Agroforest - New Options for Sustainable Land Use
Until the last century, agroforestry systems played an important
role in Germany. Alleys and hedges along fields were typical tree
formations and orchards combined with the cultivation of field crops
or pastures shaped many landscapes. With the development of agricultural
technology, there was a strict separation of forestry and agriculture.
Today, however, society's expectations concerning land use systems
are changing. Landscape benefits such as the protection of natural
resources, as well as attractive recreational areas are growing
more important in comparison with the production of food and fodder.
The positive effects of trees in the cultural landscape are well
known. In this context, the combination of trees with agricultural
intercropping techniques adapted to contemporary cultivation methods
can constitute an essential part of landscape architecture.
Silvopastoral and silvoarable agroforestry systems integrate trees
on the same plot with grassland or arable crops. In agroforestry
systems deciduous trees can either be used for the production of
biomass or the production of valuable wood. The latter is more interesting
from the landscape management point of view because of the enrichment
of the landscape with large trees.
The project uses sites in Baden-Württemberg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
as examples to discuss the consequences of establishing an agroforestry
system for the farmer, as well as for nature and landscape management.
The project addresses the following questions: Which alterations
of species compositions occur? How can the changed landscape be
evaluated? Can agroforestry systems be economically viable? Can
traditional landscape elements, used in a 'modern' way, contribute
to a continuity of landscape history on the one hand and the design
of future landscapes on the other? Finally, to ensure the best possible
gain for nature and the landscape, recommendations for the design
of agroforestry systems in different natural geographic regions
will be made.
| Project duration: |
April 2005 - September 2008
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| Finance: |
German Ministry for education and research
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