Scaling agroforestry through payments for ecosystem services: a scoping review

Agroforestry land use systems manage trees, crops and/or livestock on the same unit of land. As a technologically mature method of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR), it also offers significant removal potential. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) can help overcome barriers to agroforestry adoption. To better understand this potential, the existing research landscape and practice, this review has three objectives. First, to situate agroforestry within the broader PES literature. Second, to elaborate on the thematic scope of the literature related to PES and agroforestry. And third, to identify empirical evidence on the characteristics and effectiveness of PES promoting agroforestry, as well as the conditions and causes for its application. The results suggest that the subfield is rather small compared to the literature on PES and forests and PES and agriculture, and is focused on the Global South, especially Central America and Asia. The literature focuses on the issue of carbon removal as an ecosystem service, but the issues surrounding the PES mechanism seem somewhat neglected. The empirical evidence confirms the positive role of PES in the adoption of agroforestry as a CDR method. Small farm size, high transaction costs and insufficient incentives are the main barriers for farmers to participate in PES. However, an enabling policy and regulatory framework such as the resolution of land tenure issues can increase the effectiveness of PES schemes promoting agroforestry.PES can be effective in stimulating the adoption of agroforestry and related ecological, economic and social benefits.Small farm size, high transaction costs, and insufficient incentives are key barriers to enrollment into PES schemes.Supportive political-legal frameworks for PES and agroforestry such as the resolution of land tenure issues can have significant scaling effects.