Agroforestry covers land use systems in which trees and shrubs are grown in association with herbaceous crops, either in a spatial arrangement or a rotation. It has productive functions, such as the capacity of the tree component to produce fuelwood, fodder and fruit, and service functions, chief among which is that of soil conservation. Soil conservation is treated here in its wider sense, to include both control of erosion and maintenance of fertility. In the current search for sustainability, which involves the combination of production with conservation of the resources on which that production depends, soil conservation plays a major role. This book is a review of the potential of agroforestry to contribute to soil conservation. Its aims are to summarize the present state of knowledge, including both known capacity and apparent potential, and to indicate the needs for research. The overall conclusion is that appropriate agroforestry systems have the potential to control erosion,