Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES) is a non-governmental organization registered and working in Croatia in the field of renewable energy, agroforestry, reforestation, and sustainable land uses. The organization started working at the CCRES Research facility in the year 2013 and has been involved with giving farmers free seeds, training farmers and the community at large on more about agroforestry techniques, and environmental conservation awareness. CCRES has been able to facilitate the planting of trees in forest lands, community farms, schools, waterlines, and private lands. Some of the benefits the farmers have been able to acquire from the organization include; free seeds, free training manuals in agroforestry, workshops in agroforestry, and sustainable land uses.
Agroforestry takes advantage of the interactive benefits of combining trees and shrubs with crops and/or livestock.
Several types of agroforestry:
*Forest Farming: the intentional cultivation of non-timber forest crops underneath the established canopy of an existing forest.
*Forest Gardening: mimicking the structure and function of forests in the way we garden, or using the forest as a model for the way we garden.
*Silvopasture: grazing animals under a forest canopy of about 50% cover, so that grasses can persist
*Riparian Buffers: tree crop systems in waterways like streams, rivers, wetlands, etc.
*Windbreaks: tree crop systems to buffer effects of wind
*Alley Cropping: rows of trees in between conventional crops, like Black Walnuts in-between rows of corn or soybeans
Agrošumarstvo se uglavnom sastoji od miješanja sadnje stabala sa sadnjom usjeva i/ili uzgojem stoke. To omogućuje bolju iskorištenost resursa, pomaže povećanju bioraznolikosti i može povećati prinose.
U sklopu Hrvatskog Centra Obnovljivih Izvora Energije (HCOIE), objavili smo svoje nove planove za razvoj ekološki održivih šumarskih praksi diljem Hrvatske. Ovi projekti imaju za cilj smanjiti negativan utjecaj na okoliš te integrirati prakse upravljanja šumama u agroekologiju.
Agrošumarstvo se uglavnom sastoji od miješanja sadnje stabala sa sadnjom usjeva i/ili uzgojem stoke. To omogućuje bolju iskorištenost resursa, pomaže povećanju bioraznolikosti i u konačnici povećava prinose. Studija HCOIE pokazala je da parcela od 100 ha pod agrošumarskim praksama daje ekvivalent od 136 ha pod standardnim principima korištenja, dajući tako potencijalni ekonomski rast za proizvođače koje takve prakse usvoje.
Koncept ima velik broj prednosti po pitanjima uzgoja usjeva i zaštite okoliša. U principu, drveće kroz svoje korijenje stvara uvjete u tlu koji potiču bolju apsorpciju vode i minerala usjevima na površini. Agrošumarske tehnike potiču strateško pozicioniranje stabala kako bi se maksimiziralo povećanje prinosa. Dodatno, stabla pomažu u diverzifikaciji proizvodnje, ograničenju gubitaka nitrata iz tla te onečišćenju podzemnih voda.
Plodnost tla također se poboljšava padom jesenskog lišća i njegovom razgradnjom na tlu, stvarajući tako važan izvor prirodnog komposta i gnojiva okolnim kulturama. Drveće i živice na poljima povećavaju bioraznolikost, što je pogodno kukcima za oprašivanje. Konačno, stabla igraju važnu ulogu u apsorpciji CO2 i spremanju ugljika tijekom faze rasta, smanjujući tako učinak klimatskih promjena.
Agrošumarstvo tako postaje ključni igrač u agroekološkom planu HCOIE. Zbog svih ovih prednosti, promocija i širenje korištenja agrošumarstva postali su nam jedan od glavnih ciljeva u borbi protiv klimatskih promjena. Plan otkriva naše konkretne prijedloge za njegovu promociju u širokim kategorijama s brojnim specifičnim aktivnostima u svakoj od njih.
Kategorije uspostavljaju sustav za istraživanje i praćenje različitih oblika agrošumarstva koji se provode u Hrvatskoj, te uspostavljaju mreže za razmjenu informacija između različitih sudionika u agrošumarstvu. Povećanje informacija o tome što se radi u agrošumarstvu omogućit će širenje inovativnih ideja koje su u budućnosti primjenjive.
Još jedan veliki prostor na koji se odnosi plan jest poboljšanje regulatornog, pravnog i financijskog okvira koji okružuje agrošumarstvo. Neke od specifičnih aktivnosti uključuju osnaživanje financijske potpore za agrošumarstvo, poboljšanje dostupnosti alata za različite sudionike na regionalnom nivou te favoriziranje razvoja agrošumarstva kroz financijske alate.
Obrazovanje je još jedna važna komponenta plana, kako u poljoprivrednim školama, tako i u pružanju obuke već postojećim poljoprivrednicima o prednostima agrošumarstva i kako prijeći na njega. Dodatno, plan postavlja sustav pomoći kako bi se podigla vrijednost proizvedenih kultura koristeći agrošumarstvo te strategiju promocije agrošumarstva na međunarodnoj razini.
Široko korištenje agrošumarstva moglo bi imati veliku ulogu u prelasku na održive okolišne prakse u dugoročnom razdoblju, a također bi pomoglo i proizvođačima na ekonomskom nivou u povećanju prinosa, te korištenje biomase drveta, kroz malčiranje, kao prirodno gnojivo za usjeve. Predstavljeni plan trebao bi svoju primjenu naći na nacionalnom, ali i na međunarodnom nivou.
Field windbreaks
Wind protection is a long-standing indigenous practice in traditional agriculture of many regions. In attempts to improve or establish wind protection schemes with trees, it makes sense to study the link which can be observed between traditional and relatively recent but promising agroforestry practices. And it makes sense as well to try to quantify phenomena taking place in such traditional and promising practices alike.
In the case study in Croatia reported here, the farmer requested CCRES to assist in providing the agrometeorological input into the set-up of experiments under conditions in farmers' fields, with a system of wind barriers with trees, in irrigated crops in Lika Region.
The choice to use multiple tree breaks appears justified by the increase in roughness over a larger area in addition to separate windbreak effects, and by the multipurpose use of trees and their products which is economically possible. In larger-scale agriculture, where irrigated cash and food crops have to be protected against very strong winds, relatively narrow rows of trees are to be preferred above wider belts as an intercrop or scattered trees or bushes.
As mentioned earlier, where mechanical damage from strong winds is the primary limiting factor, the agronomist member of the team should pay primary attention to phenology, growth and yield parameters, and visual or even microscopic observations of actual mechanical damage. This will make it possible to observe differences between unprotected crops and protected ones at different distances from belts.
Whether in strip cropping, in using narrow tree rows, or in mixed experiments, cost/benefit ratio determinations are absolutely necessary to understand the proper gain from the multipurpose role of trees and from yield (quality) increases due to the trees or crops applied for protection from wind.
Zeljko Serdar, Croatian Center of Renewable Energy Sources (CCRES)
Volunteers in India planted more than 66 million trees in just 12 hours in a record-breaking environmental drive. About 1.5 million people were involved in the huge plantation campaign, in which saplings were placed along the Narmada river in the state of Madhya Pradesh. India committed under the Paris Agreement to increasing its forests by five million hectares before 2030 to combat climate change. Last year volunteers in Uttar Pradesh state set a world record by planting more than 50 million trees in one day.
ReplyDeleteChina has reportedly reassigned over 60,000 soldiers to plant trees in a bid to combat pollution by increasing the country's forest coverage. It comes as part of China's plan to plant at least 84,000 square kilometres (32,400 square miles) of trees by the end of the year, which is roughly equivalent to the size of Ireland. The aim is to increase the country's forest coverage from 21 per cent of its total landmass to 23 per cent by 2020.
Zeljko Serdar, CCRES
By simply inspiring ourselves from their intelligence we can start to imitate the the way forests function. We can understand what the dynamics and principles of nature and apply them to our agricultural systems. This is a challenge for the farming industry, as it means a deep change on a philosophical level and technical level.
ReplyDeleteZeljko Serdar, CCRES
In the face of the food security, environmental and economic challenges, agroforestry makes us rethink the place of trees under integrated high nature value farming. Trees provide many ecosystem services. They protect crops against the detrimental impacts of climate change, improve soil quality and water retention, store carbon, impact positively pollinators and play a role in combating pests. Besides all these benefits, agroforestry produces timber products that farmers can sell. Agroforestry contributes significantly to creating beautiful landscapes by reconnecting spaces and establishing ecological corridors. Zeljko Serdar, CCRES
ReplyDeleteAgroforestry has an important place in the landscape, but significant barriers must first be overcome:
ReplyDeletea lack of skills and knowledge to successfully design, implement and manage agroforestry systems and identify and develop markets
landowners having capital to invest, as lead times are long before returns are seen
a resistance to change due to cultural perceptions of forestry devaluing land and its permanent nature.