Agroforestry Chapter 1 (Part 2): Social Forestry, Forests and Agroforestry Institutes

Agroforestry Notes · Chapter 1 · Part 2

Chapter 1 (Part 2): Social Forestry, Forests and AF Institutes

Social, farm, extension and community forestry and how they differ from agroforestry; forest definitions, classification and status; role of forests in farming; national and international institutes.

Social forestrySF vs AFForestsRole of forestsInstitutesRevisionMCQ quiz

1. Social forestry and its branches

Social forestry grew in India in the 1970s and 1980s to meet rural needs for fuel, fodder and small timber outside the reserved forests. The term was coined by J.C. Westoby, and in India it was first recognised in the interim report of the National Commission on Agriculture (NCA), 1976.

Social forestry (e-course)Social forestry is the practice of forestry on lands outside the conventional forest area for the benefit of the rural and urban communities.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

Social forestry (Nair)Social forestry is considered to be the practice of using trees and/or tree planting specifically to pursue social objectives, usually betterment of the poor, through delivery of the benefits (of trees and/or tree planting) to the local people; it is sometimes described as "tree growing by the people, for the people."Source: Nair (1993), An Introduction to Agroforestry, Chapter 2

NCA objective: fulfil the basic and economic needs of the community. NCA scope: farm forestry, community woodlots (extension forestry) and reforestation of degraded forests. A key aim was to supply fuelwood so that cow dung goes to the fields instead of the hearth. By the mid-1980s it was described as forestry “of the people, by the people and for the people”.

Farm forestryFarm forestry is the practice of forestry on farms in the form of raising rows of tree on bunds or boundaries of field and individual trees in private agriculture land as well as creation of wind breaks, which are protective vegetal screens created round a farm or an orchard by raising one or two lines of trees fairly close with shrubs in between.Source: ICAR e-course, Glossary

Extension forestryExtension forestry is the practice of forestry in areas devoid of tree growth and other vegetation and situated in places away from the conventional forest areas with the object of increasing the area under tree growth.Source: ICAR e-course, Glossary

Mixed forestryMixed forestry is practice of forestry for raising fodder grass with scattered fodder trees, fruit trees and fuel-wood trees on suitable waste lands, panchayat land and village commons land.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

Linear strip plantationThese are plantations of fast-growing species on linear strips of land on the sides of public roads, canals and railway lines.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

Community woodlotsThe community woodlots, consists of plantations of fuelwood species on community village lands, with intended objective of increasing a villager’s access to fuel wood, fruits and fodder.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

Recreation forestryRecreation forestry is the practice of forestry with the object of raising avenue/flowering trees and shrubs mainly to serve as recreation forests for the urban and rural population.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

Aesthetic forestryThe practice of forestry with the object of developing or maintaining a forest of high scenic value.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

Community forestry (Nair)A form of social forestry, where tree planting is undertaken by a community on common or communal lands.Source: Nair (1993), Glossary

Structure of social forestry

Branch	Where	Examples
Farm forestry	Farmers’ own fields, bunds, boundaries	Rows of eucalyptus or poplar on bunds; windbreaks round orchards
Extension forestry	Treeless areas away from forests	Mixed forestry, shelterbelts, windbreaks, linear strip plantations
Community woodlots	Village common land	Fuelwood plots managed by the panchayat
Reforestation of degraded forests	Degraded government forest near villages	Short-rotation fuel and timber species
Recreation (aesthetic) forestry	Towns, parks, roadsides	Avenue and flowering trees

Nair notes that the much-praised Gujarat social forestry projects of the 1980s mostly produced poles and pulpwood for sale rather than fuelwood for the poor. Community forestry often suffers from the “tragedy of the commons” (Hardin, 1968): common land is used by all but cared for by none. The term farm forestry is used mainly in Asia.

Shelterbelt and windbreak in social forestry

A windbreak is a protective planting of usually 2–3 rows of trees or shrubs (0.5–2.5 m apart) round a garden, farm or field. A shelterbelt is wider and longer and protects areas larger than a single farm, sometimes whole regions. Both are covered in detail in Chapter 4.

2. Social forestry vs agroforestry

Point	Social forestry	Agroforestry
Meaning	Tree planting outside conventional forests for rural and urban communities	Sustainable land management combining crops, trees and/or animals on the same land
Slogan	Of the people, by the people, for the people	Localised; maximum combined production from one land unit
Land	Village commons, roadsides, railway lines, canal banks, degraded forests	Mostly farmers’ own fields
Components	Mainly trees and shrubs	Two or more components integrated on the same land
Driver	Mainly a government programme	Mainly farmers’ own decisions
Core feature	Social objectives equal to production	Interaction between trees and crops/animals

Exam point: Nair: the key difference is that agroforestry stresses the interactive association of trees with crops and/or animals, while social, community and farm forestry refer to tree planting, often as woodlots. In practice the terms overlap.

3. Forests: definitions and classification

Forest (general)‘An area set aside for the production of timber and other forest produce or maintained under woody vegetation for certain indirect benefits which it provides e.g., climatic or protective is forest.’Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

Forest (ecological)It is defined as a plant community predominantly of trees and other woody vegetation usually with closed canopy.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

Forest (legal)An area of land proclaimed to be forest under a forest law.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

StandStand is defined as an aggregation of trees occupying a specific area sufficiently uniform in composition, age, arrangement and condition to be distinguishable from the forest on adjoining areas.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

TreeTree is large woody plant having single well defined stem (bole/trunk) and more or less definite crown. Tree is usually more than six meter in height.Source: ICAR e-course, Glossary

ShrubsShrubs can be defined as woody perennial plant differing from perennial herbs in its persistence and woody stem and less definitely from a tree in its low stature and its habit of branching from the base. Shrub is of height 1-6 m.Source: ICAR e-course, Glossary

Six bases of forest classification

Basis	Classes
Method of regeneration	High forest (from seed); coppice forest (from coppice shoots or root suckers)
Age	Even-aged (age difference up to 25% of rotation); uneven-aged (more than 25%)
Composition	Pure (at least 80% of one species); mixed (two or more species in the same canopy)
Object of management	Production (national), protection, farm, fuel and recreational forests
Ownership and legal status	Reserved, protected, village, communal and panchayat forests
Growing stock	Normal and abnormal forests

Pure forestPure forest is defined as a forest composed of almost entirely of one species usually to the extent of not less than 80%.Source: ICAR e-course, Glossary

Normal forestForest which for a given site and given objects of management is ideally constituted as regard growing stock, age class distribution and increment and from which the annual or periodic removal of produce is equal to the increment can be continued indefinitely without endangering future yield.Source: ICAR e-course, Introductory Agroforestry

• Reserved forest: constituted under the Indian Forest Act, 1927; most rights are prohibited unless allowed.
• Protected forest: limited protection under Chapter IV of the Indian Forest Act, 1927; rights are allowed unless prohibited.
• Village forest: a state forest assigned to a village community.
• Protection forest regulates stream flow, prevents erosion and holds shifting sand; fuel forest is raised on village wasteland.

4. Forest status of India and role of forests in farming

The e-course quotes the 2007 assessment (published 2009): forest cover 69.09 Mha, i.e. 21.02% of the geographical area (22.26% if the area above the tree line is excluded). Madhya Pradesh has the largest forest area and Mizoram the highest percentage. The North-East holds about 25% of India’s forest cover.

Density class	Canopy density	Area (2007)
Very dense forest	70% and above	8.35 Mha (2.54%)
Moderately dense forest	40–70%	31.90 Mha (9.71%)
Open forest	10–40%	28.84 Mha (8.77%)
Scrub	Below 10%	4.15 Mha (1.26%)

Exam point: Exams on current affairs quote the latest ISFR figures. The canopy-density classes above have not changed. Champion and Seth classified Indian forests into 5 major groups and 16 type groups.

Why forests matter to farmers

Fuel

Fuelwood need 201 Mt; about half comes from forests and plantations, the rest from farms and commons.

Timber

Of the 64 million m³ demand, about 31 million m³ comes from farm forestry and other woodlands.

Fodder

About 30% of India’s fodder (145 Mt dry, 178 Mt green) comes from forests.

Climate

Forests are the world’s air-conditioner: 3–8 °C cooler inside, +5–10% local precipitation.

Soil and water

Crowns break raindrops (less splash erosion); more sub-surface run-off and less flooding.

NTFP

“Minor” forest products are minor only in quantity, not importance: gums, resins, medicines, honey.

Forest functions are grouped as productive, protective-ameliorative, recreational-educational and developmental. The most widespread benefit of trees on farms is their soil-enriching effect and protection against erosion.

5. Agroforestry institutes

India

• IGFRI, CSWCRTI, CRIDA, CAZRI and the ICAR complex for NEH began agroforestry research in the 1960s–70s.
• Organised research began in 1983 (VI Plan) with the All India Coordinated Research Project on Agroforestry at 20 centres (12 SAUs + 8 ICAR institutes).
• In the VII Plan (1985–90) 11 more SAU centres were added and agroforestry entered the agriculture syllabus; NRCAF was proposed.
• Later there were 39 centres: 33 regular + 5 voluntary + 1 PC unit.
• NRCAF, National Research Centre for Agroforestry, Jhansi (UP): research, network coordination, training, technology packages and consultancy.
• IGFRI, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, also at Jhansi.

International

Organisation	Headquarters	Role
ICRAF (World Agroforestry)	Nairobi, Kenya	Est. 1977; catalyst for AF research, training and information
FAO	Rome, Italy	Forest genetic resources; newsletter Forest Genetic Resources Information
IBPGR	Rome, Italy	CGIAR centre for plant genetic resources, incl. fuelwood species
ITTO	Yokohama, Japan	Tropical timber producing and consuming countries
IUCN	Gland, Switzerland	Government + NGO members; Plant Red Data Book; WCMC at Cambridge
IUFRO	Vienna, Austria	Forestry research network; provenance and breeding
UNEP	Nairobi, Kenya	UN environment programme
UNESCO	Paris, France	Man and Biosphere (MAB) programme; biosphere reserves
CGIAR	Washington DC, USA	Network of international agricultural research centres (13 per e-course)
CATIE	Costa Rica	Agroforestry, silviculture, wild lands, watersheds
CSIRO	Canberra, Australia	Australian Tree Seed Centre
DFSC	Humlebaek, Denmark	Danish Forest Seed Centre
OFI	Oxford, UK	Formerly Commonwealth Forestry Institute; provenance trials

Exam point: Beyond the course, often asked in recent papers (check against official sources): NRCAF (est. 1988) became CAFRI (Central Agroforestry Research Institute) in 2014; India adopted the National Agroforestry Policy in February 2014, the first in the world; the Sub-Mission on Agroforestry began in 2016–17; CIFOR and ICRAF merged as CIFOR-ICRAF (announced 2019).

Memory trick: Two bodies in Nairobi: ICRAF and UNEP. Two in Rome: FAO and IBPGR. Two at Jhansi: NRCAF (CAFRI) and IGFRI.

6. Quick revision box

• Social forestry coined by Westoby; NCA 1976 made it a programme.
• NCA components: farm forestry, community woodlots, reforestation of degraded forests.
• Windbreak: 2–3 rows, 0.5–2.5 m apart; shelterbelt covers more than one farm.
• Tragedy of the commons: Hardin (1968).
• Pure forest ≥ 80% one species; even-aged: difference ≤ 25% of rotation.
• Reserved and protected forests: Indian Forest Act 1927 (protected: Chapter IV).
• VDF ≥70%, MDF 40–70%, open 10–40%, scrub <10% canopy density.
• Tree >6 m; shrub 1–6 m; herb ≤1 m.
• AICRP-AF: 1983, 20 centres (12 SAU + 8 ICAR); now 39 centres.
• NRCAF and IGFRI: Jhansi. ICRAF and UNEP: Nairobi. IUFRO: Vienna. IUCN: Gland. ITTO: Yokohama.

7. Interactive MCQ Quiz

15 questions. Tap an option to see the answer and explanation, then go to the next question.

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