New project sees trees and sheep sharing the same land
FARMERS should be able to raise sheep and trees on the same ground, according to an upland research project being run by Scottish agroscientists.
One hundred trees have been planted on a Perthshire hill farm run by Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) to demonstrate the benefits of agroforestry.
The trees, a mix of native species including alder, rowan, birch, oak, cherry and aspen, will provide shelter and shade for livestock, timber, improved drainage and soil conditions, carbon storage, and habitat for woodland invertebrates and birds.
The half-hectare block of trees was planted in an improved fields at Kirkton and Auchtertyre farms in Perthshire after SRUC was awarded funding from Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.
The site, on the floodplain of the River Fillan, will be used both for demonstration and research purposes, showing farmers and land managers how agroforestry – the integration of trees and agriculture on the same piece of land – can be introduced to a hill farm system without loss of productivity.
Agroforestry can be used to mitigate climate change and floods and is beneficial for biodiversity and the landscape, as well as animal health and welfare.
Each tree at Kirkton and Auchtertyre is individually protected by a net cage and has been given a handful of high phosphate fertiliser to help growth and a wool mulch to reduce competition from weeds. The cages will enable sheep to graze the pasture between the trees without causing any damage.
John Holland, an Upland Ecologist at SRUC’S Hill & Mountain Research Centre, said: “I have been wanting to have a demonstration plot of silvopastoral agroforestry on the in-bye ground at Kirkton for a number of years and now, thanks to funding from the Tree Planting Grant Scheme, we have been able to establish a small half-hectare block which we can use for demonstration and research purposes.
“As the trees grow we will be able to show land managers the multiple benefits that agroforestry systems can bring.”
Simon Jones, of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, said: “Planting more trees will help to improve and enhance our natural capital for the benefit of both people and wildlife, playing a vital role in our response to both the global climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis.”