Public land-use professionals' perceptions of agroforestry applications in the south

Abstract

Based on survey data from 218 southern public land-use professionals, it was found that: (I) the most frequently noted reason for the creation of observed southern agroforestiy systems was economic gain; (2) almost two-tliirds reported that they would consider recommending some form of agroforestry in appropriate situations; (3) the most commonly supplied reason for rejecting the agroforestry option was the perceived high level of uncertainty associated with this unproven land use; and (4) despite their modest expectations about the level of adoption of agroforestry systems over the next decade on private and public lands, they agreed rather strongly that extension services should make a determined effort to encourage southern landowners to adopt agroforestry systems when appropriate. In order to help landowners realize the value of agroforestry systems' degree of flexibility, miiltidisciplinary teams of land-use professionals should provide periodic updates regarding factors that may influence profitable switches in output mixes.