An analysis of the benefits of forestherbage intercropping systems in semi-arid Taihang Mountain Areas

Based on several years’experiments in the hilly districts in Mt．Taihang，the ecological and economic benefits of forest-herbage interplanting systems were studied．The results indicated that herbage played an important role on improvement of soil fertility and the productivity of the fruit trees in the intercropping system．The results provide the base for extending artificial herbage planting to this mountainous districts．