Agroforestry in the Italian Agricultural and Climate Plans

Agroforestry in Italy is defined as a land-use system combining tree cover, crops and agricultural and livestock production, with up to 250 plants per hectare. The Strategic Plan for the Italian CAP provides for support for agroforestry, including payments for ecosystems and rural development, without reducing the area eligible for basic payments. However, SII data are not available on INSPIRE, and the current tree cover is well below the target figure (73,568 hectares). There are extensive ‘tree deserts’ with low tree density, particularly in areas with poor soils and high environmental pressure. The implementation of the planned measures, such as BCA-8 for hedgerows, remains incomplete.