Trees Outside Forests in rural landscapes: harmonizing the combination of food crops with trees for wood and energy production and environmental restoration

Growing World population demands for dramatic increment in agricultural and forestry production, not only for food, but also for wood and bioenergy. Current land use practices, mostly based on mono-cropping systems, often fail in efficient use of natural resources, with detrimental effects on environmental perseveration. Tree outside Forests (or Agroforestry Systems) are mixed land use practices that have the potential to combine food and wood production on the same land unit, decrementing conflicts for land use. Recent research activities have highlighted the potentialities of modern agroforestry systems to respond quickly to future challenges of yield increments in agricultural and forestry production, as well in environmental preservation.