Perennial Staple Crops and Agroforestry for Climate Change Mitigation

Agroforestry systems demonstrate carbon sequestration potentials far higher than widely promoted practices like conservation agriculture and managed grazing. Their lifetime carbon stocks are also significantly higher. In addition, perennial staple crops offer an opportunity to greatly improve carbon sequestration on cropland. The potential of these staple crops has been little explored. In tropical regions, yields of many perennial staple crops are competitive with those of annual staples. This is not yet the case for temperate and boreal climates. Both agroforestry and perennial staple crops offer additional co-benefits in the form of ecosystem services and benefits to farmers. Many agroforestry systems already incorporate perennial staple crops. The addition of trees to agricultural mitigation practices like conservation agriculture or managed grazing can increase sequestration rates by five to ten times and increase soil carbon stocks by a factor of 3–10. Tropical multistrata systems feature the highest carbon sequestration rates and carbon stocks of any food production system. Many tropical multistrata systems incorporate perennial staple crops with yields similar to those of annual staple crops. Given their potential impact, these practices and crops should be prioritized in agricultural climate mitigation efforts.