Why is Agroforestry a Potential Solution to the Challenges of Peatlands?
A mini documentary created for Master Atelier Landscape Architecture and Planning, from May to July 2023, in Wageningen University.
In the Aterlier I worked in an interdisciplinary team with commissioners and farmers on Agroforestry in Peat Meadow Landscapes. We made a report on implementation of agroforestry for three farms and guidelines.
Abstract of the research:
The peat meadow landscapes in South Holland are characterised by openness. This openness is created by pumping out water to keep the meadows dry enough so cattle can graze and heavy agricultural machines can mow the grass without sinking into the peat soils. However, this system of lowering the water table has the negative effect of exposing the peat soil to air. The peat starts oxidating due to rotting processes that are instigated by the exposure of the organic soil to air (World Agroforestry, 2023) and this results in soil subsidence. This problem in the peat meadow landscapes causes a need for changing the agricultural system to rewet the peat soils and prevent soil subsidence. Agroforestry could be a solution as it is a form of agriculture that provides many benefits to landscapes as it can capture and retain water in the soil (World Agroforestry, 2023) and also improve biodiversity (Boinot et al, 2022). However, in the Netherlands and South Holland, agroforestry is currently not officially recognised as a form of agriculture, which causes difficulties with the implementation of agroforestry (EURAF, 2020). This report investigates potential ways to implement agroforestry in the peat meadow landscapes of South Holland. This is done by making designs for three farms in South Holland and extracting design guidelines from these designs combined with a strategy to get a permit to implement agroforestry. This project concludes there are multiple ways to create a reason for the implementation of agroforestry by looking at history, the current landscape and working with the open landscape protected by policy.
Mini documentary: