Definitions and Components of Agroforestry Practices in Europe

Agroforestry systems are traditional land use systems that were and are used in Europe. They can be defined as those land use systems which involve two main components — trees/shrubs and an agricultural crop (which could also be pasture) and are artificially managed. Agroforestry systems can be implemented at a temporal and spatial scale for a land owner, who can use different agrofor-estry practices. Since human interaction with the environment in Europe is very important and has occurred for a long time there are different types of agroforestry practices in Europe that are described in this chapter and named, silvoarable, forest farming, riparian buffer strips, silvopasture, improved fallow and multipurpose trees. A brief description of the main agroforestry practice components, i.e. trees and agriculture (including pasture and livestock) in Europe will give an overview of the current and potential situation in Europe for the use of these systems.