Research project Agroforestry as a Key to improve Water Management & Adaptation to Extreme Weather Events
General introduction
AFaktive aims to better understand and demonstrate the potential of agroforestry for water management and buffering against extreme weather events on a practical scale in collaboration with field and demo farms. AFaktive will develop tools for design and implementation of agroforestry, taking into account the impact on water management. Agroforestry planning aimed at integrated water management will be replicated at a regional scale.
Research approach
In a first step, with AFaktive we aim at an initial realisation on 100 hectares across 10 sites with a diversity of topographic conditions, land use systems and water management issues. In a second step, we will replicate best practice experiences at a regional scale. To this end, the AFaktive consortium will develop innovative planning approaches, including a new GIS model that calculates and illustrates the effects of different agroforestry scenarios on water resources and flood levels under extreme weather conditions. The project will also contribute to the development of context-specific revenue models and the further development of the institutional framework conditions to support agroforestry systems.
Relevance/Valorization
Knowledge, methods and experiences of best practices will be pooled and communicated. Agroforestry can be a meaningful solution to deal with the impacts of climate change. Indeed, this deliberate integration of woody vegetation, crops and/or livestock on the same piece of land offers several potential benefits for water management. Moreover, agroforestry systems can promote biodiversity, contribute to carbon storage in soil and biomass. and provide a source of production of climate-friendly products (energy wood, fruits & nuts, etc.). This offers new opportunities for agricultural diversification and contributes to regional added value.
Financing
European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA)
