Pasture Production and Tree Growth in Agroforestry Systems of Northwest Spain

Agroforestry (AF) systems have been demonstrated as potentially more profitable than a combination of pure agricultural and forest plots (Dupraz et al., 1996). Although forest grazing has gained wide acceptance in the Mediterranean countries, a more recent approach has been to introduce trees to nonwooded grazing areas. The reasons to promote ‘‘trees on pastures’’ are varied and many: to maintain a fodder resource on areas where landowners would otherwise have planted forests and excluded rearing activities, to diversify farm incomes, provide shade and shelter to animals, and shift grass production into summer with the help of shade in dry climates (Dupraz and Newman, 1997).