The tropics are home to the largest share of the world's biodiversity. At the same time, they are regions where persistent poverty, population increase and climate change pose major threats to the food security of the local populations. Therefore, there are in great need of sustainable modes of land-use, which maintain diversity at all levels. This is achieved at best through multi-crop prodction systems, hence forests and agroforestry could not be missing from the international discourse for development on the margin. This year's Tropentag covered the topic through numerous posters and oral presentations, with interesting contributions from both theory and practice. Julia Szulecka from the Technische Universität Dresden, traced the development of historically changing assumptions, concepts, values and practices that constitute our way of viewing plantation forestry. By doing so, she drew a direct correlation between the evolution of meanings and associations related to forest plantations and the development of plantation-related policies. Julia Szulecka, Technische Universität Dresden Ludvík Bortl from the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, gave insights on the opportunities and vulnerabilities for the adoption of agroforestry as an alternative to slashing-and-burning by small scale farmers in the tropics. Drawing experience from a case study in the Peruvian Amazon, he reported that the adoption rate of multi-strata agroforestry systems indicates a clear preference to such systems, especially among educated farmers. “Economic analysis provides clear evidence that such production systems generate more profits than slash-and-burn agriculture”, said Bortl. However, there are major drawbacks to adoption that need to be considered in the future development of tropical agroforestry. Among them is the risk of accidental fire, the lack of quality germplasm, higher establishment costs and longer times needed to reach the breakpoint of positive net value. The session emphasized the need for more efficiency in land-use but also in the allocation of resources in the development of plantation systems. With a case study from Indonesia, Thomas Oberthür from the Southeast Asia Program of the International Plant Nutrition Institute, discussed strategic aspects that guide the implementation process for best management practices in oil palm plantations. On the same line, a method which involves remote sensing for the detection of suitable marginalized croplands for the establishment of tree plantations was presented by Tilman Schachtsiek from the University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF). Besides global challenges such as climate change, tropical areas face region-specific issues related to the physiology of crops and soils. With field data from Central Sudan, Haider Shapo from the Agricultural Research Corporation in Sudan presented a study on the microclimatic changes in different alley-cropping width and their impact on wheat growth and yields in the dry zone of Central Sudan. Angelica Baldos from the Georg-August-Universität drew attention to the point that little is known on how tropical forests will respond to the rapid increase in nitrogen deposition which is projected for the next decades. Agroforestry and diversified production gain momentum in sustainable development strategies. From perceptions and major drives for decision making to the management of agroforestry and tree plantation systems in the tropics, the agroforestry sessions of the Tropentag seeked to increase understanding of the issues related to sustainable resource use and management of tropical landscapes. Prof. Dr. Georg Cadisch (front) and Prof. Dr. Joachim Sauerborn (rear), University of Hohenheim attending the oral session