Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe (SAFE)

26 Pages·2005·1.6 MB·English

Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe (SAFE)
European Research contract QLK5-CT-2001-00560

SAFE PROJECT FINAL PROGRESS REPORT
(August 2004 - January 2005)

Volume 1 :Objectives; Work plan; Management and
Coordination; Exploitation and Dissemination
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1: OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED ACHIEVEMENTS.................................... 2
PART 2: PROJECT WORKPLAN.............................................................................. 3
Introduction...................................................................................................... 3
Project structure, planning and timetable...................................................... 3
Deliverables...................................................................................................... 3
Overview of progress during the final 6 months........................................... 4
Main problems encountered........................................................................... 9
PART 3-1: WORK PACKAGES REPORTS............................................................. 10
PART 3-2: CONTRACTOR REPORTS.................................................................... 11
PART 4: PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION................................. 12
SAFE human management............................................................................ 12
SAFE financial Management......................................................................... 12
PART 5: EXPLOITATION AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES............................. 15
The SAFE project and European policy in the making............................... 15
The SAFE project end-users conferences were attended by more than 500
stakeholders in Europe ................................................................................. 17
The SAFE project in the media..................................................................... 18
New silvoarable plantations as a consequence of the SAFE project........ 21
The SAFE project on the internet ................................................................. 22
PART 6:ETHICAL ASPECTS AND SAFETY PROVISIONS................................... 25

The following reports are also available on line on the SAFE Web site:
Workshop Reports
Final SAFE workshop Zurich, November 2004

CMC Reports and Minutes
6th CMC report, Zurich (November 2004)
End-users Conferences Reports:
French national conference (Paris, 26/01/2005)
Greek national Conference (Thessaloniki, 4/02/2005)
Spanish national Conference (Madrid, 15/02/2005)
Dutch national Conference (Wageningen, 20/04/2005)
German national Conference (Rostock, 26/05/2005)
European final Conference (Brussels, 30/03/2005)
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 1
PART 1: OBJECTIVES AND EXPECTED
ACHIEVEMENTS
These are almost unchanged from the Technical Annex. See the Technical Annex for a full
description of the objectives. See the second year report for a synthesis.
However, during the last Consortium Management Committee in Zurich (November 2004),
two decisions were met regarding two deliverables of the project:
D10.4 Prototype of user-friendly SAFE model.
Given the complexity of the models, and the difficulty that we had to finalise them, we will
include the development of this prototype as a key action of the Technological
Implementation Plan. However, to comply with the SAFE Technical annex, the current
models (Hi-sAFe, Yield-sAFe and Farm-sAFe) are available upon request to the web master
of the SAFE Internet site. However, no support can be granted to would-be users in the short
term. INRA, WU and Cranfield University will seek new funds for producing improved soft
wares ready for use by end-users.
D9.2 European land status for the agroforestry plot proposal.
After having identified key issues of land status in some of the European countries, the SAFE
consortium considered that the work required would not be achievable within the SAFE
project. It would require to master nationals laws from many Europeans countries, and this
was not feasible for us (no lawyers from each country available). We included in D9.3
'Agroforestry Policy Options' document an analysis of this issue for some European countries
(France, Spain).
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 2
PART 2: PROJECT WORKPLAN
INTRODUCTION
The SAFE project intended to i) assess the production and value of silvoarable systems, ii)
forecast the potential of silvoarable agroforestry to be adopted as a new farming system, and
iii) suggest guidelines for a coherent package of forestry and agri-environmental incentives
which will not disadvantage agroforestry when compared with conventional forestry or
agriculture.
The work-plan consisted of 10 work packages (WP), each with deliverables and milestones.
WP1 was closed during the first year as expected. All other WPs were active during the final
6 months of the project.

Figure 1: Frenzy final work sessions at the final SAFE Consortium meeting in Zurich in
November 2004: trying to finalise the SAFE models in time…
PROJECT STRUCTURE, PLANNING AND TIMETABLE
Modifications to the SAFE work plan
No modifications to the work plan were decided during the last 6 months of the project.
DELIVERABLES
Eleven deliverables were made available during the final period of the project, including 3
that were due during previous periods of the project.
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 3
Expected Delivered
WP Title Partner in in
month month
6 D6.1 Time-series predictions of tree and crop yields WU 24 42
2 D2.2 Identification of European target farming systems FAL 30 36
8 D8.2 Economic feasibility of AF in target regions report CRAN 30 42
9 D9.1 Major silvoarable systems of interest in Europe CNR 36 42
6 D6.4 Scientific papers on the model WU 38 42
2 D2.3 Farmers' view on silvoarable issue report APCA 38 42
7 D7.2 Plot economics of European silvoarable systems CHAV 39 42
7 D7.3 Optimum AF systems for different regions report APCA 39 42
7 D7.4 Scientific papers on socio-economic studies CHAV 40 42
9 D9.3 'Agroforestry Policy Options' document NERC 42 42
10 D10.3 Final report to the EU INRA 42 46

All the deliverables are available on-line on the Web site. They were all burned on a CD that
was delivered to the European commission.

OVERVIEW OF PROGRESS DURING THE FINAL 6 MONTHS
The final 6 months of the SAFE project were somewhat frenzy…. A number of dedicated
SAFE participants did spend days and nights, labour days and weekends to meet our
commitments. The SAFE final end-users conferences were deadlines that forced us to
invest. We had to face two difficult challenges:
1. Analysing the impressive amount of data generated by the Yield-sAFe and Farm-
sAFe models to analyse the economics of silvoarable agroforestry across Europe.
Anil Graves and Paul Burgess were key actors in this field, with the dedicated help of
Joao Palma, Fabien Liagre, Felix Herzog
2. Synthesising European national policies to address the issue of agroforestry policies
at the European scale. Gerry Lawson and Fabien Liagre did succeed in this task.

Modern silvoarable systems allow trees to be introduced back in cultivated or grazed plots
either as aligned (left) or scattered (right) widely spaced trees. In both cases, crop
production is maintained, and environmental benefits from the trees are significant.
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 4
•
The SAFE project held a final Consortium Management Committee at Zurich (Switzerland)
on the 5 November 2004. A final plan for the end of the project was decided, and included
more person-months inputs than described in the SAFE technical Annex.
•
The final scientific workshop of the SAFE project took place at Zurich from 2-6 November
2004. The agenda of the workshop included a synthesis of the modelling activities of the
project (biophysical, economic and geographic models), a working session on policy
issues, and some rehearsals for the final SAFE project Conferences.
•
The final end-user conferences of the project were organised in France (Niort 15/15/2004,
Orléans 16/12/2004, Besançon 18/02/2005 and Paris 26/01/2005), Spain (Madrid,
15/02/2005), Greece (Thessaloniki, 4/02/2005), Brussels (30/03/2005), Wageningen
(20/04/2005), Rostock (25/05/2005). A final SAFE Conference is scheduled in the UK
(Gregynog 29/06/05). Full details on these events are available on the SAFE web site,
including the slideshows used during the Conferences.
•
The web site was intensively used and was increasingly visited (about 2500 visitors in 6
months)
•
A significant number of scientific papers were submitted to international journals during the
period. They are all available on line on the web site, and some of them are included in the
volume 4 of this final progress report.
•
The report on plot economics of silvoarable systems was delivered. We used the Yield-
sAFe model and its bio-economic version Plot-sAFe to produce a study of Silvoarable
agroforestry profitability at the European scale. We examined in details the results of the
1197 scenarios simulated with Farm-sAFe on the 19 European LTS.
•
The report on the farmers’ view on silvoarable systems was delivered, and extensively
used during the final Conferences of the SAFE project. It gave unexpected results
indicating that a large proportion of European farmers are open to adopting the silvoarable
technology.
•
All remaining milestones were met during the last 6 months, except two of them that could not
be met due to delays in the validation of biophysical models. These two milestones will be met
thanks to the future activity presented in the Technological Implementation Plan. They do not
prevent the project from delivering all its Deliverables.
•
Many extension papers were published by journals on the SAFE project, including a paper
in the RTD info journal of the European Commission that is available at the following URL:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/rtdinfo/43/article_1656_fr.html
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 5
Figure 2: Field tour in traditional agroforestry systems with fruit trees in Switzerland
during the final SAFE workshop (November 2004). Activities included tasting
traditional agroforestry products (bottom)
•
The major deliverable of the SAFE project was released just in time, at Brussels on March
30 2005. It is the “Options for Agroforestry Policy in the European Union” document.
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 6
•
The number of scientific papers published or submitted has significantly increased during
the last period of the project. The comprehensive list of papers is included below.
List of the SAFE scientific papers produced during the final 6 months of the contract
Published papers
Dupraz C., 2005. From silvopastoral to silvoarable systems in Europe: sharing concepts,
unifying policies. In Silvopastoralism and Sustainable Land Management. Mosquera-Losada
R., Riguerio, A., McAdam J., Eds, CAB International, 432 pages.
Dupraz C., Liagre F., Manchon O., Lawson G., 2004. Implications of legal and policy
regulations on rural development: the challenge of silvoarable agroforestry in Europe. In:
Meeting the challenge: Silvicultural Research in a changing world. IUFRO World Series
Volume 15, Parotta et al, (Eds.), 34-36.
Accepted papers
Dupraz C., 2005. Entre agronomie et écologie : vers la gestion d’écosystèmes cultivés ?.
revue Demeter, Paris
Eichhorn E.P., Paris P., Herzog F., Incoll L.D., Liagre F., Mantzanas K., Mayus M.,,Moreno
Marcos C., Dupraz C., Pilbeam DJ., 2005. Silvoarable agriculture in Europe – past, present
and future. Agroforestry Systems
Graves, A. R., Burgess, P.J., Liagre, F., Dupraz C. & Terreaux, J.-P. (2005). Development
and use of a framework for characterising computer models of silvoarable economics.
Agroforestry Systems (in press)
Moreno G., Obrador J.J., Cubera E., Dupraz C., 2005. Root distribution in Dehesas of
Central-Western Spain. Plant and Soil, accepted for publication
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 7
Moreno, G., Obrador, J. J., Garcia, E., Cubera, E., Montero, M. J., Pulido, F. & Dupraz, C.
(2005) Competitive and Facilitative interactions in dehesas of C-W Spain. In Press, special
issue of Agroforestry Systems.
Palma, J., Graves, A., Bregt, A., Bunce, R., Burgess P., Garcia, M., Herzog, F., Mohren, G.,
Moreno, G. and Reisner, Y. (2004). Integrating soil erosion and profitability in the
assessment of silvoarable agroforestry at the landscape scale. In Proceedings of the Sixth
of the International Farming Systems Association (IFSA) European Symposium on Farming
and Rural Systems at Vila Real 4-7 April 2004. 817-827. Proceedings available at:
http://home.utad.pt/~des/ifsa/index.htm
Submitted papers
Graves A.R., Burgess P.J., Palma J.H.N., Herzog F., Moreno G., Bertomeu ., Dupraz C.,
Liagre F., Keesman K., van der Werf W., 2005. The development and application of bio-
economic modelling for silvoarable systems in Europe. Submitted to Ecological Engineering.
Mulia R., Dupraz C., 2005. Unusual fine root distributions of two deciduous tree species
observed in Southern France: what consequences for root dynamics modelling? Submitted
to Plant and Soil
van der Werf W., Keesman K., Burgess P., Graves A., Pilbeam D., Incoll L.D., Metselaar K.,
Mayus M., Stappers R., van Keulen H., Palma J., Dupraz C., 2005. Yield-SAFE: a
parameter-sparse process-based dynamic model for predicting resource capture, growth and
production in agroforestry systems. Submitted to Ecological Engineering.
Papers in preparation
Dufour L., Dupraz C., 2005. Effect of tree competition on durum wheat yield in a
Mediterranean agroforestry system. In preparation for EJA
Dupraz C, Vincent G., Lecomte I., Van Noordwijk M. 2006. Modelling 3D interactions of trees
and crops with the Hi-SAFE model. In preparation for Forest Ecology and Management
Dupraz C., Liagre F.. Agroforesterie pratique. Editions France Agricole, en préparation, 250
pages environ
Lusiana B., Noordwijk M V., Dupraz C. and de Willigen P. A process-based algorithm for

sharing nutrient and water uptake between plants rooted in the same volume of soil II.
Nutrients in static root systems
Mulia R., Dupraz C., van Noordwijk M. A 3D model with voxel automata to simulate plant root
growth in heterogeneous soil condition. I. Modelling concepts
Noordwijk M v, Lusiana B., Dupraz C., Radersma S., Ozier-Lafontaine H. and de Willigen P.,
A process-based algorithm for sharing nutrient and water uptake between plants rooted in
the same volume of soil (In preparation for Plant and Soil).
Noordwijk M. v, Mulia R. Dupraz C., Lusiana B. A process-based algorithm for sharing
nutrient and water uptake between plants rooted in the same volume of soil III. Growing root
systems
Noordwijk M.v., Lusiana B., Dupraz C., Radersma S., Ozier-Lafontaine H., de Willigen P.,
,
2006. A process-based algorithm for sharing nutrient and water uptake between plants
rooted in the same volume of soil I. Water in static root systems
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 8
Terreaux J.P., Chavet M., Dupraz C., 2004, An intertemporal approach of Land Equivalent
Ratio for agroforestry plots, Lameta, DT 2004-15, 18 p. In preparation
Terreaux JP, Michel Chavet, Anil Graves, Christian Dupraz, Paul Burgess and Fabien Liagre
Evaluating agroforestry investments. In preparation for Agroforestry Systems
The development of a model of arable, silvoarable and forestry economics" by A. R. Graves,
P. J. Burgess, Fabien Liagre, Christian Dupraz & Jean-Philippe Terreaux.
MAIN PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED
At the time of writing this final report of the SAFE project (May 2005), no money payments for
the third year (August 2003 – July 2005) of the project have been made yet. This was a
major problem for some of the SAFE contractors with no systems of cash flow advance.
With the end of the contracts of most of the temporary staff employed by the SAFE
consortium, less task force was available for synthesising the achievements and preparing
the final reports. This explains why this final report was delivered with 3 months delay as
compared to the deadlines. We apologise for this.
Analysing the huge amount of simulated data by the SAFE models was probably the most
difficult issue that the SAFE consortium had to solve during this final period. It was a
collective challenge, and it was collectively addressed after the Zurich workshop. The
Technological implementation plan will make clear that a large number of outputs from these
projects can now be expected. But we managed it in time, and the dedication of some SAFE
colleagues was impressive. The coordinator wishes to express here its deepest thanks to
Anil Graves, Joao Palma, Fabien Liagre and Paul Burgess for their out of the ordinary
involvement during these last months of the project.

Figure 3: Designing silvoarable systems for the future of Europe…
(Zurich final workshop of the SAFE consortium)
Silvoarable Agroforestry For Europe Project – Fourth Year Report – Volume 1 Page 9