AgroCop - Innovative agroforestry systems
Investigating the potential of using land to produce coppiced willow together with high value hardwood trees.
The aim of this project was to maximise the production of both high quality timber and wood for energy use by combining the available advantages of Agroforestry Systems (AFS) and Short Rotation Coppice (SRC).
The project involved:
- establishing and monitoring both experimental and demonstration systems of AF-SRC in Ireland in collaboration with AFBI Loughgall and Gurteen College,
- supplying growth and performance data to European partners to facilitate the modelling of biophysical and economic characteristics of such systems across a range of environmental conditions.
The established experimental field sites also served as demonstrations for potential growers and for future studies.
Relevant publications:
- Morhart C, Sheppard J, Douglas GC, Lunny R, Paris P, Spiecker H, Nahm M (2015). Management guidelines for valuable wood production in Agroforestry systems. Freiburg, Germany: Chair of Forest Growth. (PDF, 4 MB)
- Annals of Forest Science, July 2014, Volume 71, Issue 5, pp 527-542. Alley coppice—a new system with ancient roots (PDF). Christopher D. Morhart, Gerry C. Douglas, Christian Dupraz, Anil R. Graves, Michael Nahm, Pierluigi Paris, Udo H. Sauter, Jonathan Sheppard, Heinrich Spiecker
- Report on Agroforestry in Europe (PDF)
Further information
- Visit the AgroCop website.