Session 47 - Agroforestry, Forest and Agricultural Sustainability

Agroforestry (AF) is a climate-smart agriculture (CSA) practice of deliberately integrating woody vegetation (trees or shrubs) with crop and/or animal systems to benefit from the resulting ecological and economic interactions. It is recognized as a proactive “negative emissions technologies” (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change (IPCC) 1.5SR) that can foster sustainability in the current changing climate conditions. However, there are knowledge gaps to be filled regarding agroforestry, as well as bottlenecks and challenges. These could be solved by providing greater access to research findings (either published or unpublished) and identifying and extending good practices that farmers are already implementing.

Session: 47, Room: E, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 11:45 to 12:00
Oral presentation in Agroforestry, Forest and Agricultural Sustainability

Mixed pasture establishment is considered as a key point to increase livestock production due to the higher quality it has compared with unmanaged shrubby species. They also provide a set of ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and higher biodiversity. Moreover, herbaceous pasture establishment effectively contributes to biomass production while replacing shrubs therefore reducing forest fire risk. Two of the main factors promoting the establishment of the herbaceous pasture are sowing and fertilisation. This study evaluates the understory composition evolution of a silvopastoral system established with cocksfoot and clover in an acidic forest soil under Pinus radiata D. Don with four treatments that consist of no fertilization, fertilization with mineral fertilizers (500 kg of mineral 8:24:16) and fertilization with three doses of sewage sludge (160, 320 and 480 kg N ha-1), in Galicia (NW Spain). Botanical composition data were analysed through species abundance diagrams in a time window of 20 years. Results showed a clear evolution in understory composition from the initial situation. Organic fertilization was found to ease sown-mixture persistence on time as well as avoiding shrub colonisation with regard to mineral and no fertilization treatments. Nutritional and sun light high-demanding species were mostly replaced in favour of autochthonous ones after sewage sludge fertilization stopped and tree canopy intercepted light that reached the understory.

Session: 47, Room: E, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 12:00 to 12:15
Oral presentation in Agroforestry, Forest and Agricultural Sustainability

Silvopasture is the combination of woody vegetation with forage and animal production on the same land that allows the diversification of agricultural income and productivity. In the silvopastoral systems, the fertilisation with sewage sludge could increase tree growth and pasture production at the same time that the pasture biodiversity is modified. The objective of this study was to evaluate pasture biodiversity of a walnut silvopastoral system grazed by sheep and fertilized with three types of sewage sludge (anaerobic, composted and pelletized) and with mineral fertilisation after five years of establishment. At the beginning of the experiment all plots were sown with Dactylis glomerata L., Lolium perenne L. and Trifolium repens L. Nevertheless, their presence diminished over the years probably due to the shade generated by the trees, the competence with native and less demanding species and cattle trampling. Moreover, the nitrogenous fertilisation benefited the native species such as Agrostis capillaris L., Bromus hordeaceus L. and Holcus lanatus L., which are less productive and of lower quality but more frugal and nitrophile shade-tolerant species with a higher soil seed bank compared with the sown species.

Session: 47, Room: E, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 12:15 to 12:30
Oral presentation in Agroforestry, Forest and Agricultural Sustainability

Agroforestry is a traditional land use system that may represent the answer to many present and future environmental problems. However, many farmers who practice agroforestry do not identity it as agroforestry nor even accept such identification. So far, there is has not been an organized training method on agroforestry apart the Agrof MM method. The Agrof MM, "Agroforesterie – Formation - Mediterannee et Montagne", was a 3-year KA-2 ERASMUS+ educational project that aimed to i. Train between 130 and 150 agricultural professionals in Europe, ii. Improve and develop the education tools to enable agroforestry training to be sustainable, and, iii. Develop a unique agroforestry qualification program in each European country. It was coordinated by AgroSup Dijon, France. Thirteen partners from ten different countries participated in the program by contributing a wide range of knowledge, experiences and ideas. Within the framework of the Agrof MM project, European stakeholders were trained based on a general format (Core content) that differentiated based on the location. The trainings contained lectures, examples and a field trip per training.

Session: 47, Room: E, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 11:30 to 11:45
Oral presentation in Agroforestry, Forest and Agricultural Sustainability

This paper presents an initial attempt to investigate the effect of drought in the mortality of valonia oak (Quercus ithaburensis subsp. macrolepis) seedlings and young saplings in a silvopastoral system in western Greece. The experiment was conducted in fenced experimental plots where the number of seedlings and young samplings was measured in May and October before and after the dry summer period for the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. The results show that the number of seedlings and young saplings decreased on average by 24.7% in October attributed mainly to the effect of summer drought.

Session: 47, Room: E, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 12:33 to 12:36
Flash presentation in Agroforestry, Forest and Agricultural Sustainability

This study aimed to determine the photosynthetic response of spring oilseed rape to heatwave (HW), drought, nutrient deficiency (N-D) and combined stress. HW and drought acted in a different manner. Under both adequate and deprived soil nutrient conditions, in the presence of adequate water supply, HW up regulated the photosynthetic performance of rape. However, drought-induced stress was highly exacerbated under HW, leading to the incomplete recovery that was additionally impaired by nutrient deficiency.

Session: 47, Room: E, at Sat, 09/07/2019 - 12:30 to 12:33
Flash presentation in Agroforestry, Forest and Agricultural Sustainability