Which sustainable agricultural practice involves integrating trees with crops to enhance nutrient cycling and provide shade?

• A. Crop rotation
• B. Agroforestry
• C. Cover crops
• D. Integrated pest management

Answer: (B)

Integrating trees with crops to create a more diverse farming system improves nutrient cycling and provides shade. In agroforestry, trees are grown alongside crops, so they share space, water, and nutrients. The trees contribute organic matter through leaf litter and root turnover, which feeds soil microbes and builds soil organic matter, helping nutrients move more effectively through the system. Their root systems can access nutrients at different depths, bringing those nutrients closer to the crop roots over time. The canopy of trees also provides shade, reducing soil temperature and water evaporation, which can help crops tolerate heat and conserve soil moisture. Some trees also fix atmospheric nitrogen, adding usable nitrogen to the soil for nearby crops. All of these factors—enhanced nutrient cycling, improved soil health, and shade—are characteristic benefits of agroforestry. Other practices like rotating crops, using cover crops, or managing pests improve soils or reduce problems in different ways, but they do not involve the deliberate integration of trees with crops.