Economic Insights into Agroforestry: Establishment and Maintenance Costs from Demonstration Sites in Bavaria/Germany.

Highlights

• Agroforestry demonstration sites were set up within the project Applied Agroforestry in Bavaria on 6 partner farms.
• Main findings: detailed cost data on establishing 2 agroforestry system (AFS) types - silvoarable short rotation coppices (SRC) and timber combined with SRC.
• Combination of high-value timber and SRC is intended to emulate forest-like light and shade dynamics within tree rows.

Introduction
ApAg – AppliedAgroforestry is a research project aimed at establishing AFS demonstration sites onagricultural land in Bavaria, Germany. The project comprises six partner farms and the agroforestrydemonstration site of the UAS Weihenstephan-Triesdorf (Primbs and Schauberger 2024). A centralobjective is the systematic collection and analysis of economic indicators in order to develop bestpractice management scenarios for farmers (Diehl and Wittkopf 2025).

Case description
Particular emphasis is placed on the establishment costs of two agroforestry systems: (1.) a silvoarableSRC system at Lindenhof Klas and (2.) a combined high-value timber and SRC system at Sporrerhof Doetsch. At Lindenhof Klas, the SRC system was established on two arable fields with a total tree-row area of approximately 1 ha (see Figure 1). Eight hybrid poplar species (Populus trichocarpa × P. maximowiczii:
Bakan, Dender, Hybride 275, Marke and Skado; P. deltoides x P. nigra: Vesten, Remus; P. maximowczii x P. trichocarpa: Matrix11) were planted in varying numbers (single, double and triple) of parallel rows with 3 m of row distance. The distance of trees inside the row is 1,25 m.
This design enables future analyses of species-specific growth responses in relation to row configuration. The research focuses on crown projection area development, the suitability of poplars for high-quality timber production, and species-specific biomass accumulation. Initial biomass growth data have already been collected and will be presented.
At Sporrerhof Doetsch, a combined high-value timber and SRC system was established on a windexposed hilltop site with the primary objective of providing wind protection (see Figure 2). Native shrubs and pruning-tolerant trees (Cornus mas, Corylus avellana, Elaeagnus angustifolia, Tilia cordata, Salix purpurea, S. caprea, Viburnum lantana, V. opulus, Sambucus racemosa) were integrated alongside hybrid-poplars (Populus.deltoides x Populus nigra “Vesten”, Populus trichocarpa x Populus maximowiczii “Skado”, Populus trichocarpa × P. maximowiczii ”Bakan”, Populus maximowiczii × P. trichocarpa “Hybride 275”) to enhance biodiversity and maintain wind shelter during poplar harvest cycles. A central row of high-value timber trees was included to further diversify production (Corylus colurna, Sorbus domestica, Quercus petraea, Acer platanoides, Tilia tomentosa, Prunus avium, Carya ovata, Castanea sativa), while high-yielding fruit shrubs were planted to enable early economic returns (C. avellana, Amelanchier alnifolia, C. mas, Sambucus nigra, Sorbus aucuparia).
The spatial design aims to emulate forest-like light and shade dynamics. Future analyses will address how the system design influences maintenance requirements across eight timber tree species. During the establishment, different planting techniques (planting machine, spade, auger “Pflanzfuchs”, auger “DrillFast”) were applied to compare their practical feasibility and economic efficiency. The results of an amortisation analysis will be presented.

These initial findings provide important insights into the economic and practical dimensions of agroforestry implementation in Bavaria and contribute to evidence-based recommendations for agricultural practice.