Aberdeen event will showcase how tree planting can boost farm resilience, tackle climate change and support the environment
Land managers, farmers, foresters, researchers, and policy makers will gather in Aberdeen for a landmark event to explore how integrating more trees into farmland could play a pivotal role in tackling climate change, improving biodiversity, and supporting resilient rural economies.
Agroforestry—the practice of integrating trees into crop or livestock systems—offers a range of benefits from improved water cycling and the enrichment of soil health to carbon sequestration and a reduction in erosion.
Trees can also provide shade and shelter for animals, act as windbreaks and create habitats for pollinators and wildlife.
The Farm Woodland Forum Annual Meeting, organised in partnership with the University of Aberdeen and The James Hutton Institute, will be held in Aberdeen for the first time in 30 years.
Themed ‘The role of agroforestry in integrated land management’, the event will highlight how trees can work alongside farming to deliver both economic and environmental benefits.
Dr Josie Geris, Reader in Hydrology at the University and lead host of the conference said: “Farmland trees have often been overlooked in traditional agricultural models, this event will shine a spotlight on their increasing importance in addressing the challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and food production.
“In addition to increasing environmental and farm resilience, well-planned tree planting can deliver wide-ranging benefits, including timber, fruit, fodder and biomass production, alongside other alternative income and energy sources.”
The conference will take place July 9–10, 2025, starting with a full day of talks and poster sessions at King’s College Conference Centre, followed by a field visit to Glensaugh Research Farm, home of the James Hutton institute’s climate-positive farming initiative where participants will explore long-term agroforestry trials and tree-based climate resilience measures in action.
Highlights include first-hand insights from farmers integrating trees into livestock and arable systems, research on the role of trees in reducing flooding, improving soil health, and enhancing biodiversity, updates on policy and payment schemes supporting farm woodland expansion and a look at decision-support tools helping farmers plan tree planting to fit their land and business goals.
Dr Julie Rostan, whose UKRI Treescapes programme funded research with colleagues at the University of Aberdeen and James Hutton Institute has looked at balancing socio-economic and environmental factors of the potential for agroforestry across Scotland, will showcase her work at the event.
She said: “The research has developed farmed based knowledge and practical tools that can help with decision making about integrating trees into farms for a more strategic approach to planting which can be tailored to individual needs whether it is improving benefits for livestock or farm ecosystem health.”
“Understanding of the importance and challenges to integrate tree planting into farmland is gaining momentum and this conference is an opportunity to hear from practitioners already seeing the benefits, as well as scientists developing the tools and knowledge to support wider adoption, and third sector organisations that facilitate this.
“Agroforestry is not about choosing between trees and food production. It’s about designing systems where both thrive.”
Glensaugh Research Farm has several areas of mature agroforestry which were planted in 1988 to explore the production benefits of integrating trees within a livestock farming system. These were planted as part of a National Network of seven UK research sites, co-ordinated by the Farm Woodland Forum (then the UK Agroforestry Forum). Three species were selected (Scots Pine, Hybrid Larch and Sycamore) and planted at a range of different densities, which allowed comparison of these differences on a range of factors including tree growth, grass production and livestock output. Findings from this have contributed significantly to advancing agroforestry research and knowledge.
The project continues to provide a living demonstration of the longer-term practicalities of agroforestry management as well as wider environmental benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation and biodiversity. Currently, several research projects associated with the farm, including the UKRI-funded ‘FARM TREE’ project in collaboration with the University of Aberdeen, which is part of the Future of UK Treescapes Programme. The ‘FARMTREE’ project concerns balancing farm and landscape-scale demands for integrating trees on agricultural land and is developing practical tools for farmers to enhance the expansion of trees on agricultural land.
Building on lessons learned from these original research plots, as well as from agroforestry studies elsewhere, Hutton researchers planted a new design of silvopastoral agroforestry in early 2024. This integrates oak, a range of other amenity trees and grazing pasture, aiming to maximise the multiple potential benefits and minimise any disbenefits from such a system.
Professor Alison Hester, who heads up the Climate-Positive Farming Initiative at Glensaugh, said, “We’re delighted to host day two of this year’s farm Woodland Forum Annual Meeting at Glensaugh. Glensaugh has been a core site for agroforestry research since the 1980s and it is wonderful to see the bourgeoning enthusiasm for greater integration of trees into farming systems with all the multiple benefits that this can bring.”