#silvopasture
The farmers putting trees back into the UK’s fields and farms
Gray’s radical change of direction is not tree-hugging environmentalism but a hardheaded commercial calculation. It’s also born out of curiosity. He wants to know how trees might benefit his soil and livestock. By planting 5,600 trees on his 165-acre farm, he is participating in a unique 12-year trial to test how well #silvopasture – farming livestock with trees – improves the environment and increases productivity.
Studies outside Britain suggest silvopasture’s benefits include sequestering additional carbon, reducing flooding, increasing drought-resilience, improving animal health and weight and boosting biodiversity. But there is little evidence of its impacts on British farming.
The trial, involving seven farms in Devon and scientists from Rothamsted Research and the Organic Research Centre, is the brainchild of Luke Dale-Harris of the charity Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group. It is being co-funded by the Woodland Trust and Innovative Farmers, a Soil Association programme helping farmers participate in agricultural research.
#Farming #Trees #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #livestock #drought #nature #natural #farm #food #Woodland #WoodlandTrust #soil