Tree Rows Research Articles

Weed Occurrence in a Young Apple Orchard Mulched With Two Different Organic Materials

Abstract In this study, conducted at the Research Station of the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland, we sought to determine the communities of weed species and their temporal occurrence in a young apple orchard mulched with spent mushroom compost or Miscanthus straw applied to tree rows. A herbicide fallow treatment was used as a control. During the first year of application, both organic mulches protected against the germination of weed seeds stored within the soil. In subsequent years, however, annual weeds occurred in the mulched tree rows, the most aggressive of which was Chenopodium album L. Annual increases in population densities were noted over the 4 subsequent years of research, particularly in the rows receiving spent mushroom compost. Perennial species in the family Poaceae and genus Malva were present in soil receiving both organic mulches. Trifolium repens L. was the perennial weed most often noted in the Miscanthus mulch, whereas Taraxacum officinale Web. was more characteristic of the spent mushroom compost. Commencing from the spring of the third year following apple tree planting, weed infestation associated with the spent mushroom compost was similar to that observed in the herbicide fallow, thus necessitating three annual applications of herbicide to further maintain the orchard. The insufficient weed suppression obtained with this mulch precludes its recommendation as an effective weed management system. Although Miscanthus straw provided extended tree row protection from weed infestation, herbicide intervention was also required. Notably, however, despite the fact that Miscanthus straw provided conditions more favorable to tree growth, apple tree yields and fruit quality tended to be similar under the three investigated orchard soil management systems.

Effects of natural and seminatural elements on the composition and dispersion of carabid beetles inhabiting an agroecosystem in Northern Italy.

The natural and seminatural components of agricultural landscapes play a key role in maintaining a high level of biodiversity. Being the Po Valley one of the most human‐dominated and intensively cultivated landscapes in Europe, we investigated the effect of no‐crop habitats on carabid richness and composition and evaluated the role of tree row as corridor for forest carabid dispersion. Carabids were sampled with 70 pitfall traps arranged in 35 sampling plots along three parallel transects (80, 100, and 140 m long) and encompassing five different habitats: tree row, tree row edge, grassland, forest edge, and forest. We found 5,615 individuals belonging to 55 species. Despite the similarity in species richness, all the habitats investigated showed a peculiar and distinct species assemblage. The main distinction was between the "open habitat" cluster composed of grassland and tree row edge and the “forest" cluster composed of forest, tree row, and forest edge. We found that forest species are able to penetrate the grassland matrix up to 30 m from the forest edge and that a distance of no more than 60 m between tree row and forest can allow the passage of up to 50% of the forest species. Beyond this distance, the grassland matrix becomes a barrier, preventing them from reaching other suitable habitats. Our findings confirm the importance of maintaining different types of natural habitats to significantly increase biodiversity in an intensively cultivated agroecosystem and demonstrated the role of linear elements as a corridor and “stepping stones” for many forest species.

Effects of Drip Irrigation Design on a Lemon and a Young Persimmon Orchard in Semi-Arid Conditions

Drip irrigation is presently widely recognized as the most efficient irrigation system that can be used in woody perennial crops. However, uncertainties exist on the more appropriate agronomic design to employ. Here, we summarized the research carried out for three seasons in two young woody perennial crops (persimmon and lemon) in southeastern Spain. Several irrigation designs were compared by maintaining a similar amount of water application but varying the number of emitters and pipelines in each row in the orchard. In the lemon trial, the agronomic irrigation design was additionally combined with different irrigation regimes, comparing full irrigation (FI) with sustained deficit irrigation (SDI). In the persimmon trees, which were still at the juvenility stage, varying the number of emitters per tree or the number of drip lines per tree row, neither affects tree performance nor fruit yield in two out of the three seasons. However, over the entire experimental period, the relative trunk growth increased when more emitters were employed. In the lemon trial, carried out with trees that had reached commercial production, the FI, compared with SDI, increased trunk growth and average fruit weight, while a reduced number of fruits per tree without affecting total yield was observed in the third year of experimentation. The number of emitters per tree only had an effect the first year, increasing lemon fruit weight when the number of drippers per tree increased. In addition, fruit composition was not consistently affected by the irrigation design. It is concluded that, for a given irrigation dose, irrigation frequency, and soil conditions (loam-clay texture), in both very young and more mature trees, increasing the number of emitters or the wetted area only had some slight positive effects on tree performance.

Crop Yields in European Agroforestry Systems: A Meta-Analysis

Agroforestry is the practice of integrating woody vegetation with crops and/or livestock production in order to strengthen ecological services on farmland and achieve a more multi-functional agricultural system. Crop yields determine economic outcomes when trees are young, but information on yields is scattered in the literature and a quantitative overview of crop yields in European agroforestry systems is lacking. We therefore synthesized published information on crop yields in European agroforestry systems, using meta-analysis. A systematic review of the literature was conducted, highlighting quantitative information on yields is available only for traditional Dehesa systems in Spain and Portugal and for modern alley cropping experiments, mostly in northern Europe. Relative cereal crop yields in alley cropping systems (systems with tree rows with interspersed crop strips) were 96% of sole crop yield at tree planting. Crop yields in alley cropping decreased on average with 2.6% per year over the first 21 years of the tree stand, indicating increasing competitive effects of the trees with their age. On the other hand, studies in traditional Dehesa and Montado systems in Southern Europe showed no negative influence of the trees on crop production, indicating that competition between crops and trees plays a less important role in those systems than in alley cropping. Overall, the systematic review showed a need for more experimental data to further substantiate the benefits of agroforestry and elucidate optimal agroforestry practices under European conditions.

Selection of Urbanized Areas by Magpie Pica pica in a Medium Size City in Poland.

Simple SummaryThe aim of this study was to estimate the Magpie population and to give a detailed characterization of nest site selection in a medium size city in Poland (Gorzów Wlkp.) in the XXI century. We also focused on the analysis of nest site selection along an urban gradient. The average density of Magpies was 5.5 pairs/km2 (min = 0, max = 22 nests/square). The Magpie density in those study squares situated completely within the city boundaries of Gorzów Wlkp. was 6.9 p/km2, in the non-urbanized habitat type—3.7 p/km2, and in the urbanized habitat type—13.5 p/km2. The increasing proportion of the number of nests along the urbanization gradient shows that in Gorzów Wlkp., the Magpie population has undergone the synurbanization process and is currently in the “spread” phase. The study shows that Magpies can adapt to changing urbanization factors, and changes in the choice of conifers help the species to adapt to highly anthropogenic habitats.The Magpie Pica pica occurs all over open agricultural areas in Poland, especially near human settlements (particularly in western Poland). The aim of this study was to estimate the size of the local Magpie population and characterize, in detail, nest site selection in a medium size city Górzów Wlkp. in the XXI century. For this study, the whole city was divided into a total of 114 squares of 1 × 1 km. Data were collected in spring 2014. A total of 474 Magpie pairs were recorded. The average density was 5.5 pairs/km2 (min = 0, max = 22 nests/square), in the non-urbanized habitat type—3.7 p/km2, and in the urbanized habitat type—13.5 p/km2. Magpie nests were found most often on Spruces Picea sp. and Poplars Populus sp. The mean height of the nest site was 11.5 m, while the mean height of trees used for nesting was 13.4 m. The type of tree arrangement most frequently used for nesting was tree rows (26.3%), followed by single trees (24.6%) and clusters of 4–10 trees (20.1%). The results for the Magpie’s environmental preferences do not differ from the general patterns described earlier. The study shows that magpies can adapt to changing urbanization factors, and changes in the choice of conifers help the species to adapt to highly anthropogenic habitats.

Trees as a solar control measure for southern-oriented street frontages. Analysis of a selected street model for a humid continental climate

The present study is aimed at the analysis of possibilities for shading southern frontage of street oriented along the E-W axis by the single row of trees, parallel to the southern elevations. The effectiveness of solar control shading was tested depending on the geometric relationships between trees and buildings. Numerical simulation analyses were conducted in Rhinoceros® program for the street located in humid continental climate in city Płock, Poland (52°32′50 “N 19°42’00 “E), for the day of the highest degree of total solar radiation in the year i.e. June 7th, during hours: 8.00a.m - 5.00 p.m. The analysis has proved that a row of 20–25 year old Sycamore Maple ‘Rotterdam’ in the street 30 m wide and 18 m high (H/W = 0.6), can provide solar protection for the southern frontage, especially when trees are located no more than 4 m away. Location of greenery within the range of 4 to 5 m from the buildings leads to a radical reduction in the possibility of shading the wall surfaces (at 5 m to 0%). Over 90% of the shading area of the ground floor façade walls was found when trees were within the distance 2 and 3 m away from the building.

Anatomical and nutritional characteristics of <i>Megathyrsus maximus</i> genotypes under a silvopastoral system

Our objective was to measure chemical composition and anatomy of 5 Megathyrsus maximus (syn. Panicum maximum) genotypes, when grown in combination with eucalypts in a silvopastoral system. Cultivars Massai, Mombaça, BRS Tamani, Tanzânia and intraspecific hybrid accession PM44 were evaluated in full sun and a silvopastoral system at 5 different distances from eucalyptus tree rows. The experimental design was a randomized block in split plot with 2 replications. Plots corresponded with genotypes and subplots with sampling points within the system. Total forage and leaf biomass as well as nutritive value und tissue proportions were evaluated. Our results showed a decrease in biomass as radiation incidence decreased. Forage biomass was greatest in BRS Tamani and Mombaça and lowest in PM44. There was a significant interaction between sampling points and genotype for nutritive value variables, such as crude protein, in vitro digestibility of organic matter, cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin-S, while tissue proportions were not affected by the interaction between sampling points and genotypes. Genotype had more pronounced effects on chemical composition and anatomical characteristics than did sampling points. The leaves of Mombaça were the longest and had greatest total cross-sectional area, and this genotype showed greater proportions of sclerenchyma and vascular tissues than other cultivars and the lowest proportion of mesophyll. The greatest proportion of parenchyma bundle sheaths was also found in Mombaça leaves. Genotypes PM44 and Tanzânia had the lowest proportions of sclerenchyma, and PM44 and BRS Tamani had the lowest proportions of vascular tissues. On the other hand, PM44 and Tanzânia had the greatest proportions of mesophyll. BRS Tamani was comparable with the most used cultivars, Mombaça and Tanzânia, and had forage quality slightly superior to that of Mombaça. Tropical grasses growing under shade can potentially produce less forage but with better nutritive value, in terms of chemical composition and tissue proportions, than grasses grown under full sun. However, as the degree of shading in silvopastoral systems does not occur uniformly across the whole area, the improved nutritive value would not be uniform and may not be very prominent overall.

Spatial heterogeneity of soil quality within a Mediterranean alley cropping agroforestry system: Comparison with a monocropping system

Alley cropping agroforestry systems are complex agroecosystems highlighted for their positive effects on soil quality. However, the potential spatial heterogeneity of soil quality created by tree rows at the plot scale has seldom been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil quality at the plot scale, under tree rows and along transects perpendicular to the tree row and to compare alley cropping systems with monocropping systems. This study was performed on an alley cropping system that combined hybrid walnut trees (21 years old) and peas. Topsoil was sampled at tree rows between 1 and 2, 2 and 4 and 4 and 6.5 m from the tree row in the alley cropping system, as well as in a neighbouring monocropping plot. Physical, chemical and microbiological indicators of soil quality were measured. Tree row implantation induced spatial heterogeneity in the chemical indicators, microbial biomass, activities and community structure at the alley cropping plot scale. Alley cropping not only improved microbiological soil quality indicators within the tree rows but also in the interrows when compared to a monocropping system. These indicators were then integrated into one soil quality index (SQI) built through a statistical approach. The soil quality index was calculated for the monocropping plot and for each position within the alley cropping plot. After 21 years of agroforestry practice, tree rows and permanent grass cover improved the SQI until 2 m in the interrow. Weighted SQIs were calculated relative to the surface area of each location for the entire alley cropping plot (i.e., tree row + interrow positions) and for the entire alley cropping interrow (i.e., removing the tree row surface area). The weighted SQI of the entire alley cropping plot significantly increased compared with that of the monocropping plot.

Permanent, undisturbed, in-row living mulch: A realistic option to replace glyphosate-dominated chemical weed control in intensive pear orchards

The preservation of biodiversity and the improvement of soil fertility have become important goals in orchard management; therefore, the standard approach of weed control in the understory of tree rows by repeated frequent use of herbicides needs to be replaced by more sustainable methods. This study presents a technique for establishing a permanent autoregulatory non-competitive plant community as an alternative to herbicide treatment. For a practical demonstration of this weed control method, an experiment was conducted in a pear orchard during the 2015–2019 growing seasons. A permanent plant community was created in a 1 m wide strip under the trees by seeding three different grass and herb mixtures. Two types of control plots were also established (weed control treated with the herbicide glyphosate and weedy control). Several inventories of the species composition of the studied communities were conducted each season. The relationship between the proportions of plant biomass of native, non-seeded plants, and seeded plants was evaluated. The results of this experiment show that the long-term undisturbed development of understory communities not exposed to herbicides or mechanical weed control causes only a limited, statistically non-significant reduction in yield.

A New Methodology for Assessing the Interaction between the Mediterranean Olive Agro-Forest and the Atmospheric Surface Boundary Layer

Historically, the olive grove has been one of the most emblematic ecosystems in Mediterranean countries. Currently, in Andalusia, Spain, the land under olive grove cultivation exceeds 1.5 million hectares, approximately 17% of the regional surface. Its exploitation has traditionally been based on the use of the available land and heterogeneous plantations, with different species adapted to southern Mediterranean climatic conditions, and to the management of the traditional olive cultivation culture. The objective of this work is to characterize the mechanical behavior of the atmospheric surface boundary layer (SBL) (under neutral stability) interacting with different olive grove configurations. Experimental tests were carried out in the Boundary Layer Wind Tunnel (BLWT) of the Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA), University of Granada. Three representative configurations of olive groves under neutral atmospheric conditions were tested. The wind flow time series were recorded at several distances and heights downwind the olive plantation models with a cross hot wire anemometry system. Herein, this paper shows the airflow streamwise, including the mean flow and the turbulent characteristics. The spatial variability of these two mechanical magnitudes depends on, among others, the size, the agro-forest length, the layout of the tree rows, the porosity, the tree height, the crown shape and the surface vegetation cover. The aerodynamic diameter and Reynolds number for each agro-forest management unit are proposed as representative variables of the system response, as these could be related to olive grove management. The plantation, in turn, conforms to a windbreak, which affects the microclimate and benefits the elements of the ecosystem. Detailed knowledge of these variables and the interaction between the ecosystem and the atmosphere is relevant to optimize the resources management, land use and sustainability of the overall crop. Thus, this paper presents preliminary work to relate atmospheric variables to environmental variables, some of which could be humidity, erosion, evapotranspiration or pollen dispersion.

Active management of wildflower strips in commercial sweet cherry orchards enhances natural enemies and pest regulation services

To protect sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) against pests in commercial orchards, pesticides are frequently used, but some have adverse environmental impacts. Natural enemies can deliver protection against pests but compared to the surrounding non-crop habitat their abundance is usually low in intensively managed agricultural systems. Wildflower interventions established for Conservation Biological Control as part of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) can reinstate habitat for natural enemies within cropped areas and enhance natural pest control. Over a three-year period, this more sustainable approach to crop protection was investigated in eight sweet cherry orchards protected under polytunnels in the West Midlands (UK). Wildflower strips were established in alleyways between rows of cherry trees and managed under two cutting regimes, Standard Wildflower Strips (SWS) (a single cut in late September) and Actively Managed Wildflower Strips (AMWS) (regularly cut to a height of 20 cm throughout the growing season). These were compared to unsown Control Strips (CS) (original vegetation dominated by grass species). To investigate natural enemy populations and pest regulation services, direct search, Vortis suction sampling, beat sampling, and aphid bait cards were used. Araneae (40.0% of records) and parasitoid wasps (22.7%) were the most frequent natural enemies recorded in alleyways, whilst Anystidae (51.8%) and Araneae (20.8%) were most abundant on cherry trees. Wildflower treatments almost doubled the abundance of natural enemies in alleyways, and increased abundance in cherry trees by ~15% compared to the CS. Wildflower strips increased predation of aphids (bait cards) in cherry trees by 25%. No difference in natural enemy abundance, richness or pest control was recorded between the two wildflower management regimes. Differences in natural enemy abundance and predation rates were detected despite the continued use of pesticides by growers (an average of 5.4 (± 0.4) applications per orchard per year). This study demonstrates that creating wildflower habitat in commercial sweet cherry orchards under polytunnels can boost natural enemies and the associated pest regulation services. Relative to CS, the novel grower-friendly approach of maintaining wildflower strips at a height of 20 cm with regular cutting increased flower resource availability and pest regulation services, demonstrating the potential for growers to adopt this approach as part of a robust IPM strategy.

Quantification of biomass and litter in agroforestry system with sour orange cultivation in the Brazilian Amazon

The knowledge of the quantity and composition of the deposited biomass is useful to plan the nutrient management of cultivations in agroforestry systems. The objective of this work was to evaluate the production of biomass and litter in two agroforestry systems with organic and conventional cultivations of sour orange. The areas use models of orange production by monoculture and under agroforestry systems: the first agroforestry system is composed of rows of brazilian mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla K.) accompanied by double rows of orange trees (Citrus aurantium L.); the second system is composed of rows of ingá (Ingá edulis Mart.) accompanied by double rows of orange trees. A completely randomized design was used in a 10x2 factorial scheme, with 4 replications. The locations within the management systems were organized as follows: agroforestry system composed of mahogany trees; Ingá trees agroforestry system; conventional sour orange monoculture system. The areas that the biomass and litter were collected in the locations in the systems were: between plants in the row for cultivation of forest species that make up the system; between rows of the forest species row and orange cultivation row; between plants in the orange cultivation row; between rows of the double row of orange cultivation. Two periods were analyzed in the experiment: the months of lowest and highest rainfall. Agroforestry systems promoted greater biomass and litter to the soil compared to monoculture. In this way, they were configured as a beneficial practice for the soil in sour orange crops in the Brazilian Amazon.

Enhancing flowering plant functional richness improves wild bee diversity in vineyard inter-rows in different floral kingdoms.

Wild bees are threatened by multiple interacting stressors, such as habitat loss, land use change, parasites, and pathogens. However, vineyards with vegetated inter‐rows can offer high floral resources within viticultural landscapes and provide foraging and nesting habitats for wild bees. Here, we assess how vineyard management regimes (organic vs. conventional; inter‐row vegetation management) and landscape composition determine the inter‐row plant and wild bee assemblages, as well as how these variables relate to functional traits in 24 Austrian and 10 South African vineyards. Vineyards had either permanent vegetation cover in untilled inter‐rows or temporary vegetation cover in infrequently tilled inter‐rows. Proportion of seminatural habitats (e.g., fallows, grassland, field margins) and woody structures (e.g., woodlots, single trees, tree rows) were used as proxies for landscape composition and mapped within 500‐m radius around the study vineyards. Organic vineyard management increased functional richness (FRic) of wild bees and flowering plants, with woody structures marginally increasing species richness and FRic of wild bees. Wild bee and floral traits were differently associated across the countries. In Austria, several bee traits (e.g., lecty, pollen collection type, proboscis length) were associated with flower color and symmetry, while in South African vineyards, only bees’ proboscis length was positively correlated with floral traits characteristic of Asteraceae flowers (e.g., ray–disk morphology, yellow colors). Solitary bee species in Austria benefitted from infrequent tillage, while ground nesting species preferred inter‐rows with undisturbed soils. Higher proportions of woody structures in surrounding landscapes resulted in less solitary and corbiculate bees in Austria, but more aboveground nesting species in South Africa. In both countries, associations between FRic of wild bees and flowering plants were positive both in organic and in conventional vineyards. We recommend the use of diverse cover crop seed mixtures to enhance plant flowering diversity in inter‐rows, to increase wild bee richness in viticultural landscapes.

Theoretical and applied aspects of the use of agricultural and forest meliorative plantations of Ukraine for energy purposes

Protective forest plantations are an important part of forest-agricultural landscapes and one of the most effective long-term and relatively inexpensive measures to combat wind and water soil erosion. They have a positive effect on the microclimate of the surrounding areas and can significantly increase crop yields. Also, under certain conditions, they can become an important source of bioenergy feedstock.
 Goal. Development of theoretical bases and practical measures of the use of agroforestry reclamation plantations of Ukraine for energy purposes.
 Methods. In the course of the research it was envisaged to develop schemes of protective forest plantations on the basis of the analysis of the existing information, long-term production and scientific experience which, at full performance of ecological functions, can be used for obtaining bioenergy feedstock.
 Results. It is established that for the simultaneous use of protective forest plantations as a source of energy biomass it is necessary to include fast-growing woody plants (willow, poplar, acacia, maple, etc.) in rows or backstage, which are expected to be periodically cut for biomass. Such plants are then intensively restored by growth from stumps. The basis of such plantations for long-term and permanent performance of their protective functions should mainly consists of the rows of oak trees.
 Conclusions. Protective forest plantations, in addition to the positive impact on the microclimate of the environment and a significant increase in the productivity of agricultural land, can also play an important role as a source of bioenergy feedstock. Today, forest protection plantations are losing their functions for various reasons and need to be reconstructed. At the same time, along with the restoration of protective plantations, it will be possible to obtain about 54.6 million tons of wood for energy needs and form new protective plantations, which, along with improving the ecological environment, will create a reliable feedstock base for bioenergy. The schemes presented in the article can be applied at the stage of restoration and expansion of the field protection system to increase their energy role.

Intercepted Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) and Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Transmitted PAR under High-Density and Super High-Density Olive Orchards

We quantified the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) interception in a high-density (HD) and a super high-density (SHD) or hedgerow olive system, by measuring the PAR transmitted under the canopy along transects at increasing distance from the tree rows. Transmitted PAR was measured every minute, then cumulated over the day and the season. The frequencies of the different PAR levels occurring during the day were calculated. SHD intercepted significantly but slightly less overall PAR than HD (0.57 ± 0.002 vs. 0.62 ± 0.03 of the PAR incident above the canopy) but had a much greater spatial variability of transmitted PAR (0.21 under the tree row, up to 0.59 in the alley center), compared to HD (range: 0.34–0.43). This corresponded to greater variability in the frequencies of daily PAR values, with the more shaded positions receiving greater frequencies of low PAR values. The much lower PAR level under the tree row in SHD, compared to any position in HD, implies greater self-shading in lower-canopy layers, despite similar overall interception. Therefore, knowing overall PAR interception does not allow an understanding of differences in PAR distribution on the ground and within the canopy and their possible effects on canopy radiation use efficiency (RUE) and performance, between different architectural systems.

Effect of trees and cattle dung input on soybean yield and nutrition in Integrated Crop–Livestock Systems

In integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLS), grazing cattle influence the distribution of nutrients in the soil. When trees are present, they may affect the cattle dung distribution, as well as the nutrient cycling and crop yield. The objective of this experiment is to evaluate the influence of the presence of cattle dung and trees on soybean nutrition and yield in ICLS during 2018–2019. Two areas were used in this study, that is, with trees (CLT, 1.1 ha) and without trees (CL, 1.2 ha). Both areas have been considered as ICLS (soy–beef cattle), since 2009. The experimental design was in a split–split–plot, the main plots followed the CL and CLT systems, the subplots were the cattle dung input (presence and absence), and the sub-subplots were three positions between two tree rows (i.e., sampling points). In the CL system the plant height (+18.1%), the number of pods per plant (+51.2%), grains per pod (+7.2%), shoot biomass (+60%) and grain yield (+52.9%) were increased compared to the CLT system. The highest values for plant height, shoot biomass, grain yield, grain weight, pods per plant, grains per pod, and phosphorus (P) concentrations in soybean, were observed in the central position among the tree rows, when comparing the positions nearest to the trees. However, in the position adjacent to the rows, an increased content of P in the soil was found and an increased content of sulfur (S) in the plant. The presence of cattle dung increased the availability of soil P (+30%) and potassium (K, + 52.3%), as also the content of P (+ 4.3%), K (+ 5.2%), and S (+ 5.1%) in plant, and the grain yield (+ 22%). The great effect on soybean yield was due the trees presence (3.6 Mg ha−1 in the CL system vs. 1.7 Mg ha−1 in the CLT). The light restriction, the competition for nutrients with trees and drought periods were factors to be considered, to explain the difference in productivity between the CL and CLT systems.

On the structural complexity of central European agroforestry systems: a quantitative assessment using terrestrial laser scanning in single-scan mode

Agroforestry systems provide important ecosystem functions and services. They have the potential to enrich agricultural monocultures in central Europe with structural elements otherwise absent, which is expected to be accompanied by a surplus of ecosystem functions. Here we used quantitative measures derived from terrestrial laser scanning in single-scan mode to describe the structural complexity, the canopy openness, the foliage height diversity and the understory complexity of four common agroforest systems in central Europe. We accessed silvopasture systems with grazing ponies and cattle as well as fellow deer, short rotation forests with agricultural use between the tree rows, tree orchards with grazing sheep and Christmas tree plantations on which chickens forage. As a reference, we used data for 65 forest sites across Germany, representing different forest types, various dominant tree species, stand ages and management systems. We found that overall stand structural complexity is ranked as follows: forest > silvopasture systems > short rotation forest > tree orchard > Christmas tree plantation. Consequently, if overall structural complexity of an agricultural landscape shall be enriched, there is now strong evidence on how this may be achieved using agroforests. However, if the focus lies on selected structures that serve specific functions, e.g. dense understory to provide animal shelter, specific types of agroforests may be chosen and the ranking in overall structural complexity may be less important.

The First Observation of the Vulnerable Sooty Falcon falco concolor in Iraq

Sooty Falcon Falco concolor is small to medium-sized, greysh, migrant Falcon, breeds mainly in islands’ cliffs around Arabia and inland in Libya and Egypt, and migrates to east Africa. This species in classified as Vulnerable (VU) in the IUCN Red List. During one of the regular surveys conducted by the Iraqi Organization for Conservation of Nature (IOCN), the first Sooty Falcon for Iraq was found at Zibliya area close to Dalmaj protected area, approx. 35km northeast of Diwaniya city in the Middle Euphrates region of Iraq. The habitat where the first Sooty Falcon was found consists of open farms with desert margins in addition to intensive, long rows of tall trees (Tamarix aphylla) distributed in different locations within Zibliya area. Considerable list of Passerines and other small bird species were also found in the area that might form preferred food items for Sooty Falcon. This observation represents the first record of Sooty Falcon for Iraq.

Determination of application volume for coffee plantations using artificial neural networks and remote sensing

Methods for optimizing the application of phytosanitary products can be an alternative for sustainable agriculture. Such methods can be achieved with the use of artificial intelligence and remote sensing techniques. Our experiments were carried out in a commercial coffee plantation, where morphological variables (height and diameter) and vegetation indexes (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI and normalized difference red edge, NDRE) were collected in the upper, medium, and lower thirds of the coffee plant. From the remote sensing data, experiments were developed to determine the best neural network topology, in terms of accuracy (RMSE) and precision (R2) and type (Multilayer Perceptron “MLP” and Radial Basis Function “RBF”), to estimate morphological variables. From these results, we evaluated the possibility of applying pesticides at a variable rate, using the tree row volume principle. The results show that, using remote sensing and artificial neural networks (MLP), it is possible to estimate coffee tree volume with reasonable accuracy. This can be done using a multi-layer perceptron model to estimate coffee tree height and diameter using vegetation indexes of different parts of the plant as input.

Management to Promote Flowering Understoreys Benefits Natural Enemy Diversity, Aphid Suppression and Income in an Agroforestry System

Agroforestry systems, where productive trees are integrated into agricultural land, can deliver benefits to biodiversity, natural pest control, and pollination, but the effects are highly variable. Recent advances in our understanding of flower strips in agricultural systems suggest that the management of the tree row understorey could be an important contributor to this variation. Here, we compare two cutting regimes for an understorey, originally seeded with the same flower mix, in the tree rows of an apple-arable agroforestry system: (i) uncut vegetation to promote a flowering understorey, and (ii) regularly mown vegetation. We recorded the effects of management on invertebrate pests, natural enemies, and pollinators, in both the apple and arable components. Apple trees above flowering understoreys supported significantly: (i) more natural enemies early in the season, (ii) fewer aphid colonies, (iii) fewer aphid-damaged fruits, and (iv) higher pollinator visitation, compared with those above mown understoreys. In the arable crop alleys, both the taxonomic richness and Shannon diversity of ground-based natural enemies were significantly higher adjacent to flowering understoreys, compared with those adjacent to mown understoreys, early in the season. Financial modelling based on aphid damage to apples, mowing costs, and income from Countryside Stewardship grants, indicated that flowering understoreys increased farm income by GBP 231.02 per ha of agroforestry compared with mown understoreys. Our results provide the first empirical evidence that management to promote flowering understoreys in agroforestry systems can be a win-win option to improve invertebrate diversity, associated ecosystem services, and farm income.