Agroforestry, like any tree-related cropping system, has a problem with surplus wood and tree waster from pruning, harvesting and dead stock.This poster (presented at the EURAF 2024 conference) explores a potential solution of converting it into biochar and using it to improve soils or as charcoal to generate additional income. It focuses on biochar production in different locations in Poland.
Walnut in silvoarable alley cropping system. Startup and first results of a long-term practice-oriented agroforestry research field in Flanders, Belgium
This poster (presented at the EURAF 2024 conference) presents the initial setup and early outcomes of a walnut-based silvoarable alley cropping system in Flanders, Belgium, demonstrating practical feasibility, ecosystem benefits, and tailored agroforestry practices to support adoption among Flemish farmers.
AFINET – A revitalization of a wood pasture in the Bakony
This video is a Hungarian innovation tutorial video on wood pasture restoration aiming to share farmer experiences on agroforestry system management. Produced as part of the AFINET project, it features Antal Varga at Zöldág Farm in Hungary, which is a ReForest living lab farm. Find out more about it here https://agroreforest.eu/living-lab-hungary-olaszfalu/
A Tree Species Guide for Agroforestry in the UK
This guide was produced by the University of Reading and Forest Research in partnership with Defra and the Expanding Agroforestry project stakeholder group. It aims to provide a simple and accessible overview of the key attributes (whether beneficial or detrimental) of tree species in UK agroforestry systems. Information on tree species characteristics has broader applicability within Europe. It is suitable for farmers interested in agroforestry, and other interested parties including farm advisers, foresters, and policymakers. It has been produced following a review of existing literature and databases, together with consultation with the stakeholder group. The guide comes with some important caveats, limitations and assumptions, which are discussed in the introduction.
Agroforestry Pollinator Plantations for the Future
The app will firstly give you access to Forest Research’s state-of-the-art Ecological Site Classification (ESC), APP model, giving you information on suitability of tree species, also allowing you to see how climate change will likely affect your holding. Future climate scenarios adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) show Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) of greenhouse gases concentration trajectory, all of which are considered possible depending on the volume of greenhouse gases emitted in the years to come. RCP is directly linked to global mean average temperature in Celsius.
These tools will enable you to make an informed choice of which wild species trees have the greatest chance to survive climate change predictions on your land site. Information on other outputs from trees in farming to help you assess how it fits with your other enterprises and business is also included, as well as ideas for planting schemes and configurations. Planting in mixed species stands provides the best outcome for both tree species and their pollinators as this provides forage over a greater part of each season, helping ensure pollinators don’t starve. APP4future schemes also provide habitat and forage for pollinators, whose populations are declining. Supporting pollinators is vital for nature and our farmed landscape, increasing pollination and yields of all insect-pollinated crops.
Plants For A Future database
Plants For A Future (PFAF) is an online information database and associated website for those interested in edible and useful plants. Originally focused on plants suitable for temperate regions, it now includes many of the more important tropical and sub-tropical plants. The PFAF website enables access to this database, a useful tool to help you find out information on, and assess suitability for, your planting system, drawing on information on over 8000 plants.
PFAF is maintained by a UK registered charitable company. The objectives of the PFAF charity are ‘to advance the education of the public by the promotion of all aspects of ecologically sustainable vegan-organic horticulture and agriculture with an emphasis on tree, shrub and other perennial species; and the undertaking of research into such horticulture and agriculture, and dissemination of the results of such research.’
Best practice: fodder trees for dairy or beef cattle
Short film (in Flemish with English subtitles) produced as part of an Interreg Europe project – BioGov. It outlines the part trees can play in providing animal fodder, animal welfare, combating erosion, enhancing biodiversity and limiting greenhouse gases and gives some information on which trees should be planted where and how. It features Wim Govaerts who explains mineral deficiencies in cows and ways in which tree fodder can provide different minerals. For example, ash, rowan and maple can help with copper deficiency, hornbeam and hazel can provide manganese…
Quinta das Abelhas (“farm of bees”)
Quinta das Abelhas (‘A farm for the Bees’) is a project focused on developing, testing, and studying complex agroforestry systems in the Portuguese Alentejo. It was developed by Marc Leiber, a student of Ernst Götsc, who has implemented what have become known as syntropic farming techniques at Quinta das Abelhas, to restore degraded soil, provide a home for pollinating insects, and re-establish the water cycle to create a climate-resilient agroforest.
This gives you details of the ‘model farm’ layout integrating fruit, nut and vegetable crops, and beneficial impacts that have been observed. It was hoped that it could demonstrate that agriculture could be environmentally and financially rewarding for both the older farmers and younger generations that could be drawn back to the countryside… Results show that agroforestry is having a highly positive impact on productivity, while helping to drastically reduce the amount of irrigation and (organic) fertiliser required.
This is one of the ‘model farms’ featured on the reNature website – a consortium with a base in the Netherlands that brings together knowledge about regenerative agriculture, impact monitoring, and stakeholder engagement, to make the business case for regenerative agriculture around the world. They position themselves as being a “unique global agroforestry hub and service provider”
The Signpost Series Webinar – Agroforestry – multiple benefits for Irish agriculture
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.
How can agroforestry contribute towards biodiversity conservation?
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.