A short film in Galicia, Spain, the European area with the highest density of fires, where there are some farmers and ranchers who practice traditional methods of agroforestry and livestock farming. It gives some insights into how mixing crops, trees and grazing animals on the same land can provide benefits for soil health, carbon sequestration and fire prevention. You can also access an interesting written article from the video description. The video is in Spanish with English subtitles.
The RIVEAL project aimed to map and quantify key ecosystem services (ES) of riparian forests and predict the balance of ES under diverse climatic, land use and water management scenarios in the Portuguese fluvial landscapes. The project focused on three ES: Fluvial ecological integrity, carbon stocks and carbon sequestration, and direct and indirect socio-cultural values. Project expectations included determining the trade-offs and synergies of land-use conversion on ES of riparian forests. The factsheets that you can access from the website are particularly useful.
A webinar recording that is part of a series focusing on agroforestry and multiple benefits for Irish agriculture. This episode, facilitated by Pat Murphy (Head of Environment Knowledge Transfer Department, Teagasc), features Mark Gibson (Teagasc ConnectEd Manager), Dr Ian Short (Forestry Research Officer, Teagasc), Professor Jim McAdam (Queens University Belfast), and Mr Eugene Curran (Forestry Inspector, DAFM). It includes information on different kinds of agroforestry, multiple benefits, European research, carbon capture and carbon credits, generating income, regulatory impacts, and economic support, and features some interesting questions posed alongside discussion of practical management issues.
This is the recording of an online workshop hosted by the Organic Research Centre (ORC) in October 2021 and organised as part of the Farming the Future programme. It set out to explore how agroforestry could contribute towards the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, and the policy options that could support the realisation of these benefits. Chaired by Colin Tosh, Senior Agroforestry researcher at ORC, it features Tom Staton, University of Reading PhD researcher on agroforestry and biodiversity in arable systems (particularly focusing on natural pest control and pollination), Devon-based farmer Carolyn Richards, who reflects on her experiences of developing silvopasture with a view to better managing her herd and enhancing biodiversity, and Helen Chesshire – Senior Farming Advisor for the Woodland Trust who asks how the UK policy might help agroforestry achieve biodiversity goals. It also features a lively interactive discussion with delegates.
Wakelyns, surrounded by a sea of large-scale conventional arable production, is an oasis of trees, alive with bird song and insects. Integrating trees for timber, energy and fruit production into an organic crop rotation, this 22.5 hectare innovative farm was established by the late plant pathologist, Prof. Martin Wolfe, to put into action his theories of agrobiodiversity being the answer to achieving sustainable and resilient agriculture. Marking 30 years of agroforestry at Wakelyns, this recently updated publication celebrates the work of Martin and Ann, fellow researchers from the Organic Research Centre and the wider research and Wakelyns community; as evolved and expanded on by their son David Wolfe and his wife Amanda from 2020. It tells the story of Wakelyns and includes sections on diverse cereal populations, impacts of added diversity on insects and birds, food and energy production, enterprise stacking, ramial woodchip trials, pond restoration and creation, research focused on tree / crop interactions, and sustainability assessments.
Woodland Trust Research Briefing (authored by Jo Smith and Sally Westaway) reporting on studies carried out within an organic silvoarable alley cropping system in the UK (Wakelyns Agroforestry in Suffolk), where researchers have investigated the impact of trees on crops in the adjacent alleys. The main limiting resource for plants is usually light and some studies have shown that shading from trees has reduced yields in temperate agroforestry systems. The briefing divides the research into sections focusing on cereals and timber trees, fertility-building ley and short rotation coppice willow, cereals and short rotation coppice willow, and total productivity, and includes modelling calculations using an agroforestry model called Yield-SAFE. It can help look at productivity of an agroforestry system over time, by predicting daily growth of the trees and crops in a particular system using local weather, soils and management data.
The UK-based Soil Association have developed a selection of resources to help farmers and land managers plan, plant and manage trees within their own particular farm system including this short online course. It focuses on agroforestry and farm woodlands in practice – how to get started, and giving farmers the confidence to take the first steps. Via the link you can find out what it is expected you will understand by the end of the course, what the course consists of, and what you will need to complete the course. Case studies and video clips bring the experiences of farmers to life as they discuss how agroforestry and farm woodlands have worked for them, providing learners with practical, real-world examples and advice. You can find the sign up link at the bottom of the page
Three UK upland farmers talk about how they are integrating and using trees to their best advantage on their farms in this video by the Soil Association (supported by FABulous Farmers). They refer to the benefits of giving their livestock access to trees and hedgerows and give their insights in to why trees are good for the animals (through providing shelter, shade and browse/fodder), soil health, biodiversity, the environment (i.e. flood protection and carbon storage) and the farm income. The video features beef cattle and sheep farmer Andrew Barbour from Mains of Fincastle in Perthshire, sheep farmer Glansant Morgan from Pwllyrhwyaid Farm near Brecon in Wales, and dairy farmer Freya Meredith from Lower Withecombe Farm on Dartmoor in Devon. It also features Luke Dale Harris (Innovative Farmers silvopasture trial co-ordinator from FWAG SW) and Kate Still from the Soil Association Farming Team.
This Woodland Trust Research Briefing is based on a Natural Environment Research Council-funded PhD research project run by the UK-based Woodland Trust. It investigates the extent by which silvoarable agroforestry (planting trees in arable fields) can improve productivity, profitability and sustainability while simultaneously reducing the reliance on pesticides and ‘managed’ honeybees. This research can help provide farmers with evidence-based practical advice on how agroforestry systems should be designed and managed to get the best out of biodiversity by increasing the number of beneficial insects (e.g pollinators and predators of pests), while minimising problems (e.g. slug damage and increased weed numbers).
Recording of a presentation given at International Symposium on Climate-Resilient Agri-Environmental Systems (ISCRAES) – featuring Jim McAdam, Eugene Curran and Ian Short. It focuses on two trials in Ireland comparing the performance of silovapasture with that of grassland and woodland.
