Effects of agroforestry on farm biodiversity in the UK

One advantage claimed for agroforestry is that it can bring onto farm land some of the biodiversity benefitsassociated with woodlands. The aim of this paper is to review recen t research in order to describe thepotential impact of agroforestry systems on the diversity of plants and animals on Br itish farms. The reviewsuggests that the introduction of silvopastoral systems can lead to an increase in the diversity ofinvertebrates and perhaps birds on grassland farms. The introduction of silvoarable systems can also lead toan increase in the diversity of airborne arthropods, small mammals and possibly birds on arable farms;however the effects on arable pests are likely to be mixed.