Pantera, A.

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  Innovations in agroforestry  3424th European Agroforestry Conference  Agroforestry as Sustainable Land Use LESSONS LEARNT FROM THE INTERCROPPING AND GRAZING OF HIGH VALUE TREE SYSTEMS ACROSS EUROPE  Pantera A1*, Mosquera-Losada MR2, Burgess P3, Graves A3, Ferreiro-Domínguez N2, Corroyer N4, McAdam J5, Rosati A6, López-Díaz ML7, Mantzanas K8, Moreno G7, Papadopoulos A1, Papanastasis V , Giannitsopoulos M3 (1) TEI Stereas Elladas, Karpenissi, Greece (2) University of Santiago de Compostela, Department of Crop Production, University Campus, 27002-Lugo, Spain (3) Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, MK43 0AL, UK (4) Chambre France (5) Agri Food and Biosciences Institute, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX, UK (6) Consiglio per la ricerca in agricoltura e l'analisi dell'economia agraria, centro di ricerca Olivicoltura Frutticoltura Agrumicoltura (CRA  OFA), via Nursina 2, 06049 Spoleto (PG), Italy (7), Forest Research Group (INDEHESA), University of Extremadura. Plasencia 10600, Spain (8)Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Forestry & Natural Environment, Thessaloniki, Greece (9) Institut pour le De´veloppement Forestier, Auzeville-Tolosane, France *Corresponding author: pantera@teiste.gr  Abstract Intercropping or grazing of orchards or groves of fruit trees (e.g. olive, carob, pine-nut, walnut, almond, chestnut, apple, pear), or plantations of trees grown for high value timber (e.g. walnut -value tree The systems can be combined with agricultural crops such as chickpeas and barley or grass grazed by sheep. The introduction of sheep to apple orchards can minimise the need for mowing and at the same time provide animal feed for sheep production enterprises. Pollarding is still a living practice in France where it is linked to the management of a traditional hedgerow network . In Spain, hardwood species are commonly grown using rotations of up to 50-60 years, and establishing a legume based mixed pasture understorey and introducing sheep can increase the financial and environmental benefits from such plantations. Chestnut agroforestry is a traditional land use system in Spain after fruit drop. Chickpeas can be a successfully intercropped below orange or olive trees. In addition to chickpeas, olive trees can be intercropped by species such as asparagus and flowers.   Keywords: apple; orange; olive; chestnuts; walnuts  Introduction storey on land with pasture (consumed by animals) or an agricultural crop as the lower storey. The woody species can be evenly or unevenly distributed or occur on the plot border. The woody species can deliver forestry or agricultural products or other ecosystem services (i.e. Mosquera-Losada et al. 2016). Agroforestry is a traditional land use system that can help address many current environmental problems. In many agroforestry projects, the focus is on integrating trees within arable or livestock systems. There are also reviews of maintenance and improvement of established wood pasture and hedgerow systems of known cultural and biodiversity significance (Moreno et al. 2017). However an alternative approach is to integrate understorey crops or grazing within existing high value tree systems such fruit orchards, olive groves, or high value timber plantations (Rosati et al. 2012; López-Díaz et al. 2013, 2014). Examples of fruit trees include olive, carob, pine-nut, walnut, almond, chestnut, apple and pear. Trees grown for high value timber in Europe include walnut and wild cherry. Olive trees are one of the most important species in the Mediterranean regions (Camarsa et al. 2016) and apple trees are common in Atlantic and Continental regions (Robertson et al. 2012; Lebon 2016). This article provides an overview of the results from the experiments or field trials that were conducted by ten stakeholder groups with high value tree systems, within the AGFORWARD research project.   Innovations in agroforestry  3434th European Agroforestry Conference  Agroforestry as Sustainable Land Use Materials and methods Ten stakeholder groups focused on the intercropping or grazing of high value trees covered apple trees (Burgess 2014; Corroyer 2014; McAdam 2014), olive trees (Pantera 2014a, 2014b; Rosati 2014), and orange trees (Pantera 2014c), chestnut (Mosquera-Losada et al. 2014) and walnut trees (Moreno 2014) (Table 1). The stakeholder groups included farmers, breeders, foresters, landowners, and representatives of regional and national associations, agricultural suppliers, extension services, NGOs, policy makers, and scientists. These stakeholder groups cover the North and South Mediterranean, and the North, Central, and Southern Atlantic agroclimatic zones. In the case of olives (Greece and Italy) and apples (UK and France), the same tree species were studied in different areas with opportunities to compare and exchange ideas, information and knowledge between countries. Even though an initial stwas created for walnut in Greece and chestnut trees in Switzerland, these did not continue for local logistical reasons. During 2014, each group identified some potential innovations to be tested and during the next three years detailed experimental and/or economic measurements were taken at each site. Farmers could freely suggest potential innovations and research team members contributed only to facilitating the discussion and on the feasibility of the suggested actions. Depending on the site, some innovations were tested experimentally with replicates or by on-farm demonstrations. Additionally, research team members were responsible for gathering data from each site which included site and system characteristic as well as past and present economic information of the system. Table 1: Components of selected High Value tree agroforestry systems System Tree component Crop/understorey component Animal component Grazed orchards in England, UK Apple (Malus domestica L.) Perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) Sheep: Shropshire breedGrazed orchards in Northern Ireland, UK Apple cider variety: Coet-de-linge, and dessert variety: Jonagold Perennial ryegrass Sheep: mixed breeds including Texel, Belclare, LLeyn and Highlander Grazed orchards in France Apple Perennial ryegrass Sheep: Shropshire breedIntercropping of olive groves, Molos, Greece Olive (Olea europea)  Cereals, maize, grape vines, vegetables, grass, and chickpea (Cicer arietinum) Sheep Intercropping of olive groves, Kassandreia, Greece Olive (Olea europea L.),  Pear (Pyrus sp.),  Pines (Pinus halepensis Mill.)  Wheat and barley No animals Intercropping in olive orchards, Italy  Olive Asparagus (Asparagus acutifolius L.) and bulbs (Narcissus and Tulipa species No animals Intercropping of orange groves, Greece Orange (Citrus sinensis L.) Vegetables (here chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) No animals Grazing walnut timber plantations in Spain Hybrid walnut (Juglans major x regia) Mj209xRa Grass species Sheep: Merina breed Chestnut agroforestry in Galicia, Spain Chestnut  (Castanea sativa L.) Ulex sp., Pteridium sp. Rubus sp., and mushrooms Pigs: Celtic breed  Results and discussion The main results are described in terms of two main types of intervention: i) intercropping, and ii) grazing. Timber from species such as walnut, wild cherry and chestnut and fruit from olive and orange trees can produce high revenues, but some production systems involve substantial energy,   Innovations in agroforestry  3444th European Agroforestry Conference  Agroforestry as Sustainable Land Use water, and agrochemical inputs. The experimental work demonstrated that there are benefits from planting a nitrogen-fixing intercrop, such as chickpeas or alfalfa, rather than investing substantial energy in regular cultivation between the trees. For example, sowing rich-legume pasture in the alleys could roughly double the stocking rate without compromise the tree growth. As an overall conclusion, managing of Mediterranean hybrid walnuts and wild cherry timber plantation under silvopastoral schemes seem a feasible way to reduce the high economical maintenance costs of these plantations and the ecological risks, without compromising their productivity. Similar promising results on the positive effect of the legumes to the walnut overstory were reported by Homar et al. (2014).  As mentioned above, grazing may be beneficial from an environmental and an economic perspective. This is also evidenced from a With proper management this system is productive and has many environmental and economic specific, adequate stocking rates and space-distribution of the pigs are important to limit any damage to the trees.  Olive is one of the most popular and characteristic trees in the Mediterranean. Based on the results from the three stakeholders groups in Greece and Italy, intercropping can be a reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. The choice of the intercrop species is an important parameter in the management scheme of such a system. For example, chickpeas successfully complement olive cultivation, as, besides being a leguminous species that enhances soil nitrogen level, it is also a low water demanding species. Similar results were obtained from a trial in the island of Crete, Greece, where orange trees were intercropped with a leguminous crop. As Greece produces over 0.8 million tonnes of oranges annually (1.1% of total global production), this combination can be a profitable choice for the farmer and the environment. Actually, intercropping with a leguminous species not only enhances soil nitrogen levels, but also increases income to the farmer by the extra product (e.g. chickpeas). There is a plethora of species for intercropping olive groves. For example, in Italy, olives were successfully intercropped with wild asparagus plants and flowers such as narcissus and tulips. The focus with the apple systems in France and the UK was on the grazing of orchards using sheep. The experiments comparing orchards where the understorey was either grazed or mown demonstrated that orchard grazing can be profitable and productive but it is not suitable for all orchards. Grazing was most successful where the lower branches of the apple trees have already been pruned to a height of at least 1.2 m (to minimise yield loss from the browsing sheep). In these systems tree height is of great importance and should represent an important parameter in the management of such system. Grazing is also likely to be more successful where the apple trees receive a minimal spray programme e.g. grazing is easier in an organic than an intensively-sprayed system. The other two important issues are selection of an quality of pasture, and the status of the trees.  South-West France. It represents an excellent example of the wisdom acquired through time where farmers gained as many products as possible by this system such as wood (mostly fire-wood) from the branches of the pollarded trees and dairy products from the livestock grazed. Conclusion The intercropping of high value tree systems can help to reduce cultivation costs, while the use of understorey nitrogen-fixing crops can reduce fertiliser needs for the tree crop and maintain or increase tree yields. However it is noted that additional phosphorus may be required in some soil types. The grazing of high-stem orchards and timber plantations, typically with sheep, can reduce mowing costs and provide an additional source of revenue.      Innovations in agroforestry  3454th European Agroforestry Conference  Agroforestry as Sustainable Land Use Acknowledgment We are thankful for the responses from a range of stakeholders who spared their time in meetings during 2014. The AGFORWARD project (Grant Agreement N° 613520) was co-funded by the European Commission, Directorate General for Research & Innovation, within the 7th Framework Programme of RTD, Theme 2 - Biotechnologies, Agriculture & Food. This research has been co-funded by the Hellenic Ministry of Education, Research and Religion, General Secretariat for Research and Technology.  References Burgess PJ (2014) Initial stakeholder meeting report: grazed orchards in the UK. http://www.agforward.eu/index.php/en/Grazed_Orchards.html (accessed 23/04/2018). practice in improving environmental performance in the olive oil sector. LIFE report available on line: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/publications/lifepublications/lifefocus/documents/oliveoil.pdf (accesed 23/04/2018). Corroyer N (2014) Initial stakeholder meeting report: grazed orchards in France. http://www.agforward.eu/index.php/en/grazed-orchards-in-france.html (accessed 23/04/2018). Homar-Sánchez C, Urbán-Martínez I, Rigueiro-Rodríguez A, Mosquera-Losada MR (2014) Juglans growth under ploughing and Vicia villosa sowing understory management. 2nd European Agroforestry Conference, Cottbus, Germany. Lebon G. SVPC Normandie, 6 rue des Roquemonts  14000 Caen France. 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Lessons learnt from the intercropping and grazing of high value tree systems across europe

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Lessons learnt from the intercropping and grazing of high value tree systems across europe

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