“New Frontiers” in Agroforestry

“New Frontiers” in Agroforestry: Ernst Gotsh and Akira Miyawaki

In recent decades, we have seen a trend, both in Europe and around the world, toward the development of new agroforestry systems that, if anything, go beyond the classic concepts developed over the last century.
Both ancient and modern concepts are intertwined in experiments and yield unexpectedly positive results that reward the courageous intuition of researchers such as the Swiss agronomist Ernst Gotsh and the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. Imagine over 40 years of scientific publications by both, which would require urgent updates both in university teaching and by farmers in their agricultural practices.
The last glaciation (also called the Würm Glaciation in Europe or the Wisconsin Glaciation in North America) is the last phase of the Pleistocene, characterized by a strong advance of glaciers.
• It began approximately 115,000 years ago.
• It reached its glacial maximum around 20,000–18,000 years ago.
• The interglacial epoch in which we live today ended approximately 11,700 years ago, with the beginning of the Holocene.
From the last glaciation to the present, the spread of certain agricultural and pastoral practices, according to various sources, has led to a reduction of 20,000,000 km2 of lost forest.
What remains in agriculture today are those few forest species domesticated by humans for human consumption, but (with the associated negative consequences) deprived of friends that lived in symbiosis for millennia. All this today, more than ever, supports the validity of principles such as mixed cropping, intercropping, phytosociology and phytocenosis, and positive allelopathy: direct chemistry (release of phytohormones or other stimulating metabolites).
The recovery of the genetic heritage of remaining native species and the contribution to the enrichment of biodiversity are widely called for as urgent measures. This is why we should “place farmers at the center of research through participatory research schemes such as participatory breeding.” The farmer is seen as the “guardian” of seeds.
The role of “Farmer Guardian of the Environment and Land” was recently legally established in Italy (Law No. 24 of February 28, 2024, came into force on March 29, 2024). These are agricultural entrepreneurs, whether individuals or groups (pursuant to Article 2135 of the Civil Code), as well as cooperatives in the agricultural and forestry sectors, who naturally guide business decisions, including actions aimed at preserving and revitalizing biodiversity and native species, and much more. The provisions of Law 24/2024 also provide for the recognition of reward criteria, including tax reductions.
Let’s look at some key points from the statements of both scholars, who share the technique of planting very closely together.

Ernst Gotsh:
1) Co-create agroecosystems similar in form and dynamics to the original, natural ecosystems of the site where we intervene.
2) He calls parasites inspection agents of the life process optimization department.
3) Mycorrhizae: endophytes (bacteria and fungi) participate in the rhizophagic cycle.
4) “Let’s plant water”: The forest releases gases called biogenic volatile organic compounds = generates rain.
5) Gotsh Agenda Project: successional, multilayered, dynamic agroforestry systems.
6) From balanced systems we move to harmonious systems: dynamic flow, integrating non-linearity.

Akira Miyawaki:
1) (PNV) potential natural vegetation: this is the type of natural vegetation that could take root if the site in question were not occupied for a long period of time.
2) Archaeobotany or Paleoethnobotany are the basis in the design, oriented to favor the Climax.

• The UN speaks of primary forests: these are native forests capable of self-regeneration, and the FAO states: a forest exists if, within half a hectare, at least 10% of the surface is covered by trees, with trees reaching at least 5 m tall and with canopy cover greater than 10%.
This closes the circle, confirming the great revolutionary contribution of Ernst Gotsh and Akira Miyawaki, when several authoritative sources, supporting the potential of biodiversity, often cite concepts such as:
1) Functional diversity: a concept that refers to the variety of characteristics among different species that activate ecosystem functions.
2) Functional redundancy: diversity of multiple species within the same ecosystem, within each functional group, is equally important.
3) Symphytosociology or landscape phytosociology: the science that studies the dynamism between different vegetation stages, specifically reconstructing the different potential natural vegetation types and vegetation series in a synchronous manner.
4) Native because: they are important for their richness and genetic diversity, for having adapted to local environmental conditions, and are more likely to interact with local flora, fauna, and microorganisms, making the ecosystem more productive and resilient to external stresses.
5) Alley cropping, also known as alley farming, is an innovative agroforestry system that combines crop cultivation with the strategic planting of trees or shrubs in rows or avenues.
6) A minimum number of species (BEF, biodiversity-function) is essential for the functioning of an ecosystem under constant conditions, and a larger number is necessary to maintain the stability of ecosystem processes in environments undergoing change (Science).
7) Ecosystem services: goods and services that humans obtain directly or indirectly from ecosystem functions (improved air quality, climate mitigation, phytoremediation of surface water, etc.).

A fascinating journey into agroecology: discover how nature and agriculture can grow together.
To buy the book:
“Principles and Foundations of Agroecology”
click on the cover image

These are the “New Frontiers” of Agroforestry:
1) Production of Carbon Credits (carbon farming), which also have economic value (monetization of an Ecosystem Service).
2) Land Equivalent Ratio (LER), which compares the yields obtained from intercropping two or more species compared to the yields obtained from their pure cultivation. In short, the higher the LER, the greater the “land gain” obtained from the mixed system compared to monocultures. It is therefore an excellent indicator of sustainability and production efficiency. Therefore, the LER is an index that measures the efficiency of land use in intercropping or agroforestry systems compared to monocultures.
3) Polyproduction and Multi-income on the same land: economic opportunities for farmers even with just a few hectares available, simply by using biodiversity and its knowledge.
We thank Ernst Gotsh and Akira Miyawaki who, as professionals and as men, brilliantly succeeded in merging Agroecology and Forestry after the last ice age, courageously embracing (with healthy R&D) intuitions, research results, and experiments in a free and loving manner for the well-being of humanity and planet Earth.

Paolo Ciro D’Apolito
Cell: 328/2496072
Mail: paolomariamichele@gmail.com
For further information, please read the books:
– Mini-Forest Revolution, TerraNuova ed.;
– Living in Syntropy, TerraNuova ed.