Bio-economy products: alternative uses of shrubs (PA)

Shrubs are one of the two possible types of the woody perennial component of the agroforestry systems. Shrubs can be placed in arable lands constituting or as part of the hedges or hedgerows in silvoarable areas or in the middle of the plots as part of feed of the silvopasture practices. Management of the shrub hedges is time consuming but helps to reduce the effect of winds on croplands while delivering products usually biomass that can be used as fuel for heating. Some animals can also consume the shrubs during shortage periods contributing to increase the resilience of livestock farming systems. Shrubs can also be used as a source of nutrients for the soil. In Galicia, legume shrubs were traditionally sown to increase the soil fertility and after processing were used as a fertilizer. The most used legume species was Ulex europaeus with a productivity that can be over 100 Mg DM ha-1 after 8 years. The plants were harvested and used as animal bedding that enriched with their faeces and urine the quality of the shrubs, reducing the Carbon/Nitrogen relationship and therefore improving the release of nutrients when applied to arable lands.