Trees draw nutrients from below crop root reach and then release them on the soil surface as leaves fall or branches are pruned. Trees provide habitats for animals and birds that eat crop pests and insects. Root and grain crops, tree nuts and fruits, fuelwood, posts, animal fodder, medicines, and livestock. Valuable construction timber, larger fuelwood, and other wood products such as pulp and veneer. Crops and soils need protection from wind damage, drying, and erosion.
Methods expose and disturb soil twice in a rotation.
On sloping terrain, frequent, intense rains wash soil away rapidly if it is disturbed and unprotected. Arable land is the most scarce and thus valuable natural resource. Agroforestry is arguably a more sustainable and optimal way of farming in most resource-limited environments. This seems to be especially true in the Pacific, where growing and developing populations are confined to relatively small and scattered areas. Successful agroforestry though, requires careful planning and usually more labor Trees and crops must be arranged and managed properly if overall productivity is to be increased and sustained.