Navigating Agroforestry futures in Europe: Insights from ReForest project and FarmTree® Tool

Agroforestry holds immense benefits for farms, the environment, and society at large. Yet, its widespread adoption faces significant challenges, including the uncertainty surrounding expected environmental and profitability outcomes.

Drawing insights from data collected from ReForest Living Labs across Europe, the FarmTree Tool emerges as a digital solution to this challenge. This software-based model, accessible through an easy-to-use online interface, and connected to a scientific species database, empowers land users to craft agroforestry systems and anticipate their performance across production, financial, and agro-ecological dimensions. The tool allows to flexibly design unique agroforestry systems in an online environment (in terms of species composition, arrangement, and management), and offers a comprehensive overview of the farming system performance.

The FarmTree Tool integrates site-specific data such as:

• farmer information,
• plot design and management,
• climate conditions,
• soil composition,
• and species unique characteristics.

By synthesizing these inputs, the tool generates modelling projections for the envisioned agroforestry scenario over a defined period of time.

The upcoming event presents a valuable opportunity for farmers, advisors, researchers, policymakers, and all stakeholders working in agroforestry to learn more about the practical applications of the FarmTree Tool within the ReForest and European context.

Key webinar topics and themes include:

• Overview of the ReForest project: Living Labs data generation for Farmer and Policy Support (Prof Ing Martin Lukac PhD, ReForest project coordinator);
• FarmTree tool: a digital solution for designing, comparing, and reporting impact of agroforestry systems (Steffie Rijpkema, MSc – Coordinator Innovation Team)
• A practical application of the FarmTree Tool: examples from ReForest Living Labs (Marina Alarcón, MSc – Agroforestry Impact Quantification Expert at FarmTree)
• What tooling functionalities and digital solutions do diverse European agroforestry practitioners need? (interactive session) (Marina Alarcón, MSc – Agroforestry Impact Quantification Expert at FarmTree)