Agroforestry

Agroforestry is a term which describes systems in which trees, animals and/or crops are grown together in intimate mixtures. The term does not include farm woodlands which do not involve significant biological or environmental interactions between the woodland and agricultural components. A number of papers in this volume have discussed the possibility of increasing timber production in Cumbria, in response to Britain's present high rate of timber imports and excess agricultural production. Agroforestry could contribute to this increased timber production in a manner which would be attractive to the farming community because land would sustain a significant agricultural income whilst the trees were maturing. There are several types of agroforestry. Silvoarable systems are mixtures of trees and crops, while silvopastoralism describes intimate mixtures of trees and animals. Agrenforestry is a term used here to emphasize the co-production of bioenergy crops with agricultural and timber crops. Agrenforestry, described later in more detail, could involve strips of energy coppice amongst agricultural crops, or the use of coppice beneath wide-spaced standard trees. It has been suggested (Lawson 1987) that there are five possible uses for rural land — food, fibre, fuel, pharmaceuticals and fun. This paper moves up the alphabet to discuss five criteria for land use decisions: economics, energy, environment, employment and enjoyment.