Agroforestry Systems for Sustainable Land Management: Innovations and Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

Agroforestry, the integration of trees and shrubs into agricultural landscapes, has gained significant attention for its potential to enhance biodiversity, improve ecosystem services, and contribute to sustainable land management. As global pressures on the environment and land use intensify, agroforestry presents promising approaches to address the complex challenges of climate change, food security, water scarcity, environmental degradation, and biodiversity loss, while maintaining or improving agricultural productivity, restoring soil health, or providing habitats for wildlife. Despite its potential benefits, the implementation of agroforestry is often constrained by socio-economic, policy, and technical barriers that vary across regions. It is crucial to identify research opportunities and challenges in this area to gain a deeper understanding of how these systems can be optimized for various landscapes and contexts.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect papers (original research articles and review papers) providing insights into agroforestry systems and their role in promoting sustainable land use and environmental conservation. It seeks to offer a platform for innovative solutions, theoretical advancements, and empirical studies that examine how agroforestry systems can be effectively integrated into diverse landscapes. The objective is to provide further knowledge of sustainable agriculture, ecosystem services, land–climate interactions, ecological resilience, and landscape management.

This Special Issue will welcome manuscripts that link the following themes:

• Agroforestry effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services;
• Climate change adaptation and mitigation through agroforestry;
• Socio-economic challenges and opportunities in the adoption of agroforestry;
• Policy frameworks and incentives for promoting agroforestry;
• Technological and management innovations in agroforestry systems;
• Local knowledge on agroforestry practices and management.

We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Dr. Judit Rubio-Delgado
Dr. J. Francisco Lavado Contador
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• agroforestry
• sustainability
• environmental conservation
• ecosystem services
• biodiversity
• land management innovation
• land use/cover dynamics
• climate change adaptation
• climate change mitigation