Lindsay Whistance

This book features five peer-reviewed reviews on the implementation of agroforestry practices.The first chapter reviews the use of integrated crop-livestock systems, with a focus on agroforestry systems. The chapter discusses the potential environmental and economic benefits of agroforestry systems, as well as their contribution to animal health and welfare.The second chapter considers the plantation and management of temperate agroforestry systems which combine timber trees and herbaceous crops. The chapter covers choice of tree species, techniques of tree planting, plantation maintenance and approaches to tree pruning and thinning.The third chapter provides an overview of the implementation of alley cropping in agroforestry systems. The chapter explores the economic and ecological benefits of alley cropping, as well as the challenges and major considerations of implementing these practices within North America.The fourth chapter addresses the challenges and key issues in the sustainable production and use of willow as feedstock for biofuel production in northern temperate regions, including the issues of feedstock quality for biofuel use.The final chapter explores the contribution of agroforestry to meet global strategies to increase biodiversity while sustainably increasing agricultural systems resource efficiency.

This collection features four peer-reviewed literature reviews on integrated crop–livestock systems in agriculture.The first chapter reviews the use of integrated crop–livestock systems to achieve balance in organic animal farming. The chapter focusses primarily on the use of agroforestry systems, their potential environmental and economic benefits, as well as how they contribute to animal health and welfare.The second chapter examines the different state-of-the-art integrated crop–livestock systems in various eco-regions worldwide under Conservation Agriculture. As a world leader in the adoption of integrated crop–livestock systems, a substantial part of the chapter is dedicated to the research and adoption of these systems in Brazil.The third chapter illustrates how crop–livestock systems contribute to improving global food security and diversifying the diets of smallholder livelihoods. The chapter explores the climate resilience of these systems and the mitigation strategies developed and implemented by farmers to deal with climate variability.The final chapter discusses the development of whole-farm system models to understand the complexity of integrated crop–livestock systems. The chapter assesses the key processes governing interactions between farm components and provides two examples of common whole-farm model applications from contrasting environments to demonstrate this.

Agriculture and forestry have often been treated as separate and distinct disciplines in colleges, universities and handbooks on farm management. However, on the ground, most farmers manage land that combines agricultural production with trees. The increased uptake of agroforestry in the UK can benefit productivity, soils, climate change mitigation, water management, biodiversity and landscape, as well as animal welfare. This handbook introduces the theory of agroforestry and looks at practical management and design considerations. The authors are leading researchers and practitioners with decades of experience in agroforestry from the UK and around the world. This book will help you to assess the potential for agroforestry for your farm or client and understand the possible benefits to the wider environment, for instance by sequestering carbon and reducing flood risk. This second edition has a new Farm Woodland chapter, additional detail on funding strategies for agroforestry and an increased focus on climate resilience. We hope this handbook will give farmers and advisors the confidence and inspiration to start planting and successfully manage their woody on-farm assets for a profitable and resilient future.