Mechanization in agriculture & Conserving of the resources
Vol. 65 (2019), Issue 6, pg(s) 209-212

CONSERVING OF THE RESOURCES

Opportunities for agroforestry in Latvia

  • 1 Latvian State Forest Research Institute “Silava”, Riga, Latvia

Abstract

Agroforestry has the potential to provide a broad range of ecosystem services including maintenance and improvement of soil and water quality. Nevertheless, there is a lack of supporting policies both at national and at European level. Moreover, although tree cover density on agricultural land is surprisingly high in the Baltic States, agroforestry is seldom immediately associated with boreal and hemiboreal regions. Two agroforestry systems corresponding best to the farming traditions in Latvia are short rotation coppices grown on agricultural land and silvopastoral systems. In Latvia, the first experimental area of agroforestry systems of fast growing tree species (Populus spp., Salix spp. etc.) and legumes or perennial grasses was established in 2011. To promote the implementation of bioeconomy principles, municipal waste (wastewater sludge) and renewable energy by-products (wood ash and digestate) were applied as fertilizers to promote increase of yield. Within the study, not only benefits of agroforestry systems were evaluated but also ecological risks associated with the application of fertilizers.

Keywords

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