Opportunities for agroforestry in Finland.

• Main Authors: den Herder, M., Vanhanen, H., Karvinen, P., Matila, A., Mattila, I., Nuutinen, S., .Ryhänen, Siikavirta, K., Westerstråhle, Verdonckt, Muñiz Alonso
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: 2018
• Subjects: reindeer; non-wood forest products; wood pastures; grazing; innovation; hops; Anttila; Uusitalo; Fennoscandia; Northern Finland; reindeer husbandry
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/2607586; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.2607586

Although agroforestry is not very often associated to northern European climatic zones, agroforestry has a long tradition in Finland (Uusitalo & Peltola 2015). The most well-known examples of agroforestry practices in northern Fennoscandia are reindeer husbandry and the collection of non-wood forest products such as berries, mushrooms and wild herbs. Even though the climate in Finland is harsh, there would also be opportunities for vegetable production, although this is much less common. The purity of agricultural products in Finland is considered a main advantage. Due to the harsh climate, pests rarely reduce the quality of vegetables, which decreases the use of pesticides and opens opportunities for organic production (Anttila 2012, European Food Safety Authority 2013). In northern Finland, vegetable production has been decreasing and currently there is very little production of vegetables grown in outdoor conditions. Supply is far from covering the demand, especially since locally grown-food ideology has grown in recent years (Räty & Kajalo 2015). Therefore, studying and developing short and local food supply chains would provide opportunities for agroforestry in Finland in the future.