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.
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.
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…
Stadt-Land-Plus OLGA Project – Optimisation of land use along water bodies and on agricultural land as well as support value creation in the agrifood system of the Dresden area
The OLGA project focuses on sustainable land use approaches and regional value creation in the Dresden region of Germany. As part of this it aims to promote the implementation of agroforestry systems along watercourses. The research focuses on investigating microclimatic effects of agroforestry structures on their immediate surroundings such as streams, as well as analysing woody plant physiology and vegetation development in and around the agroforestry system. The project lasts for 5 years (04/2020 – 03/2025) and will develop a transferable solution for implementing the EU Water Framework Directive, taking into account regional economic relations, interests of landowners, and flood prevention.
The research includes looking at the ecosystem services functions of agricultural trees and shrubs in watercourses, particularly in relation to water protection, climate protection and flood control. The economic perspectives and marketing potentials for farmers and landowners are also being explored, along with ways that agricultural woods can be used more widely as an energy resource and increase the use of renewable energies long term. Citizens in the region actively participate in the project through focus groups, real labs and other methods of citizen science and explore the added value that sustainable land use and regional food can have for their own environment and quality of life. You can subscribe to the newsletter and access various publications (mainly in German) from the website.
RIVEAL: RIparian forest Values and Ecosystem services in uncertain freshwater futures and Altered Landscapes
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.
Why Dairy Farming And Silvopastoral Agroforestry Could Be The Perfect Match
Article featured in Irish Farm Business Dairying magazine written by the Irish Agroforestry Forum. It asks could silvopasture be a design solution to the environmental challenges facing farming? It outlines many ways that well designed silvopasture can benefit a farm and farm business, including helping increase profits and productivity and animal and soil health, diversifying the farm business, buffering against weather, drought and flood risks while benefiting the environment, and positively impacting the water and carbon cycle. You can download the article from this webpage.
Wakelyns Agroforestry: Resilience through diversity
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.
Agroforestry in the uplands
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.
Can agroforestry systems be ordinary practices in Romania?
In Romania, combining trees with crops and/or animals has been practiced over a long time in various forms and, at the same time, it is a concept not fully understood and not perceived as being based on independent science. This scientific paper aims to present a summary of the main types of agroforestry systems in Romania that were based on consulting relevant works and on the results of researchers and identifies what steps are needed to encourage promotion and implementation of agroforestry systems in the country.
Agroforestry Carbon Code project webinar recording
Webinar introducing the UK Agroforestry Carbon Code project (which is exploring the feasability of developing a carbon code for agroforestry), featuring representatives from the Soil Association, Woodland Trust and Organic Research Centre. It includes short presentations on woodland and trees in the farmed landscape, how agroforestry can deliver for nature and climate, and landscape carbon quantification.