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Topic · Forestry

Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems

Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems is a research topic within Forestry. Science Explorer counts 13k research works in it since 1950. 10.3% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers explores the role of agroforestry systems in enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services, particularly in the temperate regions of Europe. It covers topics such as silvoarable systems, alley cropping, tree-crop interactions, and the environmental benefits provided by agroforestry. The research emphasizes the potential of agroforestry to reconcile productivity with environmental protection and its contribution to sustainable agriculture in the European Union.

  • Agroforestry
  • Biodiversity
  • Ecosystem Services
  • Temperate Region
  • Silvoarable Systems
  • Alley Cropping
  • Tree-Crop Interactions
  • Environmental Benefits
  • European Union
  • Sustainable Agriculture
Research works
13k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
1.4k
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.3%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+41%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
India
20% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems

Which countries lead Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems research?

By volume, India and Brazil publish the most (468 and 468 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 India 468 works
  2. 2 Brazil 468 works
  3. 3 China 328 works
  4. 4 United States 284 works
  5. 5 Mexico 227 works
  6. 6 France 158 works
  7. 7 Spain 136 works
  8. 8 Germany 128 works
  9. 9 Argentina 81 works
  10. 10 Indonesia 77 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

India: 19.9%Brazil: 19.9%China: 13.9%United States: 12.1%6 others listed: 34.3%20%largest
India468 · 19.9%Brazil468 · 19.9%China328 · 13.9%United States284 · 12.1%6 others listed807 · 34.3%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems research?

By volume in 2022-now, Indian Council of Agricultural Research publishes the most Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems research, followed by Teagasc - The Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority and Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 Indian Council of Agricultural ResearchIndia 73 works
  2. 2 Teagasc - The Irish Agriculture and Food Development AuthorityIreland 49 works
  3. 3 Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'EnvironnementFrance 49 works
  4. 4 Leibniz AssociationGermany 49 works
  5. 5 Université de LyonFrance 43 works
  6. 6 Colegio de PostgraduadosMexico 37 works
  7. 7 Ghent UniversityBelgium 37 works
  8. 8 Brazilian Agricultural Research CorporationBrazil 34 works
  9. 9 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 32 works
  10. 10 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y TécnicasArgentina 26 works

Who are the leading researchers in Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems include Rob Knight, Mark A. Bradford and Philippe Ciais.

  1. 1 Rob Knight United States 468k citations
  2. 2 Mark A. Bradford United States 268k citations
  3. 3 Philippe Ciais France 237k citations
  4. 4 David Tilman United States 209k citations
  5. 5 Peter B. Reich United States 189k citations
  6. 6 Josep Peñuelas Spain 160k citations
  7. 7 Robin M. Murray United Kingdom 154k citations
  8. 8 Rattan Lal United States 126k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems?

The most cited paper in Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems is "Agroforestry for ecosystem services and environmental benefits: an overview" (Shibu Jose, 2009), with 1,769 citations. Next come "Improving intercropping: a synthesis of research in agronomy, plant physiology and ecology" (1,404) and "Properties and Management of Soils in the Tropics" (1,313).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 Agroforestry for ecosystem services and environmental benefits: an overview Shibu Jose · Agroforestry Systems 6 Apr 2009 1,769
2 Improving intercropping: a synthesis of research in agronomy, plant physiology and ecology Rob W. Brooker et al. · New Phytologist Open access 3 Nov 2014 1,404
3 Properties and Management of Soils in the Tropics Pedro Antonio Sánchez Miguel · Soil Science Sep 1977 1,313
4 Environmental, Energetic, and Economic Comparisons of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems David Mayke da Silva Pimentel, Paul Reed Hepperly, James Hanson et al. · BioScience Open access 2005 1,265
5 The Concept of a ‘Land Equivalent Ratio’ and Advantages in Yields from Intercropping R. Mead, R. W. Willey · Experimental Agriculture Jul 1980 1,253
All 99 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems research done?

The largest centres of Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), São Paulo (Brazil), Carlow (Ireland) and Brasília (Brazil). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Müncheberg, Carlow and Montecillo.

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 88 works
  2. 2 São PauloBrazil 56 works
  3. 3 CarlowIreland 49 works
  4. 4 BrasíliaBrazil 45 works
  5. 5 LyonFrance 44 works
  6. 6 MünchebergGermany 43 works
  7. 7 ParisFrance 39 works
  8. 8 GhentBelgium 37 works
  9. 9 Mexico CityMexico 34 works
  10. 10 Buenos AiresArgentina 31 works

Where it is the local speciality

  1. MünchebergDE · 43.3 works338×
  2. CarlowIE · 49.3 works192×
  3. MontecilloMX · 23.3 works72×
  4. BragançaPT · 20.7 works66×
← less than its size predicts1×more →

Location quotient: how much more of its research is in Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems than the world average.

See Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems on the map

Where is the best place to study Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems?

Among universities, judged by research, Wageningen University & Research, Northwest A&F University and Ghent University score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%20%40%mean 14.18%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Northwest A&F Univer…China Agricultural U…Wageningen Universit…Ghent University
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1Wageningen University & ResearchNetherlands 78.034.8%10.2×13 +36.0%
2Northwest A&F UniversityChina 64.838.1%7.6×10 +71.4%
3Ghent UniversityBelgium 59.91.5%13.6×37 +1440.2%
4China Agricultural UniversityChina 58.236.8%5.2×10 +6.6%
5Agricultural University of AthensGreece 51.14.6%87.9×25 +1211.7%
6Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture and ForestryIndia 50.920.4%98.3×18 +80.2%
7Université de LyonFrance 50.80.2%19.3×43 -
8Polytechnic Institute of BragançaPortugal 47.32.7%81.3×21 +1214.9%
9Colegio de PostgraduadosMexico 45.31.5%79.7×37 -2.5%
10Universidade de Santiago de CompostelaSpain 44.01.2%17.7×19 +434.0%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems, country by country

Is Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 41% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.013% in 2024.

still counting0.010%0.020%0.030%Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems0.023% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Agroforestry and silvopastoral systems9.9% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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