Agroforestry + 1 = 3

In the agroforestry agricultural system, trees and bushes have a wider function than just the provision of food. Trees and perennial woody plants are combined with agricultural crops (as in strip cultivation), livestock farming – think of meadows – or to reinforce one another’s (food-providing) function (for example, a food forest). In the design research that we carried out, we linked the potential of different landscape types of agroforestry (in strips, on riverbanks, on field boundaries, as a group of trees, standing alone and scattered) to spatial issues. Each form of agroforestry has a different impact on the landscape.  For example, strip cultivation affords perspective views and has a cultivated look, while a food forest is closed and has a natural look. Moreover, a food forest can also contribute to resolving issues in different ways from strip cultivation.

We assessed the different types for their contribution to resolving major issues with the Food Forest Foundation, Wageningen University and the Louis Bolk Institute. Those issues are climate adaptation, climate mitigation, soil quality, water quality, air quality, the restoration of biodiversity, the regeneration of the landscape, and animal welfare. Agroforestry in strip cultivation contributes to: 

1. Climate mitigation: Trees and bushes absorb carbon in their wood, leaves, roots and the soil.

2. Water quality: Evaporation is reduced by the shade and protection that the rows provide.

3. Restoration of biodiversity: improvement of soil quality and a food source for birds and small mammals.

4. Soil quality: Trees and bushes increase the organic content in the soil, draw nutrients from deeper levels of soil and make these accessible for the agro-ecosystem through the leaves.

The contribution of the different types to resolving the issues was charted in diagrams. However, the actual contribution of the agroforestry landscape types depends, among other factors, on local (a)biotic conditions, management, scale, numbers and types of trees, bushes and crops, and can therefore differ in practice from the scores in the diagrams.

The design research demonstrates that agroforestry can contribute to the resolving of several issues at the same time. The questions arise: Where do you do it, and based on what ideas? The landscape of the Netherlands is highly diverse, the challenges vary from place to place, and that also holds for policy and legislation. So it is important to determine from different perspectives how and where agroforestry can best be applied. We made rough estimates of the possible amount of agroforestry that can be deployed for different purposes in twelve different geographical types. The focus is on landscape, climate and biodiversity. We then went on to see where agroforestry can best be applied in the Netherlands, taking into account the spatial challenges and policy objectives.