Deforestation, accelerated soil erosion, and land degradation are serious problems in Ethiopia. To overcome these problems, efforts have been made to launch afforestation and conservation programs; success to date, however, has been limited. This paper will discuss agriculture and forestry practices in the Ethiopian highlands and try to identify the causes of deforestation and land degradation there. Agroforestry and social forestry practices, plantation forestry, and conservation of the remaining forests are proposed as a strategy for physical recovery. Social and policy issues such as local participation in natural resource management and the existence of clear land and tree tenure policies are critical for the long-term sustainability and expansion of forests in Ethiopia. In general, tree planting through agroforestry and social forestry should be an integral part of rural development programs to provide the community with food, fuel wood, income, and environmental benefits. Increasing public awareness through education about forestry and natural resource conservation is vital for maintaining Ethiopia's remaining natural forests and biodiversity.

Cover photos: Photos of the Avenue of Pines passing through the Cutfoot Experimental Forest on the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota. Silvicultural studies have been underway in the now 130-year-old red pine forest since 1925. Some portions of this forest have been measured and thinned 10-12 times as part of a research program spanning 80 years.

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The seventeen manuscripts included in this Special Issue have been derived from temperate agroforestry research projects, outreach, and development. Papers were selected from temperate regions in North America, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico as well as manuscripts from sub-tropical systems in India. Overall, the conference papers addressed multidisciplinary topics in agroforestry including, accessing resources, accessing markets, managing risks, advances in technology applications, production science, environmental benefits, adoption, implementation, evaluation, education, outreach and community engagement, policy practice, climate change opportunities and challenges, and special forest products.

Information about effects of planted spacing on growth and development of western white pine is scant because white pine blister rust disease has severely limited the survival of trees in young plantations. In the early 1980s, we established a western white pine spacing trial in the southern Cascades of Washington, using seedlings from a seedlot comprised primarily of open-pollinated seed from trees screened and certified as resistant to white pine blister rust. Initial square spacings ranged from 2 to 6 m; treatment plots were 0.4 ha in size and were replicated three times (six times for the 3 m spacing). Permanent measurement plots were installed at age 8, and the lower portion of all stems was pruned in the 10th growing season to reduce blister rust infections. The plots were remeasured at ages 11 and 16. Sixteen years after planting, survival averaged 80%; most mortality was associated with blister rust, but the rate of new infections and mortality diminished substantially between ages 11 and 16; 71% of the planted trees were free of blister rust at age 16. Trees averaged 8.4 m tall (ranging from 7.6 m in the 2 m spacing to 8.8 m in the 4 and 5 m spacings) and 12.7 cm dbh (10.3 in the 2 m spacing to 14.0 cm in the 5 m spacing). Periodic annual growth from 11 to 16 yr in the three wider spacings averaged 0.7 m in height and 1.0 cm in diameter. Antler rubbing by elk caused substantial damage to stems, but wounds on most trees were overgrown in 2 to 4 yr. Rub damage did not appear directly related to spacing but rather to stem diameter, with damage limited primarily to stems >6 and <15 cm. Early growth rates in this trial were much greater than those attained in older, natural stands (as inferred from site index curves and yield tables) and in progeny tests and other young silvicultural trials planted elsewhere. We believe rust-resistant stock of western white pine merits greater consideration for planting in the Douglas-fir region. West. J. Appl. For. 18(1):35–43>.