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Agroecology and agroforestry both aim to work with natural systems instead of against them. Traditional monocrop agriculture typically focuses on a single annual crop, heavy tillage, and large external inputs. In contrast, agroforestry designs mix trees with crops and sometimes livestock to build soil health, reduce erosion, and recycle nutrients.
Intercropping is the practice of growing two or more crops together on the same field. Agroforestry is a special kind of intercropping that includes trees or shrubs as a permanent part of the system. Combining these approaches can create resilient farms that better withstand drought, wind, and extreme weather events.
When trees are integrated into fields and pastures, they provide shade, root depth, and a steady source of organic matter. This improves soil structure, water infiltration, and microbial life, creating a living system that can support crops and livestock longer into the future.
Alley cropping is a practical form of agroforestry where rows of trees or shrubs are planted with wide alleys in between. The alleys are used for annual crops, hay, or pasture. Over time, the trees add value through timber, fruit, nuts, or biomass, while the alleys provide yearly harvests and keep cash flow moving.
By aligning tree rows with prevailing winds, farmers can create windbreaks that protect crops from drying winds and erosion. Deep-rooted trees help bring nutrients up from deeper soil layers, while surface roots and leaf litter build fertile topsoil. In hot, dry climates, alley cropping can reduce water stress and provide shade for livestock and shade-tolerant crops.
Alley cropping can be adapted to small homesteads and large farms alike. A few rows of nut or fruit trees with vegetable beds or grains in between can turn a conventional field into a thriving, multi-layered food system.
Agroforestry systems often host far more biodiversity than single-crop fields. Trees and shrubs supply habitat, food, and nesting sites for birds, insects, and beneficial predators that help keep pests in balance. Understory plants, cover crops, and ground covers further increase diversity at the soil surface.
As the system matures, deep root networks stabilize slopes and protect watersheds. Fallen leaves and pruned branches add organic matter, feeding soil organisms and building dark, carbon-rich topsoil. These living soils absorb and store more water, reduce runoff, and help buffer farms against drought and flooding.
In addition to ecological benefits, diversified systems can provide multiple income streams for farmers: timber, poles, fruits, nuts, fodder, fuelwood, mushrooms, medicinals, and more. A well-designed agroforestry system functions like a forest that grows food and income year after year.
In the industrialized West, forests that grow food are rare. Most landscapes are divided into separate zones: cropland here, forest there, pasture somewhere else. By re-integrating trees into fields and pastures, agroforestry revives the ancient pattern of tree-based food systems common in many parts of the world.
Across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, farmers have long used mixed tree–crop systems to shelter coffee, cacao, spices, fruit trees, and annual crops. Modern agroforestry and alley cropping build on this heritage, combining traditional wisdom with contemporary tools and planning methods.
As climate change accelerates, forests that grow food are becoming more valuable. They can cool local temperatures, hold water in the landscape, and buffer farms from shocks. Agroforestry gives farmers a toolkit to design their own food forests, tailored to their climate, soils, and goals.
Alley cropping is an agroforestry practice where rows of trees or shrubs are planted with wide alleys of crops or pasture between them. The trees provide shade, wind protection, roots that stabilize soil, and long-term timber, fruit, or nut production while annual crops grow in the alleys.
Most alley cropping systems can be managed with the same tractors, implements, and basic skills used on conventional farms. The main differences are planning tree rows, adjusting equipment passes, and learning simple pruning techniques to balance light, shade, and airflow.
Yes. Small farms can start with windbreaks, shelterbelts, hedgerows, or a few agroforestry alleys and expand over time. Even a small mix of trees and crops can improve microclimates, reduce erosion, and increase resilience to drought, heat, and storms.
Trees in agroforestry systems remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in wood, roots, and soil. Mixed tree–crop systems can reduce erosion, improve water infiltration, and create cooler microclimates, making farms more resilient to climate extremes. Learn more on our climate change and reforestation pages.
Partner with us in a land management project to repurpose agricultural lands into appreciating tree assets. We have partnered with growingtogive.org, a 501c3 nonprofit, to create tree planting partnerships with land donors.
We have partnered with growingtogive.org, a Washington State nonprofit to create a land and tree partnership program that repurposes agricultural land into appreciating tree assets.
The program utilizes privately owned land to plant trees that would benefit both the landowner and the environment.
If you have 100 acres or more of flat, fallow farmland and would like to plant trees, then we would like to talk to you. There are no costs to enter the program. You own the land; you own the trees we plant for free and there are no restrictions; you can sell or transfer the land with the trees anytime.
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