A voluntary non-profit organisation that promotes agroforestry practices in the Czech Republic. It connects the interests of agroforestry farmers, scientific organisations and agricultural consultants and focuses primarily on education, raising awareness and exchanging information about agroforestry between farmers, advisors and other groups. The goal of the association is to raise awareness of the alternative use of agricultural land in the style of agroforestry systems, and to improve the condition of the soil and the environment without reducing production. It is a very important platform for the exchange of information (the website hosts many useful resources such as videos, reports and newsletters), and organises meetings, educational events and presentations on agroforestry issues in the Czech Republic.
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.
Funded by the European Union, the LIVINGAGRO project aims to share innovations in agroforestry with stakeholders working with olives and grazed woodlands in Mediterranean countries, to help them increase profitability, sustainability, and biodiversity, in the face of limited resources and environmental constraints. It tackles these issues using an open innovation approach, with two Living Laboratories enabling interactions among innovators and stakeholders.
The two labs focus on olive multifunctional systems and grazed woodlands. Traditionally olive orchards were, and often still are, managed as agroforestry systems, in combination with cereals, fodder legumes and/or pasture. Grazed woodlands are major agroforestry systems in the Mediterranean that contribute greatly to sustaining local economies, supplying both vegetal and animal products.
The project involves 6 organisations from 4 different countries; Italy, Greece, Jordan and Lebanon. You can access publications, descriptions of field trials, and sign up to get project newsletters giving detailed information from the living labs.
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”
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.
Short film focusing on the forest garden at farm Rydeholm on the Scandinavian Söderslätt. The main tree crops are sweet chestnut (Castaneva sativa), walnut (Juglans regia), hazelnut (Corylus), korean pine (Pinus koraiensis), almonds (Prunus dulcis), ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and araucaria (Araucaria araucana). Biodiversity, ecosystem services equivalent to wild, forest-like environments and regeneration, have been set here as equal goals with the food production. The long-term vision is to replace the annual crops (cereals, oilseed rape and sugar beets) with tree crops; sweet chestnut and araucaria (which produces seeds) replacing cereals and hazelnut, and walnut replacing vegetable oil. The film is based on interviews with Anders Lindén, the sixth generation on the farm and one of the pioneers of the Swedish agroforestry movement. Food production has to take the increasing lack of natural resources (water, living soils and fossil energy), into account and agroforestry systems have been shown to be very beneficial in improving the resilience in agricultural systems.
Project that aimed to promote agroforestry as a way of farmers and landowners simultaneously and sustainably growing food, transitioning into the new ELM Scheme in the UK and contributing to ‘public goods.’ It showcased farms and initiatives across the UK successfully balancing these objectives to share knowledge and evidence of the value of agroforestry. GWCT Allerton led on the project; a collaboration between them, the Organic Research Centre, Woodland Trust, National Trust, Woodmeadow Trust, Farm Woodland Forum and Agricology.
This hub page pulls together videos and podcasts, together with existing technical guides, blogs and profiles of farmers innovating with agroforestry. All share practical experiences of implementing agroforestry, lessons learned and practical tips.
UK-based Soil Association Scotland website pages relating to agroforestry. Includes information on benefits of agroforestry (with links to case studies), how to get started with agroforestry (case studies, videos, webinar recordings…), grants and guidance (summary of the organisations offering advisory services on agroforestry, important links on their websites, and stories from farmers who’ve gone through the process already), and agroforestry resources.
Woodland Trust is the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity (established in 1972) that protects, restores and creates woods and trees. As part of this, they work with partners, farmers, landowners and local communities to create bigger, better, more resilient landscapes across the UK for people and wildlife. This link takes you to information that can be accessed specifically in relation to agroforestry. It includes outlining the many different ways agroforestry can benefit farmers and the wider environment, how it can help to tackle climate change, information on benefits and management of hedgerows, links to many different multi-media resources they have produced (practical guides, videos, research reports, case studies), including information on farmer Stephen Briggs’ silvoarable agroforestry project (which is the largest in the UK), and includes lots of information on how the Woodland Trust can assist with advice, grants and funding schemes.
Wakelyns Agroforestry in Suffolk practices organic farming on one of the longest established and most diverse agroforestry sites in the UK. Different agroforestry systems, based on a maximum use of biodiversity, have been the site of many years of research trials and demonstrations. This 22.5 hectare / 56 acre experimental and innovative agroforestry farm was established by the late plant pathologist and pioneer Professor Martin Wolfe, to put into action his theories of agrobiodiversity being the answer to achieving sustainable and resilient agriculture. Martin pursued his research into agroforestry, co-cropping, crop populations and new crop trials at Wakelyns where the first trees were planted in 1994 and planting continues today.
Wakelyns Agroforestry integrates trees for timber (ash, wild cherry, Italian alder, small-leaved lime, sycamore, oak and hornbeam), energy (hazel, hybrid willow and poplar) and fruit (apple, plum, pear, cherry, quince, peach and apricot) production into an organic crop rotation in four mature silvoarable systems. The next generation of the Wolfe family is evolving Wakelyns as a demonstration centre for agroforestry, while also developing other activities which add to the farming and food production. Via the Wakleyns website, you can access detailed information about what is grown, how it is managed, events, and much more.
