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International Conference on Traditional Forest Knowledge and Sustainable Forest Management in Africa; Accra, Ghana; 15-17 October 2008 Traditional Knowledge on Tree Characteristic and Uses for Agroforestry in Ghana Ebenezer Owusu-Sekyere Forestry and Wildlife Unit, Forests, Livelihood & Sustainable Development Division Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG) UP Box 63, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana Email: [email protected] Traditional method of farming has been the shifting cultivation. Some tree species are deliberately left on farms to serve different functions. The farmers, through constant association with the trees, have observed field behaviours and influences of the tree species on the environment. Importance of the tree-crop associations has been known through long history of farming systems and the knowledge handed over to later generations. Farmers’ wealth of knowledge about tree-crop associations are crucial for the development of agroforestry systems. Trees left on farms are normally selected based on several factors including; Tree characteristics and habit, tree canopy architecture, structure, texture, extent, etc in combination with crops, Ecological, biological & engineering functions, Traditional uses; subsistence & commercial, the value of the tree parts e.g. medicines, housing, food, fuelwood, religious, etc. Hence, local names of plants and tree species are derived from functions, attributes, uses, other special characteristics and history of their discovery. Tree species and their local names are used for identifications and information on their renaissance must be documented. Local names in different languages may have similar meanings and are useful for tree species identification, nomenclature and uses.