Acronym : REFOREST
Code : 101060635
Contract Period : 01/07/2022 - 01/07/2026
Project Webpage : https://agroreforest.eu/
Main Funder : Horizon Europe
ORC Staff Contact : Colin Tosh
REFOREST – was a 4 year-long Horizon Europe project, bringing together 14 institutions from 10 European countries with extensive expertise in this field. The consortium, which included ORC, will focused on supporting agroforestry in Europe and removing the barriers preventing its wider use. The project coordinator was the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences of the Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, represented by the Department of Forest Management.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
The work by British partners was funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government’s Horizon Europe funding guarantee [grant number 10039700].REFOREST had the fundamental aim to use existing knowledge of temperate agroforestry systems to co-create solutions to key barriers that hinder wider adoption of this land use type by farmers in the EU and associated countries. The strategic objective was to enhance agroforestry and the sustainability of food production by internalising the value of carbon and biodiversity in farming business models. The project used an open science approach to represent the real-world ecological, economic and social potential and limitations of agroforestry within decision-making, verification, and financial support tools.
ORC led on the REFOREST knowledge base and knowledge transfer. The aim was to translate the science-practice partnership into a toolbox empowering farmers and other stakeholders to design agroforestry systems and take consequent, well-informed management decisions in their local situations.
This involved:
ORC coordinated a living lab network across the partner countries as well as establishing a UK living lab in northern England.
We were also involved in researching the potential of harnessing AI for predicting carbon and biodiversity benefits of new agroforestry plantings.
The REFOREST project has facilitated valuable exchange within and between the network of eight Living Labs, including the UK northern Living Lab coordinated by ORC. This diverse set of real-life examples of agroforestry in action has supported research including the measurement of agronomic performance and modelling of financial returns. The results are captured by two online resources:
The REFOREST website, with its library of agroforestry case studies and links to videos, news articles and other resources.
The REFOREST stakeholder engagement platform, including Agroforestry Toolbox. Through this platform and toolbox registered users can access tools and resources developed by the project, including a Knowledge Hub, FarmTree model, REFOREST Public Goods Tool and Agroforestry Map of Europe. There are also working groups to encourage exchange on different topics.
ORC has been proud to have taken part in this Europe-wide community of practice. Browse the links below to discover more about the activities that have taken place, all with the aim of encouraging more widescale uptake of agroforestry in future years.
“REFOREST has been crucial in unearthing and addressing the complexities of agroforestry in the North of England through our Living Lab via our workshops. As a researcher, the opportunity to hear directly from, collaborate with, and disseminate findings to farmers and landowners has been an incredibly rewarding experience. The tools we have developed and deployed in collaboration with our European partners would only be possible through a large-scale project such as these Horizon programmes and while the project is coming to an end, I am sure the legacy of REFOREST will be significant in the years to come.” – Christian Gossel, Junior Researcher
“REFOREST gave me the time to develop my skills. In this case predictive modelling with convolutional neural networks. It has also opened up a range of future opportunities through direct interactions with and exchange between farmers.” – Colin Tosh, Senior Research Agroforestry
