stronger winds and harsher microclimate of open agricultural fields and pas-
tures, thereby increasing the size of the core area available to certain sensitive
forest interior species. Such agroforestry buffer zones may also protect forests
from fire, which is a frequently used management tool for growers of annual
crops and pastoralists but anathema to owners of valuable tree crops and tim-
ber trees. The potential role of agroforestry in increasing the conservation
value of forest fragments and parks through such landscape-scale processes has
been little explored but could be of tremendous importance for landscape con-
servation strategies in heavily but not totally deforested regions (Center for
Applied Biodiversity Science 2000). The available evidence in support of this
hypothesis is also reviewed in Parts III, IV, and V of this volume.
Audience and Structure of the Book
This book has been written for students and practitioners of tropical agricul-
ture, forestry and agroforestry, conservation biology, landscape ecology, natu-
ral resource management, ecological economics, and related disciplines. In
accord with the interdisciplinary nature of the subject and the heterogeneity
of the targeted audience, an effort has been made to keep the language as sim-
ple and universally understandable as possible.
The book is divided into five parts. Part I provides a background in
conservation biology and landscape ecology that will help nonspecialists
understand later chapters. It also gives an update of recent concepts and
research results in these fields. Part II focuses on socioeconomic issues related
to biodiversity-friendly land use practices. After reviewing approaches to
quantifying the economic value of the environmental services of agroforestry,
it discusses whether and to what extent agroforestry can help reduce pressures
on natural ecosystems, using both historical and present-day perspectives.
Conservation concessions are introduced as a complementary approach to
agroforestry in conservation strategies.
Part III reviews the potential of selected agroforestry practices to promote
biodiversity conservation by serving as habitats, biological corridors, and
buffer zones for protected areas and by increasing connectivity and genetic
exchange within landscapes. The floristic, structural, and management aspects
that increase the value of agroforestry systems for biodiversity conservation on
the plot and landscape scales are a particular focus of this section.
The objective of Part IV is to analyze the trade-offs between conservation
and production goals in diversified tropical land use mosaics. Such assessment
is crucial for avoiding conflict and forging alliances between farmers and con-
servationists. Biodiversity benefits for farmers include timber and nontimber
products, hunting opportunities, and protection from pest and disease out-
breaks through biological control mechanisms; costs may include wildlife
damage to crops, livestock, and humans and pest and disease transfer between
10 Introduction: Agroforestry in Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Landscapes