Agroforestry in the Czech Republic: What Hampers the Comeback of a Once Traditional Land Use System?

Abstract

The interest in re-implementing agroforestry (AF) in European agriculture due to its environmental benefits has been growing exponentially. We reviewed the historical background and the current state (extent, farmers’ perception, legislative support, and barriers) to evaluate the future perspectives of AF in Czechia by identifying the key factors hampering further extension. Our results confirmed that AF almost disappeared after the middle of the 19th century due to agricultural intensification and collectivization. Currently, AF is not defined in the Czech legislation and no modern AF has been encountered by this study. Areas falling into AF definition recently comprise only traditional AF (less than 1% of agricultural area remaining) represented only by silvopastoral AF. The results of a farmers’ survey indicated that despite relatively high interest in AF, excessive bureaucratization, high costs of establishment and uncertain profitability are severe concerns among farmers. We therefore conclude that there is a lack of legal recognition and marginalization of AF as the key obstacles of low adoption rates. We suggest that systematic support beyond subsidies should include raising awareness, research, policy, legislation changes, training, and advisory service, as a cornerstone for progressive development of AF and thus conservation and creation of economically and environmentally sound landscapes throughout Czechia.

Climate Change—Between “Myth and Truth” in Romanian Farmers’ Perception

“…Many researchers in the field see climate change as the biggest threat, jeopardizing food security as the demand for food grows [48][49][50][51]. To avoid this problem, the use of fertilizers and pesticides has been called for, but this method involves the use of finite and unsustainable resources [52][53][54]. With this in mind, scientists have begun to place greater emphasis on sustainability and increasing the resilience of crops to climate change [55,56].…”

Ecosystem Services in the Context of Agroforestry—Results of a Survey among Agricultural Land Users in the Czech Republic

“…This is confirmed by the finding that the importance of individual ecosystem services from the perspective of farmers decreases statistically significantly with the size of the land they farm. It is likely that this view is the result of farming intensification and the loss of experience with an AFS [90]. Based on stakeholder interviews, there is also a need to raise consumer awareness to favour agroforestry products despite higher prices, which would provide an incentive for farmers on a supply and demand basis [91].…”

“…This intervention will support the establishment of two types of agroforestry systems, namely silvoarable and silvopastoral, which will be registered by farmers in the land registry system of the Czech Republic (LPIS). Here, 100 trees per hectare will have to be planted, with more than 50% of the forest trees used, and no species may be represented in the planting area by more than 40% [90]. The new farm to fork strategy is also a new opportunity for support [6],…”

Public recreation and landscape protection - with environment hand in hand…

“…), medlar (Mespilus germanica) or mirabelle. The target number of fruit trees should be up to 100 trees per ha with scattered or regular distribution on the cultivated area and edges (Lojka et al, 2020). The creation of a group of fruit trees serves as a vegetation cover for animals in unfavourable weather.…”