Mixing trees and crops increases land and water use efficiencies in a semi-arid area

Sustainable increases in food production in semi-arid regions require efficient use of land and water resources. Agroforestry is the practice of combining tree and crop cultivation on a land parcel and may increase both land productivity and water use efficiency. We conducted two years of field experiments in the semi-arid Khorchin region in Liaoning, China, to determine to which extent land and water use efficiencies were affected by mixing...