Despite the interest of farmers and politicians, the adoption of agroforestry is currently challenging and agroforesters are facing a number of challenges. “The current challenge in Europe is frameworks that allow multifunctional land use, better economic budgets and examples for agroforestry, or better sharing of knowledge between farmers and foresters,” outlined AbacusAgri director Stephen Briggs, a UK farmer who is also head of technical development at Innovation for Agriculture. “The challenge is to make agroforestry mainstream, to make money from trees in the short term, to increase social recognition of agroforestry farmers and to brand agroforestry products to achieve better prices,” added Christian Dupraz, research director at the French National Institute for Agronomic and Environmental Research and founding president of the International Union for Agroforestry.
Both foreign speakers have been involved in agroforestry for several decades. In that time, it has moved from the niche to more mainstream and is now being adopted into many land use policies in a wide number of countries. “Agroforestry is now more balanced between trees around plots and trees inside plots. The density of trees in plots has been decreasing with time. Now, usual schemes include only 50 trees per hectare, while it was around 100 to 200 trees 30 years ago. Because of the need for short term returns fruit trees are more and more included in agroforestry schemes, instead timber trees. And carbon sequestration is now a key driver for agroforestry adoption, whereas in the past it was not the case,” listed Dupraz, who started agroforestry at its inception in 1985. According to both, agroforestry is one of many solutions to climate change which will be well suited to many farms but perhaps not all. Innovations include, for example, the use of agrovoltaics, which means using agroforestry principles and applying them to energy.
In both France and the UK, agroforestry is currently developing strongly. “Brexit has allowed the UK to adapt and accelerate land use policies, and agroforestry is now being built into domestic Agricultural and forestry policies which support establishment and management,” Briggs described. In France, the government has provided €110 million for agroforestry development this year. “In Paris, the best agroforesters are awarded prizes at the Salon de l’Agriculture. Almost all agricultural high schools now include agroforestry plots and courses. But unfortunately, a large number of agroforestry systems are still poorly designed, with lots of trees that don’t survive. This should be avoided. Agroforestry is not simply planting trees,” Dupraz pointed out.
Agroforestry is gaining momentum in the Czech Republic as well. Mendel University also has agroforestry areas on both enterprises – the University Forest Enterprise Masaryk Forest in Křtiny (UFE) and the University Agriculture Enterprise in Žabčice (UAE). “Our university enterprises provide an ideal place where educational activities meet with semi-operational and applied research in the conditions of a real business entity in the field of agricultural or forestry activities. In Žabčice, this is the so-called silvo-arable system established in 2019. The tree species are poplar and walnut, while wheat, poppy or maize are used as agricultural crops. There is also a silvo-pasture system on the UFE, plus the concept of an edible forest and a pasture forest. Here, drought-resistant tree species are used, which, in addition to timber, also provide edible fruits or other benefits in the landscape,” described Martin Klimánek from the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at MENDELU.
Of course, we incorporate examples of these systems into teaching in a number of study programmes, whether it be field trips or thesis solutions. “We would like to continue to pursue this management concept, particularly in terms of research and education, and establish additional plots that vary in tree species and plot design – for example, wider rows on agricultural land. We intend to test other species of trees in the forest, specifically, depending on the suitability of the trees for the location, we are testing bark-cancer resistant chestnut tree, as well as service (sorb) tree and others,” Klimánek explained.
The European Agroforestry Conference takes place in Brno from 27 to 31 May 2024, with speakers not only from Europe, but also from America and Australia. The event is organised by the Czech Society for Agroforestry as a branch of the European Agroforestry Federation (EURAF) in cooperation with Mendel University in Brno, the South Moravian Region and the Statutory City of Brno.
Contact for further information: doc. Ing. Martin Klimánek, Ph.D., martin.klimanek@mendelu.cz, +420 777 101 224, Department of Forest Management and Applied Geoinformatics LDF MENDELU; Ing. Antonín Martiník, Ph.D., antonin.martinik@mendelu.cz, +420 730 165 622, Department of Forest Establishment and Cultivation LDF MENDELU
More news
-
Mendel University in Brno is launching two new free online courses that combine science with business practice and offer participants the opportunity to learn the basics of innovation and precision medicine. They develop practical skills that can be…14. 10. 2025
-
A new branch of the University of the Third Age is being established in Znojmo
On Monday, October 13, MENDELU University of the Third Age will open its seventh branch, this time in Znojmo. This follows on from last year's successful South Moravian Senior Academy, which attracted considerable interest from senior citizens. The…8. 10. 2025 -
Feed additives contribute to long-term sustainability in fish farming
Nutrition is one of the key factors for successful and sustainable fish farming. Modern aquaculture currently faces challenges related to growing demand for high-quality fish products, the need to reduce the ecological footprint of production, and…30. 9. 2025 -
The botanical garden will significantly improve water management
The Botanical Garden and Arboretum of Mendel University in Brno (BZA MENDELU) is currently irrigated from two water mains. As the existing sources are insufficient, the BZA plans to construct a deep borehole that will serve as a permanent source of…30. 9. 2025 -
Automated stores could be the future of shopping in small villages
There are fewer and fewer shops in small villages in Czechia with a population of several hundred. They are being pushed out mainly by supermarkets opening in nearby larger towns, but rising costs are also a problem. Traditional shops in small…16. 9. 2025 -
Final Conference of the WATERLINE Project: A Digital Future for Water Education
The final conference of the international project WATERLINE, funded by the Horizon Europe programme took place at Hotel Passage in Brno. The hybrid-format event attracted a total of 119 participants, including 32 in-person attendees from Malta,…10. 9. 2025 -
Scientists are developing bio-films that can replace plastics in agriculture
While conventional plastics take thousands of years to decompose in the wild, biodegradable materials take only a few months or even weeks. Scientists at the Faculty of AgriSciences are working on the development of these materials. They use them to…4. 9. 2025 -
Scientific expedition in Mongolia: new butterfly discoveries and warning signs…
Experts from Mendel University, in collaboration with colleagues from other scientific institutions, conducted biodiversity mapping during a three-week summer stay in Mongolia, focusing on the southwestern part of the country, the Gobi Altai region.…25. 8. 2025 -
Small, thorny, and perfectly camouflaged. A Czech scientist in Somalia has…
It is tiny, measuring about two centimeters, and almost invisible in the field. This is because its color blends in with its surroundings. We are talking about a new species of spurge discovered in West Africa by Pavel Hanáček and an international…22. 8. 2025 -
MENDELU brought playful forest pedagogy to Mongolia
A wide range of experts from MENDELU spent three intensive weeks in Mongolia, during which they focused on topics related to forestry, biodiversity, and strengthening the relationship between forests and society. This section also included a…11. 8. 2025