Agroforestry Systems in Czech Republic

Bc. Ondřej Zelba

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

Temperate agroforestry has been described and categorized several times and there are numerous definitions in use. Even though several agroforestry practices have been traditionally used in Czech Republic, any inventory of farms or plots where agroforestry is currently practiced is still missing. This study aimed to find a practical and relatively easy method to identify agroforestry systems on farmland. Firstly, several European surveys such as Land Use and Cover Area Frame Survey (LUCAS) and Corine Land Cover (CLC) were examined to evaluate their applicability in inventory of agroforestry, and several methods of identifying trees in agricultural land blocks were reviewed. The thesis tried out a method that uses Corine Land Cover data in ArcGIS software to identify out patches of land that fall into the annual crops with permanent crops category. It then found agricultural land blocks with trees in those polygons. In the last part of the study, farmers owning plots in the agroforestry field blocks were located in the land registry and a questionnaire was sent out to them regarding the origin, function, and use of the trees in the agricultural blocks to collect information about the land-use systems. In total 3,071 hectares of field blocks were identified to fit the agroforestry conditions, mostly in the South Moravia region. Most of the found areas are in proximity of towns Velké Pavlovice, Louka u Ostrohu, Strážnice na Moravě, Moravský Žižkov, and Šakvice. The areas found there have many small plots that are each owned by a different owner, which creates a very heterogenous landscape. The area is well known for its fruit orchards and the questionnaire answers confirm that the area is indeed suitable for trees like apricots and cherries. The answers have also shown that the agricultural production directly neighboring with the trees used to be much more varied in the past. The thesis also reviewed legislative options for the support of agroforestry and suggested an improved ruleset to determine if a land-use system should be supported by subsidies for agroforestry systems.

Keywords

agroforestry systems, czech republic, trees outside forests, temperate agroforestry, czechia

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 22. 4. 2016

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Vedoucí: doc. Ing. Bohdan Lojka, Ph.D.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta tropického zemědělství

Magisterský studijní program / obor:
Tropické zemědělství / Tropical Crop Management and Ecology