page_title: Agroforestry
section_title: Fauna-based systems
hierarchical_section_title: Agroforestry / Applications / Temperate Agroforestry / Fauna-based systems
caption_attribution_description: English: My first attempt at Agroforestry. I planted these Pinus radiata ~ 1970 in rows approximately 30 metres apart mid-Spring. To maintain productivity in this paddock I cut this paddock for hay then cropped it the following Autumn with Oats. After this crop was harvested I turned in Merino Weaner lambs in to graze the stubble. They grazed for about two weeks before they started nibbling the trees. I then swapped them with a new mob of lambs. I then cropped it again. After this harvest the trees were sufficiently high enough to cope with sheep grazing their lower branches Français&#160;: Première tentative d’agroforesterie de Clive Wawn (en Australie)&#160;: Il a planté ces pins (Pinus radiata) vers 1970, à la mi-printemps, en rangs espacés d'environ 30 mètres. Pour maintenir la productivité de ce paddock il en a fauché le foin, puis il planté de l’avoine l'automne suivant. Après avoir récolté cet avoine, il s’est tourné vers l’élevage de Mérinos (agneaux sevrés qu’il fait paître dans les chaumes). Ces agneaux ont brouté l’herbe environ deux semaines avant de commencer à grignoter les arbres. Clive Wawn les a alors échangé avec un groupe de nouveaux agneaux plus jeunes. L’herbe a à nouveau été fauchée, puis après cette récolte, les arbres étaient suffisamment âgés pour faire face aux moutons qui ne broutent plus que leurs branches inférieures.
context_page_description: Agroforestry is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. This diversification of the farming system initiates an agroecological succession, like that in natural ecosystems, and so starts a chain of events that enhance the functionality and sustainability of the farming system. Trees also produce a wide range of useful and marketable products from fruits/nuts, medicines, wood products, etc. This intentional combination of agriculture and forestry has multiple benefits, such as greatly enhanced yields from staple food crops, enhanced farmer livelihoods from income generation, increased biodiversity, improved soil structure and health, reduced erosion, and carbon sequestration. Agroforestry practices are highly beneficial in the tropics, especially in subsistence smallholdings in sub-Saharan Africa and have been found to be beneficial in Europe and the United States.
  Agroforestry shares principles with intercropping but can also involve much more complex multi-strata agroforests containing hundreds of species. Agroforestry can also utilise nitrogen-fixing plants such as legumes to restore soil nitrogen fertility.
context_section_description: Trees can benefit fauna. The most common examples are silvopasture where cattle, goats, or sheep browse on grasses grown under trees. In hot climates, the animals are less stressed and put on weight faster when grazing in a cooler, shaded environment. The leaves of trees or shrubs can also serve as fodder.
  Similar systems support other fauna. Deer and hogs gain when living and feeding in a forest ecosystem, especially when the tree forage nourishes them. In aquaforestry, trees shade fish ponds. In many cases, the fish eat the leaves or fruit from the trees.
  The dehesa or montado system of silviculture are an example of pigs and bulls being held extensively in Spain and Portugal.
caption: Silvopasture over the years (Australia)
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