforestry. pp. 381–406. In: Buck L.E., Lassoie J.P. and Fernandes E.C.M. (eds), Agroforestry in Sustainable Agricultural Systems. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muschler R. and Beer J. (eds) 2001. Multistrata agroforestry systems with perennial crops. Agroforest Syst 53: 85–245.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair P.K.R. 2001. Do tropical homegardens elude science, or is it the other way around. Agroforest Syst 53: 239–245.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oduol P.A. and Aluma J.R.W. 1990. The banana (Musa spp.)– Cofjee robusta traditional agroforestry system of Uganda. Agroforest Syst 11: 213–226.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oldeman R.A.A. 1983. The design of ecologically sound agroforests. pp. 173–207. In: Huxley P.A. (ed.), Plant Research in Agroforestry. International Council for Research in Agroforestry, Nairobi, Kenya.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olofsen H. 1980. An ancient social forestry. Sylvatrop, Philippines Forestry Research Journal 4: 255–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paudel S. and Wiersum K.F. 2002. Tenure arrangements and man-agement intensity of Butter tree (Diploknema butyracea) in Makawanpur district, Nepal. Int Forestry Review 4: 223–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Posey D.A. 1985. Indigenous management of tropical forest ecosys-tems: the case of the Kayapó indians of the Brazilian Amazon. Agroforest Syst 3: 139–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ros-Tonen M.A.F. (ed.) 1999. NTFP Research in the Tropenbos Programme: Results and Perspectives. Tropenbos Foundation, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 203 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salafsky N. 1995. Forest gardens in the Gunung Palung region of West Kalimantan, Indonesia: Defining a locally developed, market-oriented agroforestry system. Agroforest Syst 28: 237– 268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sayer J.A. and Campbell B. 2001. Research to integrate pro-ductivity enhancement, environmental protection, and hu-man development. Conserv Ecol 5: 32 [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol5/iss2/.

  • Teketay D. and Tegineh A. 1991. Traditional tree crop based agro-forestry in coffee producing areas of Harerge, Eastern Ethiopia. Agroforest Syst 16: 257–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torquebiau E. 1992. Are tropical agroforestry homegardens sustain- able? Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 41: 189–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Noordwijk M., Tomich T.P. and Verbist B. 2001. Negotiation support models for integrated natural resource management in tropical forest margins. Conserv Ecol 5(2): 21 [online] URL: http://www.consecol.org/vol5/iss2/art21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Noordwijk M., Tomich T.P., De Foresta H. and Michon G. 1997. To segregate –- or to integrate: The question of balance between production and biodiversity conservation in complex agroforestry systems. Agroforest Today 8 (1): 6–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Warren D.M. 1991. Using Indigenous Knowledge in Agricultural Development. World Bank, Washington DC, USA, World Bank Discussion Paper No. 127, 46 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiersum K.F. 1982. Tree gardening and taungya on Java: examples of agroforestry techniques in the humid tropics. Agroforest Syst 1: 53–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiersum K.F. 1995. 200 years of sustainability in forestry: lessons from history. Environ Manage 19: 321–329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiersum K.F. 1996. Domestication of valuable tree species in agro-forestry systems: evolutionary stages from gathering to breeding. pp. 147–158. In: Leakey R.R.B., Temu A.B., Melnyk M. and Vantomme P. (eds), Domestication and commercialization of Non-Timber Forest Products in Agroforestry Systems. FAO, Rome, Italy, Non-Wood Forest Products No. 9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiersum K.F. 1997a. Indigenous exploitation and management of tropical forest resources: an evolutionary continuum in forest-people interaction. Agr Ecosyst Environ 63: 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiersum K.F. 1997b. From natural forest to tree crops, co-domestication of forests and tree species, an overview. Neth J Agr Sci 45: 425–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiersum K.F. 2003. Use and conservation of biodiversity in East African forested landscapes. In: Zuidema P. (ed.), Tropical Forests in Multi-functional Landscapes. Seminar Proceedings. Prins Bernard Centre, Utrecht University, The Netherlands (In press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Withrow-Robinson B., Hibbs D.E., Gypmantasiri P. and Thomas D. 1999. A preliminary classification of fruit-based agroforestry in a highland area of northern Thailand. Agroforest Syst 42: 195– 205.

    Google Scholar 

  • WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development), 1987. Our Common Future. Oxford University Press, London, UK, 383 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeven A.C. 1972. The partial and complete domestication of the oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.). Econ Bot 26: 274–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University, The Netherlands

    K. F. Wiersum

Authors
  1. K. F. Wiersum
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

P. K. R. Nair M. R. Rao L. E. Buck

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2004 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Wiersum, K.F. (2004). Forest gardens as an ‘intermediate’ land-use system in the nature-culture continuum: Characteristics and future potential. In: Nair, P.K.R., Rao, M.R., Buck, L.E. (eds) New Vistas in Agroforestry. Advances in Agroforestry, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2424-1_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-2424-1_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6673-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-017-2424-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation