Stephen Briggsstephen.briggs@abacusorganic.co.uk

Exploring the Water Challenge

Water & Catchment management using Agroforestry

Not good in the countryside

Not good in towns

or the countryside

Too much or too little

The answer ?

Water stress & floodrather than

being reactive..... .....Avoida

nce

But .......

• Climate change

• Pressure on land use

• Food production

• Regulation WFD,CAP etc

• Global markets

• Finance

• Land use where trees are combined with crops and/or livestock on the same unit of land and where there is significant ecological or economic interaction between the tree and the agricultural components

AGROFORESTRY

Agroforestry & livestock production

Grain production

Agroforestry & crop production

Biomass

Fruit &

Nuts

lowland agriculture

Upland agriculture

Riparian systems

Catchment scale

Pontbrenshows

it works

Flood plain Agroforestry at Gardon d’Alès river, (Southern France)diverting flood water away from the river and trapping detritus within the tree rows

Increase soil porosity & soil organic matter

Slowing rainfall, overland flow & Improving water infiltration

Roots stabilise soil & trees act as water pumps

Soil, Nutrient & Water management

Source : Research by INRA Restinclières, France

AgricultureAgroforestry Forestry

Average nitrate leaching

Kg / ha / yrUp to 50% less N lost under

Agroforestry than arable

Trees capture N not used by crops

Reduced Nitrogen leaching & improved water quality

Improved sun & water utilisationGreater overall productivity

LER’s

1.1 to 1.4Tree and crop yields for

42 tree-crop combinations

http://www.cranfield.ac.uk/sas/naturalresources/research/projects/safe.jsp

Balancing productivity with environment management

• Improved soil & water quality protection• Wind speeds reduced• Reduced evaporation and water loss from crops• Microclimate modified• Carbon capture (1.5 – 4.0 t carbon/ha/yr)

Is agroforestry scalable to mainstream agriculture?

UK – 4.7 million ha arable land Henan Province 3.2 million ha agroforestry

Henan

52ha of Agroforestry at my own farm in Cambridgeshire

Policy

• Agroforestry eligible under new CAP– Greening measures– Ecological Focus Area (EFA) option

• Pillar II schemes– ERDP or similar options

• Article 23 Pillar II 80% funding (5yr plant & Maintenance)

• Defra has not implemented measures in England

• EURAF www.agroforestry.eu/• AGFORWARD www.agforward.eu/• AGROFE www.agrofe.eu

Knowledge transfer & research is key

Farmers could easily adopt

agroforestry on 10-20% of their

land

Trees grow in most places

Agroforestry is one of the few options with the potential to help reduce greenhouse gas

emissions, help protect natural resources, reduce flood

impact - whilst at the same time produce more food and

biomass

On the way home

Look up.... Look down …

Consider the extra dimensions of Agroforestry

Stephen Briggsstephen.briggs@abacusorganic.co.uk