Integrating trees into arable systems to improve soil health & provide resilience to climate change

减缓气候变化和适应其影响是农业面临的两个最重要的挑战。在英国，近年来，日益严重的干旱和暴雨显著减少了耕地产量。这一点，再加上政策变化和蓬勃发展的碳信用计划(即向农民支付储存碳的费用)，已经将气候变化带到了农民的脑海中，人们越来越有兴趣寻找新的方法来缓解和适应其影响。农林业可以为缓解气候变化做出贡献，可森林农业(即可耕种作物和树木间作)的实践在英国越来越受欢迎。最近的研究表明，与传统的耕作系统相比，它可以增加碳封存，减少温室气体净排放，并支持更多的生物多样性。除了帮助缓解气候变化，可造林地系统还可能对气候变化的影响具有更强的适应能力。例如，它们有更复杂的根结构，这可以帮助土壤在干旱或暴雨时保持所需的水分。尽管如此，可种植的农业在英国很少见，而且仍然存在许多知识差距。由于土壤是农业生产的基础，对土壤生物多样性和健康的影响知之甚少，因此解决这一认识鸿沟是当务之急。本课题研究可森林农业对土壤健康的影响，并通过干旱实验对气候适应性进行实验测试。由于森林种植的影响可能会随着树木的成熟而改变，您将使用22年的植树梯度来研究这一点。我们与英格兰南部的五个可种植森林的农场合作进行了这项实验。目标和假设1)通过比较22年植树梯度上的可耕地和可种植土地，确定可种植森林对土壤健康的影响。您将测量土壤生物多样性、土壤物理性质(例如，土壤孔隙度)和土壤化学性质(例如，碳)。2)通过使用帐篷进行干旱试验，确定森林可耕作农业能够在多大程度上提高可耕作农业对气候变化的适应能力。您将在可开垦和可耕种的地区比较帐篷区域和开阔区域的土壤特性以及作物产量和质量，以测试哪种系统对干旱更具弹性。3)通过会议、出版物和更广泛的媒体向科学界、农业部门和公众传播研究结果这项研究将提供必要的关键证据，以评估可开垦农业对土壤健康和气候适应性的影响。与我们的行业利益相关者LEFT和伍德兰信托基金合作，我们将确保我们的发现被传播给农民，从而提高英国农业的可持续性。

Mitigating climate change and adapting to its impacts are two of the foremost challenges in agriculture. In the UK, increasing droughts and periods of heavy rain has significantly reduced arable production in recent years. This, in combination with policy changes and burgeoning carbon credit schemes (i.e. where farmers are paid to store carbon), has brought climate change to the forefront of farmers' minds, and there is growing interest in finding new ways to both mitigate and adapt to its impacts.Agroforestry can contribute to climate change mitigation, and the practice of silvoarable farming (i.e. intercropping arable crops with trees) is gaining traction in the UK. Recent studies have shown that it can increase carbon sequestration, reduce net greenhouse gas emissions and support more biodiversity than traditional arable systems. In addition to helping to mitigate climate change, silvoarable systems may also be more resilient to the impacts of climate change. For example, they have more complex root structures, and this could help soils to maintain the water they need in times of drought or heavy rain. Despite this, silvoarable farming is rare in the UK, and many knowledge gaps remain. Very little is known about the impact of silvoarable farming on soil biodiversity and health, and as soils are the foundation of agricultural production, it is imperative that this knowledge gap is addressed.this prjoject investigates the impact of silvoarable farming on soil health and experimentally test climate resilience using a drought experiment. As the impact of silvoarable farming may change as the trees mature, you will study this using a 22-year tree-planting gradient. We have partnered with five silvoarable farms across Southern England to conduct this experiment.Objectives and hypotheses1) Determine the impact of silvoarable farming on soil health by comparing arable fields with silvoarable fields along a 22-year tree-planting gradient. You will measure soil biodiversity, soil physical properties (e.g. soil porosity), and soil chemical properties (e.g. carbon).2) Determine the extent to which silvoarable farming can increase the resilience of arable farming to climate change by conducting drought experiments using tents. You will compare soil properties and crop yield and quality between tented areas and open areas in silvoarable and arable sites to test which system is more resilient to drought.3) Disseminate the findings to the scientific community, the agricultural sector and the public via conferences, publications, and wider media.OutcomesThis study will provide the key evidence needed to assess the impact of silvoarable farming on soil health and climate resilience. Working with our industry stakeholders LEAF and the Woodland Trust, we will ensure that our findings are disseminated to farmers, thereby increasing the sustainability of UK farming.