Assessing the usefulness of indigenous and locally adapted trees for agroforestry

Many farmers and extension workers would like to test and promote indigenous or locally adapted tree species, but there is often little information available to them about some of these species.

Locally adapted species are attractive, because the plant material is readily available for propagation from seed, cuttings or wildlings. Because introduced species are not adapted to local pests and diseases, indigenous species may present a lower risk to the farmers. Another reason for using indigenous species is to maintain biological diversity within agroecosystems.

Assessing the usefulness of indigenous and locally adapted trees for agroforestry

These materials were prepared to provide some guidelines to assessing the potential of indigenous species for use in agroforestry systems. However, these guidelines could be applied to assessing introduced species as well.

Trees are useful because they furnish a certain product that is valued or because they perform a function that is needed. Some trees provide a combination of products and functions although no one species fulfills all the possibilities that are listed below. In assessing a species' potential usefulness for agroforestry, keep in mind the objectives and needs of the farm household. Trade-offs between benefits are usually necessary; therefore, a combination of species often provides best results.

Some of the products from trees include:

· wood (for house and pen construction, bridges, boats, carts, fuelwood, furniture, poles, fencing, packing crates, barrels, pulp, tools, implements, handicrafts and musical instruments);

· livestock fodder (from leaves, fruits, seeds);

· food for human consumption (fruits, nuts, spices, greens);

· medicines (from bark, fruits, seeds, roots, leaves, flowers);

· green manures (from clippings of leaves and small stems); and,

· industrial raw materials (gums, resins, dyes, oils).

Some of the functions of trees include:

· stream bank and watershed protection;

· soil conservation (contour hedgerows or strips);

· soil improvement (N-fixation, nutrient cycling, soil microclimate amelioration);

· shade (around houses, bordering paths and roads, etc.) or as nurse tree for coffee and cacao;

· shelterbelts/windbreaks or firebreaks;

· live fencing;

· live trellis (for black pepper, vanilla, betel leaf, ampalaya);

· insect management: bee forage (Calliandra calothyrsus, Ceiba petandra); silk production (Morus); butterfly farming and, ornamental value and spiritual value.

ASSESSING THE USEFULNESS OF INDIGENOUS TREES FOR FUELWOOD

A good fuelwood has these qualities:

It is easy to light and keep going, especially if used in a wood-burning stove. Wood that will bum when green or wet is especially useful.

It bums well but not too quickly. Many softwoods (like pine) bum up quickly, resulting in more wood being consumed.

It bums down into coals that retain their heat for slow, even cooking or for heating houses.

The stems are not too thick or can be easily split. Wood that is very hard or has interlocking grain is difficult to split into small pieces to fit in a woodburning stove.

It can be used to make charcoal. Charcoal is easier to transport than wood so fuelwood that is to be sold is often converted into charcoal first.

It does not produce irritating smoke, unpleasant odors or give a peculiar taste to food cooked over it. Some people do not like Eucalyptus for fuelwood even though it bums well, because they think it makes food taste funny.

See Properties of Some Fuelwood Species on pages 181-191 for more information.

A good tree for producing fuelwood has these qualities:

· is fast-growing and has a high yield of woody biomass;

· sprouts back vigorously after cutting. Some species sprout best if they are cut near the base of the stem while other species are cut higher (1-2 m above ground). Wood can be harvested repeatedly from trees that have a good sprouting ability, without destroying or having to replant the tree.

· is adapted even to less fertile, drier or thinner soils than those used for more valuable agricultural crops; and,

· is multipurpose: has some other products or functions besides fuelwood.

Assessing the usefulness of indigenous trees for live fencing

Assessing the usefulness of indigenous trees for live fencing

The best live fences are often made up of a combination of several species, such as bamboos, shrubs and vines

Species with thorns, spines, nettles or irritating late' are especially good for fencing out livestock.

The plants should form a dense hedge. Often, it i' necessary to prune the stems to encourage stump sprouting and branchiness.

The stems should be usable as living fenceposts and be able to tolerate some damage from nails and wire if wire fencing is used.

Plants that can be propagated from branch cuttings (e.g., Madre de cacao) and that can be rooted in place will produce a live fence quickly. If the plant cannot be propagated from cuttings, sufficient quantities of viable seed should be available for direct seeding.

The leaves and stems should be non-palatable to livestock.

The live fence species should not spread easily into pastures or cultivated fields.

Fire-resistant species (like Gmelina) should be used if possible.

Layering and lattice techniques can be used to make live fences more impenetrable.

Live fence planted using cuttings.

ASSESSING THE USEFULNESS OF INDIGENOUS TREES FOR LIVESTOCK FODDER

Trees and shrubs that are suited for fodder have these characteristics:

· The fodder is palatable and digestible. If livestock will not eat the fodder or if they cannot digest it, K does not matter how nutritious it is.

· Contains no toxins.

· Is suitable for a variety of livestock.

· The leaves, fruits or seeds are nutritious with a highprotein content.

· The plants can withstand frequent pruning.

· They produce leaves year-round and are droughttolerant.

· The ratio of leaf to woody biomass production is high.

· The stems and leaves have no thorns, bristles, nettles or irritating latex.

Often, trees and shrubs that are useful as fodder crops are not suited as live fencing species and vice-versa.

ASSESSING THE USEFULNESS OF INDIGENOUS TREES FOR INTERCROPPING

Agroforestry often involves intercropping of trees or shrubs with annual or herbaceous species. Some of the features to consider in terms of their suitability for intercropping are:

· Type of root structure

Some wood plants have roots that grow deep into the earth and draw water and nutrients from far below the surface. These trees are especially suited for intercropping because they do not compete with shallow-rooted annual crops that draw most of their water and nutrients from the top soil.

Although shallowrooted species may not be as suited for intercropping, they are often useful for erosion control because their roots help bind the soil. On farms with very steep slopes, these species can be used for soil conservation. Some species form roots both close to the surface as well as in deeper soil layers.

Type of root structure

Effects of Trees on Soil and Water Conservation

Tree roots help to anchor and stabilize soil. Leaf litter and humus that build up under tree stands allow water to percolate into the lower soil layers. Ground cover vegetation under the trees can also contribute to leaf litter and humus build-up and can help to prevent soil loss. Some tree species seem to inhibit understory ground cover by secreting substances into the soil that are toxic to other plants. This is called allelopathy. If normal ground cover does not grow under a certain tree species, this species may not be suited for intercropping.

Ability to Improve soil quality

Trees can improve soil fertility by serving as "nutrient pumps", that is, they efficiently absorb nutrients from the soil. The nutrients that are concentrated in the leaves can then be resumed to the soil as green manures.

Ability to Improve soil quality

Nitrogen-fixing trees often have nitrogen-rich foliage. Many but not all members of the Legume family are N-fixing. One way to identify an N-fixer is to check the roots for nodules which look like small lumps or knots. Non-legume species that fix Nitrogen are found in the Casuarina and Alnus genera.

Using green manures can also improve soil texture, infiltration and moisture-holding capacity by increasing organic matter in the soil. Trees that have compound leaves with many small leaflets break down quickly. Larger leaves and small stems will provide a slower, longer-term release of nutrients.

Trees also affect the soil microclimate, lowering temperatures and increasing humidity, thus providing favorable conditions for beneficial microorganisms.

Shade-tolerance

A species is shade-tolerant if it can regenerate and thrive under the canopy of other trees where the amount of available light is reduced. In intercropping arrangements, there are often several layers or strata of tree and shrub species, with the lower or understory layers made up of shade-tolerant species.

Shade-tolerance

Rate of height growth and ability to sprout after cutting

It is important to compare growth rates with respect to the strata of the intercropping system that each species will occupy. Slower growing, intolerant species should not be overtopped and shaded out by faster-growing fuelwood species (like Gliricidia) with a slow-growing intolerant fruit tree, you will have to cut the fuelwood species back at first to keep it from overtopping the fruit tree.

Rate of height growth and ability to sprout after cutting

Crown form and leafing pattern

The size and shape of the overstory species crown and the type of foliage will affect the amount of light that penetrates down into the understory. Even if the understory plants are shade-tolerant, they still need light, especially when they flower and bear fruit. Overstory plants that have a high, small, open crown and sparse foliage (like Albizia falcataria) will allow more light through than species with deep, broad spear-heading crowns and dense foliage (like mango).

Seasonal cycles

The amount of overstory foliage can vary depending on the season, affecting the amount of light that the understory species will intercept. Although many tropical trees are evergreen, some (like Teak and Gmelina) drop their leaves during the dry season, allowing more light through. Intercropping with species that flower and fruit during the dry season will take advantage of these cycles.

Seasonal cycles

However, if a tree is planted specifically to provide shade, an evergreen species is preferable to one that has a deciduous habit. Even though Siniguelas is used to shade understory crops, it loses its leaves during the hot season when shade is most needed.

Finding the Right Niche Within the Farming System for Indigenous Tree Species

Farmers can often recognize plant species that indicate a particular type of soil condition, such as sites that have been recently cultivated, sites that have been in fallow for a long time, severely degraded soils, or soils with a high salt content. Indicator plants are also sometimes used by farmers as a preliminary method to determine soil texture or acidity.

In detemmining the farm niche that an indigenous species might fit, consider where the species occurs naturally and what that might indicate about the tree's site requirements. Is it normally found along stream banks, on thin rocky soils, on deep fertile sites or on sites that are frequently flooded? Does it grow in the forest or is it more often found growing in the open? If it grows in the forest, which strata of the canopy does it occupy? It is found mostly in open areas, where other trees rarely grow; this may indicate that it is either fire-resistant or that it can compete with other vegetation like cogon grass. Observing the natural habitat of a tree species can give you many clues as to how it may be most useful in an agroforestry system.

TABLE 9: SAMPLE ASSESSMENT OF SOME TREE SPECIES FOR INTERCROPPING.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA		SAMPLE SPECIES
	Mollucan Sau	Nangka	Durian	Guyabano	Kamachile	Gliricidia
Root Structure	deep-rooting	shallow if system cuttings; deeper if planted from seed	deep-rooting grown from	shallow if grown from cuttings; deeper if planted from seed	deep, dense root system	shallow if grown from cuttings; deeper if planted from seed.
Effect on Soil and Water	useful for land reharevege	useful in systems for low impact	useful in tree cropping for erosion	can be used effective as	highly
Conservation	bilitation	sating difficult, degraded sites	agricultural land use on steep sites	control and	hedgerow in hedgerows	species
N-fixing	yes	no	no	no	yes	yes
Rate of Height and Growth	very fast	fast	slow	moderately fast	fast	fast
Sprouting	poor	responds to	poor	responds to	coppices	stem
Response after Cutting	response removal of	early removal of leader shoot and lopping	response	occasional pruning	readily after cutting	sprouts vigorously when cut at base or at 1-2 m
Canopy Strata	high	high	high	middle	middle	middle
When Mature	overstory	overstory	overstory understory	understory	understory
Crown Form	high, spreading crown	deep crown, can be spreading or more compact	high crown. spreading but not deep	Deep compact crown	irregularly- shaped at spreading crown; variable, depends on management	small crown spreading
Leafing Pattern	light foliage	dense	fairly dense	fairly dense	small leaflets	light foliage
	with small	foliage with	foliage with	foliage	and fairly	small
	leaflets	large thick	large leaves		dense	leaflets,
		leaves			foliage	varies with
						season
Deciduous/Evergreen	semi- evergreen	eve rgreen evergreen	evergreen	semi-	loses leaves evergreen	during dry season and when flowering
Light Penetration	high	low	low	low	low	high (varies with season)
Shade Tobrance light	light shade- demanding	moderately demanding	slightly to tolerant when young; light demanding when older	shade shade- tolerant	moderately shade tolerant light	tolerant at establishment stage, later more demanding
Suitability for	suitable as	overstory	overstory middle	middle strata	low middle
Intercropping	overstory species or as shade for partially shade- tolerant understory crops	species for highly shade- tolerant understory understory crops and crops or as a bonder tree around fields	species with	strata can	with light	strata with
			shade- tolerant sufficient light mixed perenniaI cropping systems	be over- topped if open-grown with full penetrates through overstory	overstory shade or open-grown with full sun sunlight	light overstory or

COMMONLY USED TREE SPECIES FOR AGROFORESTRY

SCIENTIFIC NAME	OFFICIAL PHILIPPINE NAME/OTHER LOCAL AND COMMON NAMES	PRINCIPAL USES	RELATED PAPERS
Acacia auriculiformis	Japanese acacia, Auri	Reforestation	NET tables, SALT-3
A. mangium	Mangium	Reforestation	NET tables, SALT-3
A. meamsii	Black wattle
A. nepalensis	Alder
A. villosa
Albizia lebbek	Langil
Albizia lebbekoides	Kariskis, Malaganit
Albizia procena	Akleng-parang, Palucheba, Palosebo, Kalai
Aleurites moluccana	Lumbang	Nut production
Alnus japonica
Anacardium occidentale	Kasui, Kasoy, Cashew, Batuban	Nut production, soil	Fruit Trees for Harsh
Anacolosa luzoninsis	Galo, Aluloy, Malabignai, Matabalo, Yupa
Annona atemoya	Atemoya
Annona muricata	Guyabano, Bayuba, Carnaba, Labana, soursop	Fruit production	Asexual Propagation
		Methods for Commonly	Used Fruit Crops
A. squamosa	Atis	Fruit production
Anthocephalus chinensis	Kaatoan bangkal
Antidesma bunius	Bignai, Bugnay, Isiyo, Dabodabo, Bundeyg	Fruit production
Artocarpus heterophyllus	Nangka, Langka, jackfruit	Fruit, timber and fodder production	Fruit Trees for Harsh Environments
A. odoriatissimus	Marang, Loloi, eloi, Madang, uloy
Averrhoa bilimbi	Kamias, Iba, Pias	Fruit production	Asexual Propagation Methods for Commonly Used Fruit Crops
A. carambola	Balimbing, Garangan
Azadirachta indica	Neem tree. Nim, margosa	Shade, roadside tree	SALT-3
B. blumeana	Kawayan-tinik
Bambusa vulgaris	Kawayan-kiling, Kawayan
Bixa orellana	Achuete, Atsuete	Commodity production
Broussonetia luzonica	Hirnbaba-o, Alakon, bagi
Cajanus cajan	Kadios, Tabios, kardis	Soil conservation; food and tedder production
Calliandra calothyrsus	Calliandra
Cananga odorata	llang-ilang, Tangit	Flower production
Canarium ovatum		Pili, Pilinut	Fruit production
Calliandra haematocephala	Fire ball
Carica papaya	Papaya, Kapayas, pawpaw	Fruit production
Cassia alata	Palo - China
Cassia fistula	Golden shower, Cana, Fistula
Cassia siamea	Thailand shower	Reforestation	SALT-3
Cassia spectabiIis	Antsoan - diIaw, PaIucheba, Paluchena
Casuarina equisetifolia	Agoho, Agosol, aroo	Dune fixation, reforestation
Ceiba pentandra	Kapok, Bulka, Capas, Doldol, Bulak	Fiber production
Chrysophyllum cainito	Caimito, Kaimito, Starapple	Fruit production	SALT-3
C cochichinensis	Saling-gogon
C. macroptera	Kabuyaw, Kabugaw	Fruit production
C. madurensis	Kalamansi, Lemonsito, kalamunding	Fruit production
Citrus grandis	Lukban, Suha, Suwa, Pomeb, Marangkas	Fruit production
Cocos nucifera	Niog, Niyog, Lubi, Coconut	Fruit, oil production	Multi-storied Sequential Cropping (Cavite Model)
Coffea spp.	Coffee, kape	Commodity production
Corypha utan	Buri, Buli, Ebus
Cordia dichotoma	Anonang
Crotolaria juncea	Crotolaria
Cubilea cubili	Kubili
Delonix regia	Fire tree	Ornamental
Dendrocalamus merrillianus	Bayog, Botong, butong, Paraot, Kawayan
Desmodium gyroides	Karikut - rikut
D. rensonii	Rensoni
Diospyros philippinensis	Mabolo, Kamagong
Diplodiscus paniculatus	Balobo
Duno zibethinus	Durian	Fruit, timber production
Eleagnus philippinensis	Alingaro
Erythrina crista-galli	Dapdap-palong, Coral tree
Erythrina orientalis	Dapdap, Bagbag	Shade for understory crops
E. fusca	Anii
E indica	Dapdap
E poeppigiana	Dapdap
E. stipitata	Lubang dapdap
E subumbrans	Rarang
E variegate	Mottled dapdap	Shade for understory crops
Flacourtia rukam	Bitongoi, Bitongol, Palutan, Saua-saua
Gliricida sepium	Madre da Cacao, Kakawati
Gmelina arborea	Yemane, Melina	Reforestation, Industrial lumber
Gnetum gnemon	Bago, Banago, Lamparan, Nabo	Fruit production
Instia bijuga	Ipil, Kita - kita	Timber
Inocarpus fagifer	Kayam, Polynosbn chestnut
Lagerstroemia speciosa	Banaba	Flower, timber production
Lansium domesticum	Lansones	Fruit production
Leucaena leucocephala	Ipil-ipil, Kariskis, Kumpitis, Sta. Elena	Soil conservation
L. diversifolia	Acid ipil-ipil	Soil conservation
Litchi chinensis	Lichi, Licheas	Fruit production
L. chinensis var philippinensis	Alupag	Fruit production
Mangifera altissima	Paho
M. indica	Mangga, Mango	Fruit production
M. philippinensis	Paho
Manilkara zapota	Chico	Fruit, timber production
Melia dubia	Bagalunga, Paraiso, Bulibising
Moringa oleifera	Malunggi, Kamunggay, Marunggay, Dool	Food production
Muntingia calabura	Datiles, Aratiles, Mansanitas
Musa spp.	Saha, Dippig, Saging	Fruit production
Nephelium lappaceum	Rambutan, Usau	Fruit production
Pangium edule	Pangi Fruit production
Paraserianthes falcataria	Moluccan sau, Falcata, Placata	Reforestation, Industrial timber
Peltophorum pterocarpum	Siar, Baringbing
Persea americana	Avocado	Fruit production
Piliostigma malabaricum	Alibanghang, Kulibangbang, Kalibangbang	Soil conservation
Pinus carribaea	Carribean pine
Pinus kesiya	Benguet pine, Saleng, parua, Alal	Reforastation
Pithecellobium dulce	Kamachile, Kamachilis, Damortis	Fruit production
Pouteria campechiana	Thea	Fruit production
Psidium guajava	Bayabas, Guyabas, guava	Fruit production
Pterocarpus indicus	Narra, Nala, Dungos, Naga	Timber
Punica granatum	Granada	Fruit production
Rollinia deliciosa	Biriba
Sacharum officinale	Tabu, Tubu
Samanea saman (Albizia saman)	Raintree, Akasya, Acacia
Sandoricum koetjape	Santol, Kantol, Santor, Katul	Fruit production
Schizostachyum lumampao	Buho, Bagakay, babakan
Sesbania bispinosa	Prickly sesban
S. grandiflora	Katurai, Agati, katuday, Diana	Soil conservation, fodder production
S. formosa	Formosa
S.sesban	Sesban	Soil conservation
Spondias purpurea	Sineguelas, Sereguelas, saruelas	Fruit production
Swietenia macrophylla	Big-leafed mahogany	High-value timber
Syzygium cumin)	Duhat, Lomboy	Fruit production
S. jambos	Tampai, Malay apple	Fruit production
S. polyccephaloides	Lipotee
S. samarangense	Makopa	Fruit production
Tamarindus indica	Sampalok, Kalamagui, Sambag, Sanbagi, Salumagi	Fruit production
Tectona grandis	Teak, Yati, Dalanang, Teka, Kayati, Segunyate	High-value timber
Terminalia catappa	Talisai, Tatisi, Logo, Sakat, Dao, Salaisan	High-value timber
T. microcarpa	Kalumpit, Alupi Anagep, Butuang Kotnok
Theobroma cacao	Cacao, Kakaw	Commodity production
Trema orientalis	Anabiong, Anadong, Mandaragon, Anagum, Anaradung, Hinlalaong, Hinagdung
Vitex parviflora	Molave, Camagauan, Sagat, Tagpa, Mol-awa