Abstract
The interest in re-implementing agroforestry (AF) in European agriculture due to its environmental benefits has been growing exponentially. We reviewed the historical background and the current state (extent, farmers’ perception, legislative support, and barriers) to evaluate the future perspectives of AF in Czechia by identifying the key factors hampering further extension. Our results confirmed that AF almost disappeared after the middle of the 19th century due to agricultural intensification and collectivization. Currently, AF is not defined in the Czech legislation and no modern AF has been encountered by this study. Areas falling into AF definition recently comprise only traditional AF (less than 1% of agricultural area remaining) represented only by silvopastoral AF. The results of a farmers’ survey indicated that despite relatively high interest in AF, excessive bureaucratization, high costs of establishment and uncertain profitability are severe concerns among farmers. We therefore conclude that there is a lack of legal recognition and marginalization of AF as the key obstacles of low adoption rates. We suggest that systematic support beyond subsidies should include raising awareness, research, policy, legislation changes, training, and advisory service, as a cornerstone for progressive development of AF and thus conservation and creation of economically and environmentally sound landscapes throughout Czechia.
Highlights
More than 70% of agricultural land is managed by large-scale enterprises in the CzechRepublic, leading to a national average farm size of 121 ha, which is by far the largest average size in the EU
Following the current nomenclature of AF used in EU, we identified, defined and classified AF systems of historical, current or potentially future importance, to adjust the typology for the Czech Republic
Considering the climate and terrain of the Czech Republic, it is reasonable to assume that both forest and open lands [34,35] were used by the first farmers, with tree fodder playing a crucial role in the local animal husbandry until its replacement with hay, which can be indirectly connected to the introduction of short scythes in the Iron Age [36,37]
Summary
Republic, leading to a national average farm size of 121 ha, which is by far the largest average size in the EU. It greatly exceeds the EU average of 16.6 ha per farm [1,2]. These large blocks of generally homogeneous agricultural landscapes are characterized by low biodiversity and high vulnerability to soil erosion and degradation, which has severe implications for the sustainability of agriculture and food production. European countries, including Slovakia and former Eastern Germany [2], and is a result of the substitution of traditional agricultural landscapes formed by small family farms by intensively cultivated fields of (predominantly) monocultures. Farms currently occupy less than 30% of agricultural land [3]
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