Impact of Agroforestry Practices on Ecosystem Services for Forest Landscape Restoration in Rutsiro District, Rwanda

Agroforestry is increasingly recognised as an important approach for restoring degraded landscapes and sustaining ecosystem services in mountainous agricultural areas. In Rutsiro District, Rwanda, land degradation, soil erosion, declining soil fertility, biodiversity loss, and weak water regulation remain important environmental concerns; however, empirical evidence on the specific contribution of agroforestry practices to ecosystem restoration at the district level remains limited. The study examined how agroforestry enhances ecosystem services in a fragile mountainous environment affected by land degradation, soil erosion, deforestation, declining soil fertility, biodiversity loss, and weak water regulation. Given the limited empirical evidence regarding agroforestry's specific contribution to ecosystem restoration in this district, the study pursued three objectives: identifying adopted agroforestry practices, assessing forest landscape restoration trends using GIS through Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) analysis, and examining the relationship between agroforestry practices and ecosystem services. Using a mixed-methods design, researchers collected data from 398 household respondents using stratified random sampling and 21 purposively selected key informants. Quantitative data were analysed in SPSS version 31 using descriptive and inferential statistics, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Findings revealed that 55.5% of farmers practised alley cropping and tree-crop intercropping. Regarding ecosystem improvements, 52.5% reported major soil fertility improvement, 52.0% observed significant erosion reduction, 53.3% reported increased biodiversity, and 55.5% indicated improved water regulation. Correlation and regression analyses showed a strong positive relationship between agroforestry practices and ecosystem services (R2 = 0.989, p < 0.001). Furthermore, GIS results revealed gradual vegetation recovery and landscape restoration between 2005 and 2025. The study concludes that agroforestry is positively associated with ecosystem restoration and recommends strengthening policy support, extension services, farmer training, and diversified agroforestry adoption.