Agroforestry – the growing of trees and crops on the same piece of land – brings diversity and resilience to a farming system, blending food production and public goods provision, claim enthusiasts.
Offering both above- and below-ground benefits, strips or alleys of trees provide areas of refuge, shelter and wildlife habitat, while also helping to improve soil health and manage water flow.
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Where hedgerow planting and restoration is already being done on a farm, it’s a logical next step to consider agroforestry, suggests independent adviser Niels Corfield, who sees it as one of a suite of options for a more sustainable system.
“Going from trees at the edge of the field to trees in rows through the field often makes sense,” he says. “If hedges have a place on your farm for the value they bring, then it’s likely that agroforestry will too.”
He adds that the lack of fungal activity in soils is another good reason to consider putting trees through fields, as they are strongly associated with a different class of mycorrhizal fungi to herbaceous plants, helping to get soils functioning well and cycling nutrients.
“Where there are plenty of below-ground interactions, you get a broader selection of nutrients being mined and made available, which also helps with soil structure and water infiltration.”
A strip of trees can have the same habitat function as margins or buffer strips, bringing benefits for wildlife, so placing them in the middle of fields brings another dimension to the biodiversity offering.
“If you already have beetle banks, for example, why not incorporate trees as well?”
It might still be on a small scale, but there is plenty of interest in agroforestry and a desire among farmers and landowners to find out more, reports Robert Brett, farming consultant at Ceres Rural.
While it can be difficult to quantify the benefits, planting trees to boost biodiversity appeals to most, he confirms, with many seeing the ability to generate income in the future being a bonus.
Not surprisingly, lack of expertise is one of the barriers, as is nervousness about being able to market the produce and secure funding to help with set-up costs, he adds.
However, the fact that clients are asking about suitable sites and soil types, planting patterns and understorey considerations shows the level of interest.