Improving multipurpose trees for the humid tropics of Asia: providing ASB and to rehabilitate degraded land

Abstract

Multipurpose trees and shrubs (MPTs) are a key element in alleviating several of the urgent environmental and poverty-related problems of the tropical developing countries. The inclusion of productive timber and fruit trees on small-scale farms, particularly on degraded lands, provides important sources of income while offering crucial environmental services. Multipurpose tree cultivation by small farmers can provide a superior means of reforesting large areas of degraded Imperata grasslands in Southeat Asia with ecologically- and socially-imporatant species. At the same time, these trees may provide the major source of timber and fuelwood for countries whose stock of natural forests is now virtually exhausted