Agroforestree database This database provides detailed information on a total of 670 agroforestry tree species. It is intended to help field workers and researchers in selecting appropriate species for agroforestry systems and technologies. For each species, the database includes information on identity, ecology and distribution, propagation and management, functional uses, pests and diseases and a bibliography. This project has been funded by the British Department for International Development (DFID, the European Union and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF). |
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| Acacia aneura | Nitrogen fixing: It forms nodules with Rhizobium with which it exhibits a degree of specificity. Ectomycorrhizal associations have been observed and there is almost certainly VA mycorrhizal symbiosis. The nitrogen-fixing capacity of the tree contributes significantly to the nitrogen economy of the soil. |
| Acacia angustissima | Nitrogen fixing: A. angustissima forms an association with soil Rhizobium to fix atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Acacia aulacocarpa | Nitrogen fixing: A. aulacocarpa is an evergreen species that fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Acacia auriculiformis | Nitrogen fixing: Acacia auriculiformis can fix nitrogen after nodulating with a range of Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium strains. It also has associations with both ecto- and endo-mycorrhizal fungi. |
| Acacia cincinnata | Nitrogen fixing: A. cincinnata nodulates and is nitrogen fixing. |
| Acacia crassicarpa | Nitrogen fixing: A. crassicarpa is a vigorous atmospheric nitrogen fixer and nodulates well with a group of related Rhizobium strains. |
| Acacia ferruginea | Nitrogen fixing: A. ferruginea is a nitrogen-fixing species. |
| Acacia karroo | Nitrogen fixing: Nodulation increases soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. In the communal areas of Zimbabwe, it is well known that dryland crop yields increase where A. karroo has grown and been cleared. |
| Acacia koa | Nitrogen fixing: A. koa is nodulated by the slow-growing Bradyrhizobium spp. common in tropical soils. It nodulates heavily in a variety of soils, suggesting it is effective with a wide variety of Bradyrhizobia strains. |
| Acacia lahai | Nitrogen fixing: The tree is nitrogen fixing thus improves soil fertility. |
| Acacia leptocarpa | Nitrogen fixing: The tree can grow well on infertile soil as it is able to fix atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Acacia leucophloea | Nitrogen fixing: It fixes atmospheric nitrogen through a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria which enables it to survive on infertile sites. |
| Acacia mangium | Nitrogen fixing: A. mangium trees form a symbiosis with soil bacteria of the genus Rhizobium, leading to root nodules, in which the bacteria transform free nitrogen into organic and inorganic compounds containing nitrogen. |
| Acacia mearnsii | Nitrogen fixing: It is an effective nitrogen fixer and has an annual yield of wet leaves of 21-25 t/ha, containing 240-285 kg of nitrogen. |
| Acacia melanoxylon | Nitrogen fixing: A. melanoxylon is nodulated; nodules on seedlings are light coloured, round and smooth; those on mature trees are multi-lobed, dark brown and wrinkled with a corky to woody surface. |
| Acacia pachycarpa | Nitrogen fixing: A. pachycarpa is nodulating and is able to fix nitrogen. |
| Acacia pennatula | Nitrogen fixing: Fixes nitrogen. |
| Acacia saligna | Nitrogen fixing: The tree nodulates with certain strains of Rhizobium. As with many other acacias, it forms associations with Vesicular Arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungi. |
| Acacia senegal | Nitrogen fixing: The nitrogen-fixing ability of A. senegal is questionable. |
| Acacia sieberiana | Nitrogen fixing: A. sieberana fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Acacia tortilis | Nitrogen fixing: A. tortilis nodulates and hence is nitrogen fixing. |
| Acacia xanthophloea | Nitrogen fixing: A. xanthophloea fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Adenanthera pavonina | Nitrogen fixing: The legume is generally considered to be nitrogen fixing. Sparse, fast-growing, brown nodules with isolates confirmed to be Rhizobium have been observed, and Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM) have been found on the roots of nursery stock. |
| Albizia anthelmintica | Nitrogen fixing: The species nodulates and is nitrogen fixing. |
| Albizia chinensis | Nitrogen fixing: The tree is nitrogen fixing. |
| Albizia coriaria | Nitrogen fixing: A. coriaria is nitrogen fixing. |
| Albizia ferruginea | Nitrogen fixing: Forms vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza; highest mycorrhizal inoculation effect was observed at soil P concentration of 0.02 mg/litre. Based on these data, both Albizia and Enterolobium were classified as highly mycorrhizal dependent species. Nodulation is reported in A. ferruginea, Rhizobium-type root nodules are found on the roots. |
| Albizia gummifera | Nitrogen fixing: Known to fix Nitrogen. |
| Albizia julibrissin | Nitrogen fixing: Enhances soil fertility by nitrogen fixation. |
| Albizia lebbeck | Nitrogen fixing: A. lebbeck is not Rhizobium specific, and native strains are nearly always capable of producing an abundance of nodules. |
| Albizia odoratissima | Nitrogen fixing: Through a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacteria, A. odoratissima fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Albizia procera | Nitrogen fixing: A. procera fixes atmospheric nitrogen. It readily forms an association with Rhizobium species, enabling it to thrive in nitrogen-deficient soils. |
| Albizia saman | Nitrogen fixing: A. saman forms nitrogen-fixing symbiotic relationships with many strains of Rhizobium, and root nodulation has been confirmed but no roots were found within the grass-root zone. This suggests that the deciduous habit of the tree is the main mechanism of fertility transfer. |
| Albizia versicolor | Nitrogen fixing: A. versicolor is a nitrogen fixer. |
| Albizia zygia | Nitrogen fixing: A. zygia is confirmed as nodulating, Rhizobium-type root nodules were found on roots of mature specimens of A. zygia. Greenhouse and field experiments indicate the tree is also capable of symbiotic nitrogen fixation with Bradyrhizobium and forming vesicular arbiscular mycorrhiza. |
| Alnus acuminata | Nitrogen fixing: Although not a legume, A. acuminata is a nitrogen-fixing species. The symbiosis between A. acuminata and Actinomyces alni (syn. Franki alni) enables the root system of the tree to fix atmospheric nitrogen in quantities sufficient for the development of the plant. In Latin America where it has been intermixed with pasture grasses, it has been found to improve forage production up to 7-fold. |
| Alnus japonica | Nitrogen fixing: This is a nitrogen fixing tree and has been planted to improve degraded land. It forms a symbiosis with N-fixing actinomycetes of the genus Frankia. |
| Alnus nepalensis | Nitrogen fixing: A. nepalensis forms a symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing actinomycetes of the genus Frankia and is therefore able to improve degraded lands. |
| Alnus rubra | Nitrogen fixing: The red alder has root nodules containing Actinomycetes that fix nitrogen, thus improving soils fertility. |
| Andira inermis | Nitrogen fixing: The tree is nitrogen fixing. |
| Ateleia herbert-smithii | Nitrogen fixing: Known to nodulate, and probably fixes nitrogen. |
| Cajanus cajan | Nitrogen fixing: Using the nitrogen-balance method, it has been proved in northern India that long-duration C. cajan can fix up to 200 kg N/ha over a 40-week period. |
| Calliandra calothyrsus | Nitrogen fixing: Roots are able to fix atmospheric nitrogen because of the symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria (to which root nodules bear witness) and the symbiosis with root fungus. |
| Casuarina cunninghamiana | Nitrogen fixing: The river she-oak has a symbiotic relationship with the nitrogen-fixing actinomycete Frankia. This symbiosis provides nitrogen to the host plant and assists C. cunninghamiana to grow on low fertility soils. However, C. cunninghamiana introduced into exotic localities are commonly unnodulated due to a lack of native Frankia. |
| Casuarina equisetifolia | Nitrogen fixing: Root nodules containing the actinorhizal symbiont Frankia enable C. equisetifolia to fix atmospheric nitrogen. These root nodules can be prolific. |
| Casuarina glauca | Nitrogen fixing: Actively fixes atmospheric nitrogen; greatest when species are inoculated, especially with nodules from the same species. The associated symbiont is Frankia species. Although nitrogen-nodulation is most successful at pH 6-8, some natural stands are well nodulated in acidic soils (about pH 4). |
| Casuarina junghuhniana | Nitrogen fixing: C. junghuhniana fixes atmospheric nitrogen by nodulation with actinomycete bacteria of the genus Frankia. The nodules are woody and perennial and can form large masses in the root system. |
| Casuarina oligodon | Nitrogen fixing: C. oligodon like other species of the Casuarinaceae possess nodules of nitrogen-fixing bactera in the rootlets. |
| Celtis australis | Nitrogen fixing: Vesicular arbuscular mycorrhiza associated with the tree are Glomus fasciculatum and G. macrocarpum, followed by G. constrictum, G. fulvum, G. mosseae and Sclerocystis coremioides. |
| Chamaecytisus palmensis | Nitrogen fixing: It increases soil fertility through nitrogen fixation. |
| Crotalaria juncea | Nitrogen fixing: C. juncea is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Crotalaria micans | Nitrogen fixing: C. micans forms root nodules with Bradyrhizobium spp. and fixes nitrogen. |
| Cupressus torulosa | Nitrogen fixing: It forms associations with mycorrhiza. |
| Dalbergia latifolia | Nitrogen fixing: D. latifolia is known to be a nitrogen fixing tree. |
| Dalbergia sissoo | Nitrogen fixing: The tree nodulates; the nodules are moderate, globose to elongate. It therefore improves soil fertility. |
| Dichrostachys cinerea | Nitrogen fixing: D. cinerea fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Dipterocarpus grandiflorus | Nitrogen fixing: The tree is associated with ectomycorrhizal fungi. |
| Entada abyssinica | Nitrogen fixing: E. abyssinica has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Enterolobium cyclocarpum | Nitrogen fixing: E. cyclocarpum is a nitrogen-fixing species. |
| Erythrina abyssinica | Nitrogen fixing: The roots of trees are infected by Rhizobia nodulate and fix atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Erythrina berteroana | Nitrogen fixing: It is nitrogen fixing. |
| Erythrina caffra | Nitrogen fixing: E. caffra fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Erythrina edulis | Nitrogen fixing: E. edulis forms a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with Rhizobium in the cowpea miscellany. Large nodules form in the upper soil surface and decrease in size with increasing soil depth. |
| Erythrina poeppigiana | Nitrogen fixing: E. poeppigiana nodulates abundantly with nitrogen-fixing bacteria of the genus Bradyrhizobium. Peak values exceeding 1000 kg/ha of nodules have been reported for unpruned cacao shade trees. |
| Erythrina sandwicensis | Nitrogen fixing: The tree forms a nitrogen fixing symbiosis with Bradyrhizobium species. |
| Erythrina variegata | Nitrogen fixing: E. variegata forms root nodules and fixes atmospheric nitrogen with Bradyrhizobium bacteria. |
| Flemingia macrophylla | Nitrogen fixing: F. macrophylla forms root nodules and fixes atmospheric nitrogen in symbiosis with Bradyrhozobium strains. Root nodules are often difficult to locate, partly because they are very small. |
| Ginkgo biloba | Nitrogen fixing: G. biloba roots are colonized by the fungus Glomus epigaeum, forming vesicular arbiscular mycorrhiza. |
| Gliricidia sepium | Nitrogen fixing: The tree is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Gnetum gnemon | Nitrogen fixing: Has the ability to improve nitrogen levels due to its mycorrhizal associations.with the ectomycorrhizal fungus Scleroderma sinnamariense. In experimental conditions, mycorrhizal inoculation appears to enhance seedling growth under shaded conditions in acidic soils. |
| Hardwickia binata | Nitrogen fixing: A nodulating species, but there is considerable doubt about whether it is nitrogen fixing or not. |
| Hippophae rhamnoides | Nitrogen fixing: Hippophaë possesses a strong capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen in its root nodules when associated with the actinomycete, Frankia. Most soils possess enough Frankia to support nodulation. In one stand on the east coast of England, annual nitrogen fixation was estimated as high as 179 kg/ha-¹. All of the plant's characteristics, especially its strong nitrogen-fixing ability and rapid growth, make it a good species for improving soil fertility. In mixed plantings, it can promote the growth and development of adjacent plants. |
| Inga edulis | Nitrogen fixing: Due to its nitrogen-fixation ability, I. edulis has been employed in improved fallows. |
| Inga vera | Nitrogen fixing: Widely grown with other species for its good nitrogen-fixing ability. |
| Intsia bijuga | Nitrogen fixing: I. bijuga is confirmed to form nodules in published reports. |
| Leucaena collinsii | Nitrogen fixing: The species is nitrogen fixing. |
| Leucaena diversifolia | Nitrogen fixing: The tree nodulates and fixes atmospheric nitrogen with Rhizobium strains that also nodulate with L. leucocephala. On soils very low in nitrogen, a moderate application of nitrogen fertilizer may increase nodulation and nitrogen fixation. A fertilizer application of 50-100 kg N/ha was found to increase the number of nodules per tree from 11.5 to 25-30, while nodule dry weight increased by 63-70%. |
| Leucaena esculenta | Nitrogen fixing: The tree is nitrogen fixing. |
| Leucaena leucocephala | Nitrogen fixing: It has high nitrogen-fixing potential (100-300 kg N/ha a year), related to its abundant root nodulation. |
| Leucaena pallida | Nitrogen fixing: L. pallida is nitrogen fixing. |
| Leucaena trichandra | Nitrogen fixing: L. trichandra is nitrogen fixing. |
| Lovoa trichilioides | Nitrogen fixing: It forms vesicular arbiscular mycorrhizal associations with some fungi. |
| Madhuca latifolia | Nitrogen fixing: Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal associations and root colonization have been observed in mahua. |
| Mesua ferrea | Nitrogen fixing: Endomycorrhizal associations are reported in M. ferrea. |
| Michelia champaca | Nitrogen fixing: Vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae have been observed on the roots. |
| Millettia thonningii | Nitrogen fixing: The tree has nodulation and nitrogen fixing ability. |
| Mimosa scabrella | Nitrogen fixing: The tree is able to fix atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Musanga cecropioides | Nitrogen fixing: M. cecropioides forms vesicular arbiscular mycorrhiza. |
| Myrianthus arboreus | Nitrogen fixing: Has the ability to improve nitrogen levels due to its mycorrhizal associations. |
| Myroxylon balsamum | Nitrogen fixing: The balsam tree nodulates and fixes nitrogen. |
| Olneya tesota | Nitrogen fixing: O. tesota seedlings grown in nitrogen free media produced nodules when inoculated with soil taken from beneath wild trees. Nodulation has been reported from cultivated trees in Zimbabwe. |
| Ougeinia dalbergioides | Nitrogen fixing: As with many other leguminous plants, O. dalbergioides forms nitrogen fixing symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria. Reliable estimates of its nitrogen fixing capacity are not available. |
| Paraserianthes falcataria | Nitrogen fixing: Nodulates and fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Parkinsonia aculeata | Nitrogen fixing: Although this species is a legume, its nitrogen-fixing ability is not known. However, young plants respond to fertilizer. |
| Peltophorum pterocarpum | Nitrogen fixing: It has the ability to fix nitrogen. |
| Pentaclethra macroloba | Nitrogen fixing: As a nitrogen-fixing pioneer species, P. macroloba has great potential in forest regeneration and reclamation of degraded lands. |
| Pentaclethra macrophylla | Nitrogen fixing: P. macrophylla was not known to nodulate until recently. |
| Piliostigma malabaricum | Nitrogen fixing: The Malabar orchid forms ectomycorrhizal associations with soil fungi. |
| Pithecellobium dulce | Nitrogen fixing: P. dulce forms root nodules with Rhizobium bacteria. Nodulation is common in all types of soil, but quantitative data on fixation has not been reported. |
| Pongamia pinnata | Nitrogen fixing: Nodulation is reported on pongam. In nurseries and fields the presence of nodules on uninoculated pongam seedlings is common. Therefore, this species may not be specific in its Rhizobium strain requirement. It nodulates and fixes atmospheric nitrogen with Rhizobium of the cowpea group. |
| Prosopis africana | Nitrogen fixing: Has the potential to improve soil fertility as it can fix atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Prosopis alba | Nitrogen fixing: Like other members of its genus, P. alba has been shown, by being grown into a nitrogen-free solution and by acetylene reduction, to fix atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Prosopis chilensis | Nitrogen fixing: Like other legumes, P. chilensis is able to fix atmospheric nitrogen in its root nodules. |
| Prosopis cineraria | Nitrogen fixing: It fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Prosopis glandulosa | Nitrogen fixing: P. glandulosa forms symbioses with Rhizobia and Vasicular arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM). There are active root nodules going many metres deep into the soil. The tree, with 30% canopy cover, can fix 30-40 kg atmospheric N/ha. |
| Prosopis juliflora | Nitrogen fixing: P. juliflora moderately enriches the soil with atmospheric nitrogen obtained through symbiosis with cowpea-type Rhizobium. The roots also form mycorrhizal associations with Glomus fungi. Plants with both Rhizobium and mycorrhizal associations show significantly higher nitrogen fixation rates than those lacking the mycorrhiza. |
| Prosopis tamarugo | Nitrogen fixing: P. tamarugo is an efficient atmospheric nitrogen- fixer, where it grows. |
| Pseudosamanea guachapele | Nitrogen fixing: P. guachapele is a valuable tree due to its multiple uses, such as the ability to fix nitrogen and soil improvement. |
| Pterocarpus angolensis | Nitrogen fixing: P. angolensis is capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Pterocarpus erinaceus | Nitrogen fixing: Nodulating and probably nitrogen fixing. |
| Pterocarpus indicus | Nitrogen fixing: Studies in Hawaii, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore, indicate that the species fixes nitrogen. |
| Pterocarpus rotundifolius | Nitrogen fixing: Nodulation and nitrogen fixing activity are confirmed in Pterocarpus rotundifolius. |
| Pterocarpus santalinoides | Nitrogen fixing: P. santalinoides forms nodules with nitrogenase activity. The nodules are generally spherical but occasionally elongate. |
| Pterocarpus soyauxii | Nitrogen fixing: P. soyauxii is nitrogen fixing |
| Rauvolfia vomitoria | Nitrogen fixing: Forms root nodules with vesicular arbiscular mycorrhiza. |
| Robinia pseudoacacia | Nitrogen fixing: This tree could be called ‘the grandfather’ of nitrogen-fixing trees. In the 1890s, R. pseudoacacia was the 1st tree to reveal nodules and symbiotic nitrogen fixation. |
| Schizolobium parahybum | Nitrogen fixing: No reports of nodulation are given for guapuruvu. |
| Senna atomaria | Nitrogen fixing: Apparently the Senna species do not fix nitrogen, but have the ability to form vesicular arbiscular mycorrhiza. |
| Sesbania bispinosa | Nitrogen fixing: Root nodules that effectively fix atmospheric nitrogen are formed with Rhizobium. |
| Sesbania grandiflora | Nitrogen fixing: S. grandiflora has excellent root nodulation and hence fixes nitrogen, although this ability may be suppressed by nematodes or high acidity of the soil. |
| Sesbania macrantha | Nitrogen fixing: Rapid growth, vigorous nodulation and high levels of nitrogen fixation make sesbanias excellent for soil fertility improvement. Rhizobium nodules on sesbanias are often abundant. They are thought to be relatively short lived, senescing when the trees flower or are coppiced. This is believed to result in a release of nitrogen into the soil at those stages of development or management. |
| Tephrosia candida | Nitrogen fixing: Forms root nodules with Bradyrhizobium and fixes large amounts of atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Tephrosia vogelii | Nitrogen fixing: A known nitrogen-fixing species. |
| Tipuana tipu | Nitrogen fixing: T. tipu fixes atmospheric nitrogen. |
| Vitex doniana | Nitrogen fixing: The tree has nitrogen-fixing roots. |
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