Agroforestry creates carbon sinks whilst enhancing the environment in agricultural landscapes in Europe

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dc.contributor.authorSonja, Kay
dc.contributor.authorRega, Carlo
dc.contributor.authorMoreno, Gerardo
dc.contributor.authorden Herder, Michael
dc.contributor.authorPalma, João H. N.
dc.contributor.authorBorek, Robert
dc.contributor.authorCrous-Duran, Josep
dc.contributor.authorFreese, Dirk
dc.contributor.authorGiannitsopoulos, Michail
dc.contributor.authorGraves, Anil
dc.contributor.authorJäger, Mareike
dc.contributor.authorLamersdorf, Norbert
dc.contributor.authorMemedemin, Daniyar
dc.contributor.authorMosquera-Losada, Rosa
dc.contributor.authorPantera, Anastasia
dc.contributor.authorParacchini, Maria Luisa
dc.contributor.authorParis, Pierluigi
dc.contributor.authorRoces-Díaz, José V.
dc.contributor.authorRolo, Victor
dc.contributor.authorRosati, Adolfo
dc.contributor.authorSandor, Mignon
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Jo
dc.contributor.authorSzerencsits, Erich
dc.contributor.authorVarga, Anna
dc.contributor.authorViaud, Valérie
dc.contributor.authorWawer, Rafal
dc.contributor.authorBurgess, Paul J.
dc.contributor.authorHerzog, Felix
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-17T09:50:31Z
dc.date.available2019-05-17T09:50:31Z
dc.date.issued2019-03-06
dc.description.abstractAgroforestry, relative to conventional agriculture, contributes significantly to carbon sequestration, increases a range of regulating ecosystem services, and enhances biodiversity. Using a transdisciplinary approach, we combined scientific and technical knowledge to evaluate nine environmental pressures in terms of ecosystem services in European farmland and assessed the carbon storage potential of suitable agroforestry systems, proposed by regional experts. First, regions with potential environmental pressures were identified with respect to soil health (soil erosion by water and wind, low soil organic carbon), water quality (water pollution by nitrates, salinization by irrigation), areas affected by climate change (rising temperature), and by underprovision in biodiversity (pollination and pest control pressures, loss of soil biodiversity). The maps were overlaid to identify areas where several pressures accumulate. In total, 94.4% of farmlands suffer from at least one environmental pressure, pastures being less affected than arable lands. Regional hotspots were located in north-western France, Denmark, Central Spain, north and south-western Italy, Greece, and eastern Romania. The 10% of the area with the highest number of accumulated pressures were defined as Priority Areas, where the implementation of agroforestry could be particularly effective. In a second step, European agroforestry experts were asked to propose agroforestry practices suitable for the Priority Areas they were familiar with, and identified 64 different systems covering a wide range of practices. These ranged from hedgerows on field boundaries to fast growing coppices or scattered single tree systems. Third, for each proposed system, the carbon storage potential was assessed based on data from the literature and the results were scaled-up to the Priority Areas. As expected, given the wide range of agroforestry practices identified, the carbon sequestration potentials ranged between 0.09 and 7.29 t C ha−1 a−1. Implementing agroforestry on the Priority Areas could lead to a sequestration of 2.1 to 63.9 million t C a−1 (7.78 and 234.85 en_UK
dc.identifier.citationKay S, Rega C, Moreno G, et al., (2019) Agroforestry creates carbon sinks whilst enhancing the environment in agricultural landscapes in Europe. Land Use Policy, Volume 83, April 2019, pp. 581-593en_UK
dc.identifier.issn0264-8377
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.02.025
dc.identifier.urihttp://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/14178
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherElsevieren_UK
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectCarbon storageen_UK
dc.subjectClimate change mitigationen_UK
dc.subjectEcosystem servicesen_UK
dc.subjectFarmlanden_UK
dc.subjectResource protectionen_UK
dc.subjectSpatial deficit analysisen_UK
dc.titleAgroforestry creates carbon sinks whilst enhancing the environment in agricultural landscapes in Europeen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK

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