Journal of Forestry Research (2011) 22(4): 533-542 DOI 10.1007/s11676-011-0196-2 Analysis of existing agroforestry practices in Madhupur Sal forest: an assessment based on ecological and economic perspectives Mohammad Golam Kibria  Narayan Saha Received: 2011-01-14; Accepted: 2011-03-12 © Northeast Forestry University and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011 Abstract: A study was conducted in Madhupur sal forest of Tangail, Bangladesh to identify the suitable agroforestry practices of the area. Considering the ecological aspects of different agroforestry practices 10 sample plots (10 m × 10 m) from each land uses were taken, including natural forest to get a comparative scenario. The study showed that among the different agroforestry practices, Margalef and Shannon- Weiner index values are the maximum for pineapple agroforestry and lower for banana agroforestry, and Evenness index value is the maximum for lemon agroforestry. Determination of tree biomass in different land uses revealed that it is highest (3 078.6 kg/100 m 2 ) in natural forest fol- lowed by pineapple agroforestry, lemon agroforestry and banana agro- forestry. Soil pH, moisture content, organic matter, organic carbon, phos- phorus and total nitrogen showed statistically significant variation while bulk density, particle density, sulphur and potassium did not show any statistically significant variation among the land uses. Soil fertility status showed that pineapple agroforestry is more fertile than rest of other land uses. The Net Present Value (NPV) indicated that banana agroforestry is financially more profitable than other two systems, while the Benefit- Cost ratio (BCR) is higher in pineapple agroforestry (4.21 in participa- tory agroforestry and 3.35 in privately managed land). Even though ba- nana agroforestry gives higher NPV, capital required for this practice is much higher. The findings suggest that pineapple agroforestry has a tendency towards becoming ecologically and economically more sound than other two practices as it has better ecological attributes and required comparatively low investment. Key words: Bangladesh; Sal forest; agroforestry; ecological attributes; profitability The online version is available at http:// www.springerlink.com Mohammad Golam Kibria ( )  Narayan Saha Department of Forestry and Environmental Science, School of Agricul- ture and Mineral Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technol- ogy, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh. Email: kibria_sust29@yahoo.com Responsible editor: Hu Yanbo Introduction Degradation of natural resources, especially land and forest has become a matter of serious concern because the vast populations of the countries have to rely greatly on these resources for their livelihood (FAO 1999). Deforestation is nothing but a prime cause of soil erosion and land degradation (Barbier 1998). Agro- forestry, a land use system featured by growing different species of woody perennials in association with field crops, is a suitable land use system specifically for degraded areas. It helps to con- trol soil erosion, reverse environmental degradation through biological interactions of tree and crops and increase income from farmland (Sanchez 1994; Garity 2004). Being a land-use system, agroforesty has been notably considered as an effective and low cost method as it does help to minimize the process of degradation associated with land cultivation and also for it’s retention of the ecosystem (Vergara and Nicomedes 1987). This practice is now recognized widely as an applied science that is instrumental in assuring food security, reducing poverty and enhancing ecosystem resilience at the scale of thousands of smallholder farmers in the tropics (Sharma et al. 2007). During the last three decades, various agroforestry systems have been promoted in developing countries as a means to increase house- hold incomes and to generate environmental benefits that are well suited to poor farmers (Franzel et al. 2004). Bangladesh was rich in forest resources but with the pace of population explosion rapid degradation takes place in its forest reserves. Bangladesh contains 124 500 ha of inland moist de- ciduous Sal (Shorea robusta) forests, which widely distributed in the districts of Dhaka, Tangail, Mymenshingh, Dinajpur, Rang- pur (Alam et al. 2010). In recent time most of the Sal forests are severely disturbed by human activities like illicit felling and encroachment by the local people and Garo tribal in the Madhu- pur area of the Tangail district. In response to this situation dif- ferent agroforestry systems have been developed both in private and in forest department managed land. These agroforesty sys- tems play pivotal roles in offering multiple alternatives and op- ORIGINAL PAPER