TOOLS

Tools and technologies to support sustainable agroforestry practices

FarmTree Tool: farms, trees, and crops quantified

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Die FarmTree Tool is a user-friendly digital solution aimed to support decision-making in agroforestry planning and implementation. The tool consists of a software-based agroforestry model, accessible through an easy-to-use online interface, and connected to a scientific species database where the characteristics of hundreds of relevant trees and crops species are defined for different geographical locations.

The FarmTree Tool allows land users and agroforestry practitioners to replicate existing or hypothetical agroforestry scenarios in an online environment, enabling very flexible design of unique agroforestry systems regarding:

  • species composition
  • spatial arrangement, and
  • management options.

The tool then forecasts the long-term productive, financial, and agroecological performance of the agroforestry system including:

  • projected yields,
  • costs and revenues,
  • nutrient and water flows,
  • carbon sequestration,
  • biodiversity, and many more.

It offers a quick and comprehensive overview of any farming system’s performance. The tool facilitates informed decision-making for scaling sustainable land-use practices in European agroforestry and worldwide.

Check the link to discover the advantages of using the FarmTree Tool!

https://tool.farmtree.earth/

The ReForest Knowledge Hub

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The ReForest Knowledge Hub is part of a virtual ‘toolbox’ to help farmers design agroforestry (AF) systems and make well-informed management decisions suitable to local contexts. It is mainly aimed at farmers who have not yet converted to AF. Its primary purpose is to bring together past and current research and help address gaps in knowledge surrounding AF design and performance, the capacity of AF to deliver ecosystem services, and the potential impacts of AF on biodiversity and soil carbon.

The Hub consists of a database of resources (i.e. datasets, decision support tools, reports, videos, podcasts and websites) which have been collated drawing on knowledge and experience within the ReForest project consortium and wider national and international contacts. As of May 2024, it represents a broad baseline of information available, with 80 diverse resources originating in 15 different countries widely applicable to Europe included. The intention is for this to be expanded on throughout the duration of the project, responding to the needs of AF farmers and researchers. It was decided to limit the resources to those broadly originating within Europe.

It is currently possible to browse the resources which are listed alphabetically (see Figure 1), or to carry out a search filtering by AF type, AF focus, relevant farming system, geographical relevance and content type (see Figure 2). This capacity to apply filters that can help users narrow down searches sets it apart from other similar knowledge hubs.

Each resource has an associated page which gives a brief description of what it is along with some technical information / acknowledgements (see Figure 3).

 

This Knowledge Hub needs your input! If you have a suggestion of a resource to include, please get in touch.

Access / explore the REFOREST Knowledge Hub here

ReForest Public Goods Tool

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The Public Goods Tool (PG Tool) was originally developed by the Organic Research Centre (ORC) in 2011 to assess the public goods provided by farms undertaking organic conversion. Since then, PG Tool has been adapted for many other purposes. Under the ReForest project, the tool has been further developed and adapted to incorporate the benefits of trees into farm assessments.

The ReForest PG Tool assesses the following public goods at the farm level:

  • Landscape and heritage features
  • Soil management
  • Energy and carbon
  • Agricultural systems diversity
  • Nutrient balance (NPK)
  • Social capital
  • Farm business resilience
  • Animal health and welfare management
  • Governance

For each of the above public goods, the tool provides a score on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). This is useful both for researchers to assess the sustainability of different agroforestry systems, and for farmers to identify areas of strengths and potential improvements at their farm.

The PG Tool is based in Microsoft Excel. To complete the tool, typically a researcher will visit the farmer for up to half a day to guide them through the tool and explain the results.

If you are interested in using the ReForest PG Tool, please contact tom.staton@reading.ac.uk.

An example output from the ReForest Public Goods Tool

Agroforestry Map of Europe

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Please see contact persons below if you would like to add an entry for this map.

UK Uni Reading , Laurence Smith & Tom Staton ORC, Julia Cooper
DE DEFAF, Rico Hübner
CZ CZU, Martin Lukáč & Eva Majova
DK University of Copenhagen, Bhim Bahadur Ghaley
BE Inagro, Dieter Depraetere & Willem Van Colen (fascilitating ILVO)
PL OSA, Paweł Radzikowski
BG Trakia University, Stefka Atanasova
HU University of Sopron, Andrea Vitji
de_DEGerman