Agroforestry för svenska förhållanden 2024 - Flipbook - Page 25
animals can feed on the trees or break them if they
scratch against them or walk over them. Therefore
some protection is needed, such as a fence around
them before they have grown more robust.
Buffer zones
Border planting and windbreaks are typical examples
of buffer zones. A border plantation consists of
woody perennials along the edge of a field, pasture
or watercourse [23]. These usually require less investment and conversion of production compared to alley
cropping and can therefore be scaled up relatively
Left page: Pollarded willow, southern Sweden. Pollarding for tree
fodder, for example by cutting annual shoots on older willow trees,
is a traditional way to provide winter feed and craft materials
(such as basketry). Ash and willow are common favourites among
animals.
”Hedgerows and trees have been found
to have higher mineral content, so,
when livestock get access to browse
them, that can enrich their diet… The
high lignin content in tree fodder can
also have anthelmintic properties, a
remedy for intestinal worm burdens.
…Willow has salicin in it which is the
active ingredient in aspirin and so has
pain relieving properties. So livestock
has access to this whole medicine cabinet of benefits.”
easily [20]. Windbreaks, on the other hand, consist
of a single or multiple rows of woody perennials on
cropland. Establishing and managing a single tree or
shrub row is the most affordable and least labour-intensive method. However, a single row has a lower
level of biodiversity and does not provide as effective
wind protection [24].
As in all agroforestry, buffer systems provide a variety
of benefits that farmers can optimise for their purposes. Windbreaks create favourable conditions for the
adjacent field by reducing evaporation and increasing
soil temperature, which can contribute to an extended
growing season. Windbreaks also keep snow from
blowing away during winter, preventing freeze-drying
of autumn-sown and perennial crops [24]. A buffer
zone creates favourable habitats for beneficial animals
(such as wild pollinators, ladybirds, spiders and
ground beetles) that depend on shelter and warmth
for their survival. A buffer zone fulfils a key function
as a wildlife dispersal corridor in the landscape for
larger fauna [25].
The supporting and regulating ecosystem services
provided by buffer zones are enough to qualify them
as agroforestry, but if trees and shrubs that provide
edible products are planted the land can be used
even more efficiently.
Forest farming
In forest farming, edible fungi, woody perennials and
annual or perennial food crops are grown under a
canopy. Usually, cultivation takes place in existing
- Citation from the film “Agroforestry in The Uplands”, from
Soil Associaltion, UK.
Buffertzon / Buffer zone, Sweden.
