The cultivation of trees and agricultural crops in combination is an ancient practice termed agroforestry. There are several examples of these traditional land-use practices. The retention or growing of trees with other components for multiple welfare purposes from the same piece of land is the main principle of agroforestry. The worldwide concerns in tree planting and agroforestry operations during the past decades prompted the beginning and spread of different terms like community forestry, social forestry, urban forestry, tree outside forest (TOF), etc. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, TOF may include agricultural land, agroforestry systems coupling meadows and pasture, built-on land, barren land, in lines along rivers, canals, and roads. In other words, agroforestry enhances the tree cover outside the forests and works as a surrogate for natural forests, sequestrating carbon and helping pressure off natural forests. In India, other than forest and wooded lands, most of the trees are either naturally or intentionally grown on roadsides, along canals, agricultural bunds and community land. In some situations, trees are also grown for boundary demarcation and most importantly all these areas of tree growing fall under the scientific classification of agroforestry. In this review, various types of land cover such as forest, other wooded land, and other land with tree cover, along with a comparison between agroforestry and TOF and the concept of TOF, including community forestry, social forestry, and urban forestry has been discussed thoroughly.