système agroforestier étagé - ferme Bocaux d'amour - @F. Calvet
AGROFORDIV - Consortium 2025-2026

AGROFORDIV - Establishing the groundwork for an interdisciplinary exploration of diversified agroforestry systems

Highly diversified agroforestry systems—orchard-market gardens, forest gardens, or successional agroforestry systems (also known as syntropic agroforestry systems) are emerging in France and Europe due to their significant ecological, agronomic, and social potential. Although promising in addressing current challenges (biodiversity loss, climate change, agroecological transition, among others), their adoption is still hindered by various technical, economic, and institutional barriers. The consortium built around this project aims to better understand the functioning and impacts of highly diversified agroforestry systems, which are still poorly studied, while laying the foundations for participatory and transdisciplinary research capable of addressing the agronomic, ecological, and societal challenges of current agriculture.

Objectives

système agroforestier étagé - ferme Bocaux d'amour - @F. Calvet

The goal of AgroForDiv is to structure an interdisciplinary research network on diversified agroforestry systems. To achieve this, it relies on the co-construction of a common research agenda to collectively advance the reflection around the following axes: approach.

  • Characterizing highly diversified agroforestry systems by focusing on their design (spatial and temporal arrangement of species), management practices (implementation and modalities), and the decision-making elements underlying them (the reasons behind the choices made).
  • Evaluating the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services, considering the structure of the systems (strata, plant diversity) and their management modalities.
  • Analyzing the contribution of these systems to the overall health of soils, ecosystems, and humans, through an integrated "One Health".
schéma d'un système agroforestier diversifié @Dutt et Jacobi

Copyright © Alisha Dutt and Johanna Jacobi. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(25)00047-6
Example of spatial arrangement and species selection of a highly diversified agroforestry system in a temperate climate.

Approaches

Different meetings, reflection time and regular webinaries will identify existing and missing knowledge around highly diverse agroforestry systems. They will also make it possible to co-construct the work agenda in order to advance collectively in the production of priority research issues to be sent and a positioning item. The co-construction of a characterization and evaluation protocol of diversity and ecosystem services is also provided.

Participants

INRAE units involved

Partners

 

Contacts - coordination