Agroforestry in the UK

Transcription

1 Agroforestry in the UK First European Meeting of Agroforestry 16 December 2011 Paul J. Burgess 1 1 Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Cranfield University, MK43 0AL (P.Burgess@cranfield.ac.uk)

2 Area (million ha) UK: 66% agriculture; 11% woodland Other Woodland Agriculture 20 67% 67% 66% 0 France Spain Sweden Germany Finland Poland Italy UK Romania Baltic states A greater proportion of the UK is used for agricultural production than any other large state in the EU27 Eurostat 2009; agricultural land for 2006; woodland data for 1998 Other land includes land of mixed use, infrastructure, built-up land, recreational and other open land Greece Bulgaria Other

3 Woodland as a proportion of total land area (%) UK: Increase in woodland area 20 Scotland 18 Wales 16 UK 14 England 12 Northern Ireland The proportion of the area planted to woodland has increased from about 4% in 1905 to 11% in 2011, with particularly large proportional increases in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (Forestry Commission, 2008).

4 Additional area (thousand hectares per year) UK: Decreasing rate of woodland planting Area of woodland/forest planted each year in the UK between 1976 and 2011 (Forestry Commission, 2010). The annual increase in woodland area has decreased, particular in response to higher agricultural prices

5 Opportunities Agriculture is more profitable than forestry in most parts of UK However UK government seeks to increase tree planting. Because we need to maintain food production, much of this tree planting will need to be integrated with agricultural systems

6 The UK is an agroforestry landscape Agroforestry landscape - Staffordshire

7 Density (trees/ha) Trees outside of woodlands England Wales Scotland Individual Small groups Hedges A national inventory undertaken in 2000 suggested that there were 122 million trees outside of woodlands in the UK. On average, the equivalent density of such trees is particularly high in England and Wales ( trees/ha), and lower for Scotland (2.5 trees /ha) (derived from Forestry Commission, 2001)

8 Traditional: hedges and shelterbelts Length of woody linear features (km/km 2 ) Hedgerows on sheep farms, Exmoor Countryside Survey (2007) Approximately 4 km of woody linear features for every km 2 of land in England Dominant in lowland areas Decline in length of hedges from 1980 to 1990, but since stabilised Hedgerow Habitat Action Plan aims to double number of young hedgerow trees from 2010 to 2015 (Wolton, 2007)

9 Traditional: wood-pasture and parkland Wood pasture and parkland are designated as priority habitats Historic areas with veteran trees and presence of livestock Estimate of 10,000 to 20,000 ha, particularly prevalent in England. Parkland at Bodfach Hall, courtesy of Oliver Dixon UK Biodiversity Action Plan (2008a)

10 Traditional orchard systems Open grown trees set in herbaceous vegetation General low intensity management Estimated area of 25,000 ha, virtually all in England Cherry production UK Biodiversity Action Plan (2008b)

11 Modern systems: animal welfare Woodland egg experiment Oxfordshire (2010) Woodland egg production Perceived welfare benefits for hens Estimated to be 200 woodland egg producers in UK Flood plain recreational area, Milton Keynes Sheep production

12 Conclusions The UK has an agroforestry landscape, even though the UK government does not use the term agroforestry We need EU and national policies that promote a continuum of multifunctional land use systems: agriculture, forestry and agroforestry. In the UK, perhaps the greatest opportunities are with systems that offer: animal welfare benefits and those that revitalise existing systems (hedges, parklands, orchards) already valued for biodiversity and cultural heritage.

13 Evolution and restoration of traditional systems New orchard silvoarable system, Cambridgeshire, England Silvopastoral ash, Loughall, Northern Ireland, 2007 Elderflower Flood Henfaes, plain Bangor, production recreational Wales area, Milton Keynes Farrochil, Bolfracks, Perthshire Sheep production

14 Evolution of new hedgerow systems Hazel coppice and legumes, Wakelyns, England (2011) Hardwoods and field beans Little Hidden Farm, Berkshire (2002)

15 References Countryside Survey (2007). Chapter 5. Boundary and linear features Broad Habitat Forestry Commission (2001). National Inventory of Woodland & Trees, England. Forestry Commission (2008). Forestry Statistics Woodland areas and planting. Forestry Commission (2011) Forestry Statistics UK Biodiversity Action Plan (2008a). UKBAP Priority Habitat Descriptions: Wood pasture and parkland UK Biodiversity Action Plan (2008b). UKBAP Priority Habitat Descriptions: Traditional orchards Wolton, R. (2007). The UK Habitat Action Plan for Hedgerows Overview of recent activity.