Adoption of Agroforestry in Australia

Forestry continues to be redefined to meet a broad range of economic, environmental and social expectations in many countries, including Australia (Sargent 1992; Brand et al. 1993; Grayson 1993; Clark 1995; Kanowski 1995; Ferguson 1996; Humphreys 1996; Myers 1996; FAO 1997; Grundy 1997). A notable feature of this process is the increasing importance given to agroforestry by landholders, industry and government (Pearse 1994; Kanowski 1996). However, despite a considerable increase in research into the potential dimensions of this land-use and the possible outcomes since the mid-1990s, agroforestry is still largely in a developmental stage in most regions in Australia.As discussed more fully in earlier chapters, agroforestry is viewed by many as an approach to land management in which trees and shrubs are used to help achieve more sustainable agriculture, diversify farm incomes, improve the aesthetics of farmed landscapes, reduce the national trade deficit in forest products, and enhance the viability of regional communities through industry development and employment (McDonald 1993; Commonwealth 1995; CIE et al. 1996; MCAFF et al. 1997; Moore and Bird 1997). Aspects of agroforestry have been practiced for millennia by agrarian-based societies throughout the world on a relatively localised scale (Dabbert 1995; Dupraz and Newman 1997; Wu and Zhu 1997; Garrity 2006). Despite this long history, the scale of agroforestry is believed to have remained small and localised, and thus difficult to assess at an international level (Mather 1993) and in Australia (Parsons et al. 2006).