The results of the landmark International Scientific and Practical Conference "Forest Restoration and Agroforestry in Ukraine: Origins, Current Status and Prospects in the Anthropocene", which was held on November 7-9, 2019 in National University of Live and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine (Kyiv) received wide publicity in Ukraine. During the conference, the management of Malyn Forestry College, located in the northern part of Ukraine, was interested in the report "Prospects of Agroforestry development in Ukraine." They immediately decided to establish various agroforestry plantations at the Research Farm of College. A plot of 12.72 ha was set aside for planting walnuts and lavender (Fig. 1) according to the planting scheme (Fig. 2).
Fig. 1. Planting walnuts (Juglans regia L.) and black walnuts (Juglans nigra)
Fig. 2. Scheme of planting Walnut (Juglans regia L.) and Lavender (Lavandula L.)
The second object on the area of 8.46 hectares was planned to create a hazel plantation with hazelnuts (Corylus colurna L.) or hazel (Corylus avellana L.) and an additional crop - perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) (Figs. 3 and 4).
Fig. 3. A field area for growing hazelnuts
Fig. 4. The scheme of planting Corylus colurna L. and Corylus avellana L.
The down areas are set aside for energy poplar plantations (Fig. 5) with sowing between the backstage of cereals: rye, buckwheat, legumes.
Fig. 5. Cereals between poplar coulisse
Poplar plantations from various Ijzer-5 cultivars have already been established in such areas; Dorskamp; Rochester; Serotina; Tardif de Champagne and others. (Fig. 6). But these were plantations without grain crops.
Fig. 6. Annual plantations of different cultivars of poplar
It was also decided to reconstruct the existing young apple orchard with the introduction of chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) or (Viburnum vulgaris), as well as additional crops – cereals: first year - rye, second year - buckwheat, third year – legumes (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7. The director of the college Igor Ivanyuk (left) discusses with colleagues the plan for the reconstruction of the orchard.
Work began in the spring, although quarantine has already been introduced in Ukraine (Fig. 8). Walnuts, black walnuts and hazelnuts were planted.
Fig. 8. Planting hazel seedlings
The management of the college and NULES of Ukraine also applied for the competition of the joint Ukrainian-Czech research project for 2021-2022. The purpose of the competition is to promote the establishment and development of high-quality scientific and technological cooperation between scientists of Ukraine and the Czech Republic. Scientists of the Department of Forest Restoration and Agroforestry together with Czech colleagues prepared a tender proposal on the scientific topic "Optimize agroforestry systems in the context of food, environmental and energy safity of Ukraine and the Czech Republic." On the Czech side, the project leader is a well-known scientist in the field of agroforestry, head of the Department of Crop Production and Agroforestry of the Czech University of Life Sciences Bohdan Lozka.
In addition to the staff of this university, the project involved Jakub Huska - Head of the Department of Landscape Ecology, Research Institute of Landscape and Ornamental Horticulture Silva Taruka, who studies the environmental aspects of agroforestry systems. Scientists of our department - Vasyl Yukhnovskyi (project manager from the Ukrainian side), Anna Lobchenko, Yuriy Ivanenko got acquainted with his developments during the FOREST EUROPE Workshop "Understanding the contribution of Agroforestry to landscape resilience in Europe", which took place in Budapest (Hungary) 9 -October 10, 2018.
The implementation of the project will strengthen cooperation and ties between the teams of NULES scientists of Ukraine and the Czech University of Life Sciences, and the implementation of developments in the field of agroforestry will increase the environmental, food and energy security of both countries.
Thus, agroforesters of Ukraine received another agroforestry facility, which will become a key object in the area of Ukrainian Polissya (northern part of Ukraine) for the study of different types of agroforestry systems.
V. Yukhnovskyi, Head of Ukrainian Agroforestry Association
