Tag: Agroforestry 🌳

Volunteer projects in which you are involved in agroforestry activities.

What is agroforestry?

The world of agroforestry is a middle ground between classic agriculture and artificial forests, a method that marries the advantages of human-supervised cultivation with nature. Although the term is hardly used today, agroforestry methods have actually been used since the dawn of time.

The union of agriculture and forestry

The coexistence of human-designed agriculture and the forest gives rise to agroforestry, a practice that combines the advantages of two worlds often perceived as very distant. Different types of this style of cultivation are distinguished:

Forest cultivation: This is mainly mushroom cultivation, one of the most common, but berry bushes can also be found.
Linear systems: These are so-called because they normally mark the boundaries between different fields. They can be simple windbreak hedges or act as buffer zones.
Riparian strips: Areas where fields meet canals and other bodies of water. Again, they can have a structural function or also be productive.
Silvopastoral systems: One of the most interesting versions of agroforestry, combining the cultivation of herbaceous species and large trees. These are plots where agriculture, nature and livestock coexist, in an area where plants grow and animals graze.

All these practices, which are characteristic of agroforestry, aim to make more sustainable and efficient use of the resources provided by nature. Natural associations, ecosystems, insects and animals, a balance which, with intelligent planning, can reduce the work of farmers.