Agroforestry is the deliberate growing of trees and shrub with agricultural crops, in the same surface unit, with the possible presence of animals
Agroforestry:
- is very widespread in tropical and equatorial countries
- has almost disappeared in the simplified cropping systems of western countries that have adopted intensive agriculture, where monoculture has supplanted the wooded arable land and wooded pastures
- ongoing revaluation in innovative agricultural systems
- to achieve the objectives of economic and environmental sustainability
- to contribute to the agreement on the Paris climate – COP21 which provides for a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030
Long-term trial on agroforestry systems underway at CiRAA
- location: Arnino
- trial area: 40 hectares
- Factors being compared:
- conventional three-year agricultural rotation (without trees)
- conventional seven-year mixed rotation (without trees)
- three-year agricultural silvoarable rotation
- seven-year mixed agrosilvopastoral rotation
- annual crops: durum wheat, sorghum and pigeon bean
- polyphite grassland with a four-year duration: Italian ryegrass, small grass, fescue, alfalfa and sulla clover
Herbaceous crops are associated with polycyclic oak rows (Quercus robur – 40 year cutting cycle) and clones of poplar hybrids (Populus spp. – 10 year cutting cycle) in BES (Best Environmental Sustainability) placed five meters from each other, near the drainage ditches of each plot. Two different poplar densities are compared: 60 and 100 trees per hectare
In total, around 2000 trees were planted
Expected results in terms of ecosystem services
- carbon storage
- reduced risk of nitrate leaching
- microclimate improvement
- soil and biodiversity conservation