Jo Smith

• Doctor of Philosophy
• Senior Researcher at Moinhos de Vento Agroecology Research Centre

Meeting the needs for a growing world population calls for multifunctional land use, which can meet the multiple demands of food and fuel production, environmental and biodiversity protection, and has the capacity for adaptation or resilience to climate change. Agroforestry, a land-use system that integrates trees and shrubs with crops and/or lives...

One of the key questions of primary importance to global agriculture and food security is how to optimize sustainable intensification to balance competing demands on land for food and energy production, while ensuring the provision of ecosystem services and maintaining or increasing yields. Integrating trees and agriculture through agroforestry has...

Sustainability assessment is a complex field and its uptake amongst agricultural producers limited. Furthermore, the scope of current sustainability assessment tools does not extend to systems in which food production is integrated with production of non-food biomass (e.g. agroforestry). Participatory approaches to tool development offer a means to...

Agroforestry systems, where productive trees are integrated into agricultural land, can deliver benefits to biodiversity, natural pest control, and pollination, but the effects are highly variable. Recent advances in our understanding of flower strips in agricultural systems suggest that the management of the tree row understorey could be an import...

Existing landscape features, such as field boundary hedgerows, can contribute to food, fodder, material, and energy production for an EU bio-based circular economy. Recent trials undertaken by the project team in the UK demonstrated that hedgerows can be managed to produce woodfuel of a quality that meets industry standards. However, to be attracti...

A field trial evaluated the effects of tree species, plant fractions, and season on the dry matter degradability (DMd) and tannin profiles of three tree species (Salix caprea, goat willow (GW); Quercus robur, common oak; Acer campestre., maple). Leaf and twig samples were collected monthly from five trees per species between June and September in B...

Balancing forest conservation and agricultural production is essential for a sustainable future. Here we review the scientific evidence for the relationships between forests and agricultural productivity across different scales, summarizing the contexts under which trees limit, maintain, or enhance agricultural productivity. While synergies and tra...

The UK government has pledged to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Ambitious targets have been set to plant nearly a million hectares of new woodland in the UK by 2050 to meet these net-zero commitments. More than 70% of UK’s land is used for agricultural production and to meet these targets the Climate Change Committee has estimat...

Background Land-use is a major driver of changes in biodiversity worldwide, but studies have overwhelmingly focused on above-ground taxa: the effects on soil biodiversity are less well known, despite the importance of soil organisms in ecosystem functioning. We modelled data from a global biodiversity database to compare how the abundance of soil-d...

Rising demand for food production poses a major threat to biodiversity by placing competing pressures on land. Diversified farming systems are one widely promoted nature-based solution to this challenge, which aim to integrate biodiversity-based ecosystem services into agricultural production. The underlying theory behind this approach is that dive...

CONTEXT: Agroforestry is gaining interest in in Europe however the trade-offs associated with its uptake are still uncertain. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to explore the sustainability trade-offs and synergies associated with a range of agroforestry systems in Europe and assess the underlying reasons for different performance regardin...

The uptake of diversified farming systems is constrained by a scarcity of evidence regarding financial costs, benefits, and risks. Here, we evaluate the productivity and projected farm income of an agroforestry system, where apples are integrated with arable crops, by combining primary data with ecosystem service and cost-benefit models. Our ecosys...

This paper reports on the practicalities of using woodchip produced from agroforestry systems as a soil improver. Replicated trials on three farms in Southern England compared the addition of uncomposted and composted woodchip. The farms are all livestock-free, growing arable or vegetable crops, with fertility sourced from fertility-building crops,...

Theme: Agroforestry systems and innovations Abstract Innovation is one of the key aspects to favour transition from conventional to more sustainable agricultural practices in developed countries. Europe is leading nowadays the development of a good knowledge infrastructure to move on this transition mainly related with the Thematic Networks. The Ag...

Silvopastoral agroforestry, the integration of trees into livestock production systems, is an ancient practice with benefits to animal welfare and nutrition. Intensification of farming practices have reduced the presence of trees and hedgerows in the agricultural landscape. Environmental benefits coupled with improvements to ecological resilience a...

Arable farming is facing increasing demand to improve productivity, but to do so in a sustainable manner, including mitigating declines in global biodiversity. Silvoarable agroforestry systems have the potential to be a 'win-win' solution. For example, these systems can enhance natural enemy and pollinator abundances whilst suppressing pests, compa...

This infographic has been designed for non-academic readers, and summarises the Agronomy article 'Management to promote flowering understoreys benefits natural enemy diversity, aphid suppression and income in an agroforestry system.' Please feel free to share.

Extrapolative nonparametric estimators of species density are commonly used in community ecology. However, they are dependent on either (1) their use on non-dispersive taxa, or (2) the ability to separate tourists from residents in dispersive taxa. We undertook ten years of leaf litter sampling in an ancient woodland in the New Forest, Southern Eng...

This is a two page infographic summarising the Ecological Applications paper, designed for non-academic readers. Please feel free to distribute.

A two page infographic summary of the paper for academics and practitioners - please feel free to disseminate

Diversified farming systems, for example those that incorporate agroforestry elements, have been proposed as a solution that could maintain and improve multiple ecosystem services. However, habitat diversification in and around arable fields has complex and inconsistent effects on invertebrate crop pests and their natural enemies. This hinders the...

Background The presence of condensed tannins (CT) in tree fodders entails a series of productive, health and ecological benefits for ruminant nutrition. Current wet analytical methods employed for full CT characterisation are time and resource-consuming, thus limiting its applicability for silvopastoral systems. The development of quick, safe and r...

Agroforestry systems can maintain or enhance productivity while also delivering environmental benefits. Whilst productivity from individual agroforestry components may be lower than when grown in a monoculture, overall productivity can be higher due to complementarity in resource-capture. This can be quantified using the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER)...

Insect pollination is a globally important ecosystem service, contributing to crop yields, production stability and the maintenance of wild plant populations. Ironically, agriculture is one of the major global drivers of wild insect pollinator decline. At the same time, increasing human population is driving ever greater demands on crop production....

Agroforestry systems have multifunctional roles in enhancing agronomic productivity, co-production of diversity of food and non-food products and provision of ecosystem services. The knowledge of the performance of agroforestry systems compared with monoculture is scarce and scattered. Hence, the objective of the study was to analyze the agronomic...

Tree fodder in UK livestock systems: opportunities and barriers This paper discusses the opportunities and barriers for tree fodder in UK ruminant livestock systems and presents data from nutritional analyses of fresh and dried leaves from a range of tree species. Key opportunities include improving livestock nutrition and health, and as a buffer a...

Wakelyns Agroforestry, surrounded by a sea of large-scale conventional arable production, is an oasis of trees, alive with bird song and insects. Integrating trees for timber, energy and fruit production into an organic crop rotation, Wakelyns was established by the late plant pathologist, Prof. Martin Wolfe, to put into action his theories of agro...

The term agroforestry encompasses a wide range of different approaches to integrating trees and farmland. Over a 10 year period a range of agroforestry approaches have been introduced to Elm Farm, including making better use of existing resources (boundary hedges and trees); planting new landscape features (e.g. hedges, in-field trees, tree avenue)...

A key concern for farmers contemplating establishing a new agroforestry system is the impact of tree planting on the crops growing underneath or in adjacent alleys. The main limiting resource for plants is usually light and some studies have shown that shading has reduced yields in temperate agroforestry systems. Our research has investigated the i...

Silvopastoral agroforestry - integrating shelterbelts, hedgerows or in-field trees with grazing livestock - can provide domestic animals with benefits, including shelter and shade, as well as supplementing their diets as tree browse or fodder. This study sampled leaves from three native deciduous tree species - willow, alder and oak - from three si...

Agroforestry systems, which incorporate trees into agricultural land, could contribute to sustainable agricultural intensification as they have been shown to increase land productivity, biodiversity and some regulating ecosystem services. However, the effect of temperate agroforestry systems on pest control and pollination services has not been com...

Agroforestry systems such as hedgerows, windbreaks and riparian buffers are widespread landscape features in the UK, providing a range of benefits for the farming system as well as the wider environment. In addition to discussing the main considerations for planning, planting and management, this chapter also presents options for managing these fea...

Across much of Europe, hedgerows are an important part of our joint cultural heritage, covering a total of 1.78 million hectares in the EU (den Herder et al. 2016). Innovative reinterpretation of traditional productive hedgerow management techniques appropriate for modern farming systems represents an opportunity for farmers to both diversify incom...

Agroforestry farming systems are receiving increasing recognition across Europe for their economic, environmental and welfare benefits as we look for ways to sustainably intensify agricultural production and increase resilience to climatic uncertainty. Agroforestry in the UK offers great potential, a few pioneer farmers have developed successful, i...

Prof Martin Wolfe, a pioneer in UK agroforestry Professor of Plant Pathology, Martin worked for 28 years at the Plant Breeding Institute (PBI) in Cambridge, followed by nine years in Switzerland. Since 1998 and 'retirement' worked for the ORC and latterly Coventry University. Since 1997 he, his late wife Ann, and his family have been partners in an...

Agroforestry could play several functions in ruminant production systems. At present it constitutes only a minor part of ruminant husbandry in Northern Europe. To lift the bottlenecks for developing agroforestry in European ruminant systems, we need to know the expectations and questions of stakeholders, and provide scientific and practical knowled...

Repeated applications of composted material have been well documented as leading to long term improvements in soil organic matter (SOM), soil water retention and improved soil nutrient status. The application of fresh uncomposted, or ramial, woodchip to cultivated soils also has significant potential benefits, with a long-term study in the US (Free...

Agroforestry farming systems are receiving increasing recognition across Europe for their economic, environmental and welfare benefits. Agroforestry in the UK has great potential, as we look for ways to sustainably intensify agricultural production and increase resilience to climatic uncertainty. There is increasing interest in the positive effects...

Agroforestry farming systems are receiving increasing recognition across Europe for their economic, environmental and welfare benefits as we look for ways to sustainably intensify agricultural production and increase resilience to climatic uncertainty. In 2017 there were 547,600 ha of silvopastoral agroforestry recorded in the UK and only 2000 ha o...

Agroforestry, 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 f...

Potential benefits and costs of agroforestry practices have been analysed by experts, but few studies have captured farmers’ perspectives on why agroforestry might be adopted on a European scale. This study provides answers to this question, through an analysis of 183 farmer interviews in 14 case study systems in eight European countries. The study...

Establishment of trees in the range as part of a silvopoultry system is considered to improve poultry welfare as well as provide wider environmental benefits. However one issue with these systems is a lack of understorey vegetation. This paper outlines the results of a trial on an organic poultry unit in southern England. The trial aimed to identif...

Agroforestry is a sustainable land management system that should be more strongly promoted in Europe to ensure adequate ecosystem service provision in the old continent (Decision 529/2013) through the common agricultural policy (CAP). The promotion of the woody component in Europe can be appreciated in different sections of the CAP linked to Pillar...

Silvoarable systems generally support higher biodiversity, but there is limited understanding as to the value of associated ecosystem services such as pest regulation and pollination. This paper reports on preliminary results of a cost effectiveness analysis of apple silvoarable systems, as part of a PhD investigating the influence of silvoarable m...

Foreword. It is a great pleasure to share with you the excellent book of abstracts of the 4th European Agroforestry Conference carried out in the beautiful city of Nijmejen (The Netherlands) during the European Green Capital 2018. The book is plenty of extraordinary information and experiences about agroforestry practices and systems around the wo...

The Public Goods Tool (PGT) assesses the agriculture related public goods” provided by a farm. The assessment was trialled on an initial pilot of seven agroforestry farms from five countries (UK, Italy, Poland, Romania, Denmark).

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used t...

Figure S1: Database schema. Diversity data in yellow, GIS data in green and Catalogue of Life data in blue. The diversity tables datasource, study, site, measuredtaxon and diversitymeasurement follow the structure described in ‘Methods’ in the main text and in Hudson et al. (2014): a datasource is associated with one or more study records, each of...

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used t...

The PREDICTS project—Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems (www.predicts.org.uk)—has collated from published studies a large, reasonably representative database of comparable samples of biodiversity from multiple sites that differ in the nature or intensity of human impacts relating to land use. We have used t...

Agroecological approaches to food production, including organic farming, rely on improved understanding of ecological principles and their application to the management of agroecosystems in order to reduce agrochemical use and improve the environmental impact of the production systems. Agroecological approaches place increased reliance on biologica...

Novel land use systems that integrate woody species into the agricultural landscape have the potential to balance productivity with protection of the environment and the maintenance of ecosystem services. Integrating top fruit production into an agroforestry system, where woody species are integrated with arable crop production, may have a benefici...

After an introduction, the second section provides a definition of agroforestry for policy as ""the integration of woody vegetation (first component) in at least two vertical layers on land, with the bottom layer providing an agricultural product such crops or forage/pasture (second component) which may be consumed by animals (third component)”. It...

Current regulations for organic pig and poultry production systems permit feed ingredients of non-organic origin at an inclusion rate of up to 5 per cent. This is primarily due to concerns that there is an insufficient supply of organic protein on the European Union market, in terms of quality and quantity, to meet the nutritional requirements of p...

The introduction of coppice management for woodfuel production is likely to have both positive and negative impacts on the wildlife of individual hedges and on biodiversity at a landscape scale, but how do we quantify these impacts? This user guide outlines a protocol that can be carried out prior to implementing any new management regime that will...

Executive summary The introduction of coppice management for woodfuel production is likely to have both positive and negative impacts on the wildlife of individual hedges and on biodiversity at a landscape scale, but how do we quantify and monitor these impacts? To address this, a protocol was developed by The Organic Research Centre that can be ca...

The Hedgerow Biodiversity Protocol has been developed for farmers, land managers and advisors interested in harvesting woodfuel from hedges to identify and monitor potential biodiversity impacts and to aid decision making in the planning and design of hedge management for woodfuel.

LUPG Disclaimer This report was produced by the authors on behalf of the Land Use Policy Group (LUPG). The views expressed within the report are those of the contractors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agencies within LUPG.

Current EU regulations allow 5% of feed for organic poultry to come from non-organic production. This is due to concerns about a 100% organic diet meeting the requirements for specific amino acids such as methionine. This exception is due to end on 31st December 2017. While this may match consumer expectations, protein sourced from global organic p...

The objective of the current work was to assess various novel and underutilized feeds and thus increase the awareness of various novel feeding solutions to support organic and low-input dairy production. A set of various feeds representing high protein feeds, by-products from distilling, wineries, fruit and vegetable production, whole crop cereals,...

Integrating Science and Policy to Promote Agroforestry in Practice

Agroforestry, the integration of trees and agriculture, is valued as a multifunctional land use approach that balances the production of commodities (food, feed, fuel, fibre etc.) with non-commodity outputs such as environmental protection and cultural and landscape amenities. In this study, the possibilities for fodder production from a short rota...

Monoculture farming systems have had serious environmental impacts such as loss of biodiversity and pollinator decline. Alexa Varah explains how temperate agroforestry systems show potential in being able to deliver multiple environmental benefits.

Book of Abstracts for the 1st European Agroforestry Conference, held in Brussels on 9-10 October 2012

There are very few studies on the effects of temporal changes in soil properties on ecosystem engineers in UK soils. This study addresses this lack by presenting earthworm diversity data from a six-year seasonality study comprising 72 monthly samples from the litter and soil of pasture woodland in the New Forest, southern England. These data were a...

The presence of a grass strip was found to be beneficial to soil macrofauna, increasing the species densities and abundances of earthworms, woodlice and staphylinid beetles. The biodiversity of the three main feeding groups – predators, soil ingesters and litter consumers – was also significantly higher in the grass strips than in the field edges w...

The soil fauna is often a neglected group in many large-scale studies of farmland biodiversity due to difficulties in extracting organisms efficiently from the soil. This study assesses the relative efficiency of the simple and cheap sampling method of handsorting against Berlese–Tullgren funnel and Winkler apparatus extraction. Soil cores were tak...

The establishment of grassy strips at the margins of arable fields is an agri‐environment scheme that aims to provide resources for native flora and fauna and thus increase farmland biodiversity. These margins can be managed to target certain groups, such as farmland birds and pollinators, but the impact of such management on the soil fauna has bee...

A serious barrier to our understanding of urban ecosystems is a lack of information on the ecology of soils organisms of green spaces within large cities. This study addresses this gap by providing baseline survey data on the biodiversity of soil macrofauna in urban parks and domestic gardens of London, UK. In April and June 2004, the soil macrofau...