These data suggest that timber production is the most frequent function for smallholder-priority tree species, and the commercial value of timber planting in smallholdings pan-tropically

is confirmed by incomplete economic data for the sector (e.g., teak [Tectona grandis; Roshetko et al., 2013] and acacia [Acacia mangium and Acacia auriculiformis; Fisher and Gordon, 2007] wood production by Indonesian and Vietnamese smallholders, respectively). After timber, our survey of the AFTD suggests medicine and then fuel are the next most important functions. Most tree species listed by the AFTD are indicated to have a range of possible uses in agroforestry systems. Multiple uses illustrate the flexibility in the products and services that agroforestry trees can provide,

which can help support diverse livelihoods selleck products and promote production-system resilience HDAC inhibitor (Garrity, 2004). The environmental services provided by agroforests in parallel (such as erosion control and shade/shelter, as listed in Table 1, as well as global services such as carbon sequestration; Roshetko et al., 2007) with their production functions can be supported by ‘payments for environmental services’ (PES) (Roshetko et al., 2008). Experience shows, however, that more important in determining the tree planting and retention behaviour of farmers is the products they receive directly from trees, not PES (Roshetko et al., 2007). A recent example of the successful adoption of improved agroforestry technologies in Africa is for soil fertility replenishment

(Place et al., 2011). The planting of nitrogen-fixing Aprepitant ‘fertiliser trees’ in the south of the continent to substitute for (or enhance) mineral fertiliser application has resulted in increased staple crops yields, more stable crop production in drought years and improved crop rain-use efficiency (Sileshi et al., 2008 and Sileshi et al., 2012). A recent project in Malawi, for example, encouraged more than 180,000 farmers to plant fertiliser trees, leading to improvements in maize yields, more food secure months per year and greater dietary diversity (CIE, 2011). Further approaches to improve soil fertility in Africa include farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) of faidherbia (Faidherbia albida) and other leguminous trees, which since 1985 in Niger alone has led to the ‘regreening’ of approximately 5 million hectares ( Sendzimir et al., 2011). FMNR in the Sahel region has resulted in increases in sorghum and millet yields, with greater dietary diversity and improvements in household incomes also observed in some locations ( Bayala et al., 2011 and Place and Binam, 2013). Unlike the wide-scale planting of exotic trees in improved fallows, FMNR is based explicitly on indigenous species, which may better support biodiversity and other associated environmental services ( Haglund et al., 2011).