Forestry, Agroforestry, Silvopasture & Perennial Systems

Trees and perennial plants bring a long time horizon to land use, anchoring systems that can produce food, fodder, timber, and environmental benefits for decades from a single establishment. Where annual cropping demands yearly disturbance and replanting, perennial and tree-based systems hold the ground, build deep root networks, and stack multiple outputs on the same land. The Forestry, Agroforestry, Silvopasture & Perennial Systems session explores the many ways trees and perennials can be integrated with crops and livestock — from alley cropping and shelterbelts to grazed woodlands and perennial grains. It examines how these systems are designed, managed, and harvested, and how they balance productivity with carbon storage, biodiversity, and resilience over the long term.

What makes a silvopasture genuinely improve both livestock and tree outcomes rather than compromising each? How should species and spacing be chosen so that crops and trees complement rather than compete? These design and management questions run through the discussions, which combine forestry, agronomy, and livestock science. Participants in this Agriculture Conference will explore how agroforestry and perennial cropping systems can diversify income, sequester carbon, and restore degraded land while sustaining production. The programme covers system design, tree–crop interactions, perennial crop development, and the economics of long-rotation enterprises. By embracing the slower, layered logic of perennial systems, the session helps researchers and land managers build productive landscapes that endure.