The Forest of the Future: A reinvention of the forest as we currently know it into a multifunctional spatial structure, on land and in the sea

This research introduces The Forest of the Future, a transformative visionary that reimagines European forests as multifunctional, sustainable spatial structures extending over land and sea. It confronts current environmental challenges, including deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change, by proposing an innovative spatial strategy...

Carbon Credit Incentives for Agroforestry: A Feasibility Study for Smallholder Farmers in Ghana's Ashanti Region

Climate change is a pressing concern affecting the livelihoods of farmers in Ghana's Ashanti region due to erratic rainfall patterns, primarily impacting rain-fed agriculture. This research explores the potential of carbon credits to encourage smallholder farmers in the Ashanti region to adopt agroforestry practices as a solution. Agroforestry,...

From Resource Exploitation to Nature Restoration: Unlocking the Potential of Agroforestry Systems as Feedstock Provisioners for Sustainable Composite Manufacturing: An LCA study of bio-based carbon fibre precursors for aviation composites

This research investigates alternative biomass feedstocks for environmentally improved composites in the aviation industry. It addresses challenges and opportunities associated with biomass use and proposes a sustainable biomass feedstock for bio-methanol production as a carbon fibre precursor for composites. The aim is to evaluate the...

Refresh: Cultivating a new paradigm of integrated farming as mitigation of air pollution in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Air pollution poses a significant threat to human health globally, with Southeast Asia being one of the most affected regions. Chiang Mai, as the largest cultivated area in northern Thailand, faces severe haze pollution due to traditional farming practices, especially during the burning season. As urban areas encroach upon agricultural land and...

Agroforestry as an approach to reduce the water footprint in a profitable way in the Maule Region, Chile: Study from an agroforestry case study to measure the potential for water savings in the watersheds of the Maule Region

The food system is strongly related to the pressure of our planetary boundaries, being responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, biodiversity loss, biochemical flows, and freshwater use. The dominant system in food production is monoculture, using agrochemicals and motorized equipment. However,...

Agroforestry in Shade Coffee Plantations as an Emission Reduction Strategy for Tropical Regions: Public Acceptance and the Role of Tree Banking

Support for the adoption of climate change mitigation measures in low-income regions depends on how such activities contribute to generating household income and gaining confidence from the local community. The planning of mitigation measures or pro-environmental activities need to consider the cost of deployment, customization of activities...

Scaling Cocoa Agroforestry: A spatial approach to estimate the carbon sequestration potential of global cocoa agroforestry production

Cocoa production plays a significant role in global tree cover and biodiversity loss. Amid rising concerns over its role in environmental degradation, agroforestry has emerged as a potential solution to satisfy growing global demand for cocoa in a climate-smart and sustainable way. As a shade tolerant crop, there has been much discussion over...

Carbon sequestration in young temperate food forests: A case study analysis on a chronosequence of the transition from grassland to food forests

The food sector plays a crucial role in exceeding several planetary boundaries. Currently, humanity has the challenge to stay between these boundaries. Food forests are an approach for improving ecosystems in soil quality, sequestering carbon and enhancing biodiversity while providing food. However, this concept is yet nearly unstudied in...

Food forests on peat soil: An exploration and assessment of the potential of a food forest on peat soil in the Vrouwe Vennepolder in the Netherlands

Food forests are gaining attention in the Netherlands as a concept that holds the promise of delivering a variety of ecosystem services our society depends upon. However, there are no insights available what a food forest could look like on peat soils nor what its environmental benefits could be. At the same time the Dutch peat area represents...

Agroforestry in the Netherlands: The production potential and environmental advantages of a temperate food forest

Agriculture is a major driver of exceeding the planetary boundaries. Therefore, it is a principal sector that requires sustainable change. Agroforestry, described as the deliberate planting of trees on farm land or integrating farmers into forests, is one of the proposed solutions and has gained a lot of (renewed) attention in the Netherlands...

The food production experience

Since the mining industry closed down in the 60’s, the Parkstad region is searching for a new sources of income and a corresponding identity. This project proposes a ‘’food experience’’ that includes participating in growing and processing while being in a natural environment. Before industrial food production became the standard, people had...