Agricultural nonpoint source nutrient pollution is the leading cause of water quality impairment in the Chesapeake Bay. Agroforestry, the integration of trees with crops or livestock production, or both, achieves production and conservation objectives on a single plot of land. Agroforestry is recognized by the Chesapeake Bay Program's strategy as a means of reducing nonpoint source pollution to improve water quality in the Bay. Despite this, agroforestry adoption remains limited and agroforestry is not recognized in Virginia's water quality trading program. To understand the potential of agroforestry nutrient credit trading, I studied the prospects of agroforestry from both a social and biophysical perspective. First, I surveyed 1,436 randomly selected landowners in four 5th level watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia for a mixed-methods analysis of agroforestry adoption interest. Second, I used the Chesapeake Bay Assessment Scenario Tool to analyze the water quality implications of intermediate forest conversion scenarios on four initial agricultural land uses on respondent properties. From these studies, I recommend landowner characteristics, concerns, and objectives concerning agroforestry need to shape research and outreach messaging. Furthermore, agroforestry practices has potential to significantly reduce nonpoint source nutrient pollution in a manner that preserves agricultural production, but the terrestrial nutrient dynamics of agroforestry will need to be better captured in modeling to aid in the design of these systems and to generate adequate and fair crediting standards. / Master of Science / Pollution from farming is one of the largest threats to the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Retiring farmland is one method of reducing pollution. Water quality trading is a new strategy to encourage farmers to retire farmland. As part of this strategy, regulated polluters, such as a property developer, can offset their pollution by paying farmers to retire farmland and plant trees. Agroforestry practices involve the production of trees with crops or livestock on the same piece of land. These integrated systems could reduce pollution to the Bay while allowing farmers to continue farming, but few farmers have been willing to adopt these practices. Additionally, although agroforestry is recognized as part of a larger strategy to clean up the Bay, currently it is not recognized by Virginia's water quality trading program. To understand how agroforestry and water quality trading could help restore the bay, we asked farmers about their interest in agroforestry and used a computer program to estimate how increasing tree coverage on farms could reduce pollution to the Bay. We found that agroforestry could reduce a significant amount of pollution, while allowing farmers to continue farming to some degree. Though, knowledge of how agroforestry reduces pollution and technology that can assist in the design of these systems will need to advance for two reason. First, technology based on a better understanding of how agroforestry reduces pollution will allow us to properly credit farmers for adopting agroforestry. Second, it will assist in designing these systems. Outreach, research, and development of agroforestry should be informed by landowner perceptions, concerns, and objectives.