Fallow requirements are reduced, leaving more land in production at any one time. Trees protect the soil and crops from damaging, erosive, and drying winds. Tree roots bind soil, preventing down-slope erosion during rains. Tree leaf litter becomes organic humus that builds good soil structure. 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.