Agroforestry as a discipline
Developments to date
Compared to most fields of study, agroforestry is directly relevant to a wide
variety of professionals. As a newly discovered area for research and
application, it offers the potential to develop and apply a holistic and
comprehensive land-use paradigm that is truly interdisciplinary. However,
is agroforestry a philosophy or a science? Is it the most recent developmental
'fad' or an emerging applied discipline? Should agroforestry as a 'popular
science' be fashioned into an academic discipline?
Agroforestry has been practiced for thousands of years by people all over
the world. Many contend that through scientific discovery and examination
of these practices we are experiencing the beginning of a new land-use
doctrine that is akin to both agriculture and forestry. Hence, agroforestry is
actually a complex field of study that includes many specific biophysical and
socioeconomic disciplines.
Agroforestry currently is where the fields of agriculture and forestry were
over 100 years ago in the United States and over 200 years ago in Europe.
That is, although practiced worldwide, little is known about the research,
teaching and training needs required to develop and apply sound land-use
practices over wide geographic areas nor does an infrastructure exist to
assure that such information will be forthcoming. It is no wonder that
agroforestry professionals are facing a high level of uncertainty regarding
the future of this field, at least as it exists in universities and development
organizations.
Disciplines and fields of study evolve to gain additional knowledge and
insight into observed phenomena or to address arising problem areas. The
relatively new field of 'environmental and ecological toxicology' is a good
example of a problem-oriented discipline. Many disciplines, however, result
from an attempt to cope with the complexities of nature and humans. For
example, at one time the discipline of 'naturalist' covered the entire field of
basic and applied biological sciences, plus probably medicine, physics,
chemistry, and astronomy! But, as humankind grew to understand and