This paper reviewed land distribution and agroforestry practices in the Dominican Republic, drawing attention to the integral links between ecological, agricultural and social systems in the country. The author noted that agricultural land was distributed bimodally between a small number of large landowners and a vast number of families farming lands of on average one hectare, often not as owners but as tenants, informal occupants or participants in agrarian reform schemes. These small farmers had insufficient land and capital to be expected to plant trees as cash crops or to supply their own wood needs. Agroforestry projects could only succeed if they considered the effects of the size and security of different farmers' land holdings on their use of their fields and natural environment.