This presentation was delivered by Terry Sunderland (CIFOR) at the World Forestry Congress in Durban.

1. The contribution of forests and
trees to food production in the
tropics: A systematic review
James Reed, Samson Foli, Josh van Vianen, Jessica Clendenning,
Gillian Petrokofsky, Margaret MacDonald, Kevin Yang, Christine
Paddoch, Terry Sunderland (CIFOR)
Other info

2. Rationale for this review
• Ecosystem services (ES) are regarded as
the structure and functions of
terrestrial and marine ecosystems that
result in both goods and services being
produced that contribute to support
human wellbeing.
• The last three decades has seen an
exponential rise in ecosystem service
related publications.
• This study will assess the literature
base for both the positive aspects (ES)
and negative functions (EDS) rendered
to agriculture from forests, trees and
agroforestry.

3. Preliminary results

4. Lessons learned
• The temporal and spatial scales of the studies identified in this review point to clear
gaps in the current understanding of the contribution of forest and trees to agriculture
• The majority of studies were conducted in AFS < 4Ha. and over < 3 year study periods
• The majority of studies showed an overall net positive effect of tree presence on one or
more of the following parameters: yield, resource maintenance, biodiversity and
income
• Findings reveal that the provisioning of forest ecosystem services to food production do
not act in isolation and a range of potential outcomes and trade-offs should be
considered in management strategies