Characteristics of temperate food forestry: a case study in Flanders, Belgium

Within the search for sustainable food production methods, a system that has recently seen a surge in attention is the temperate food forest. Research into the functioning of these complex agroforestry systems is taking off, yet the variety in systems referred to as food forests has not been thoroughly explored. We therefore used site surveys and interviews to gain insight in biophysical (age, size, soil, spatial context, previous land use and a special focus on vegetation) and management characteristics of 23 projects in the food forest movement in Flanders, Belgium. The projects differed substantially in almost every aspect, but we also discerned shared characteristics that largely correspond to how temperate food forests are commonly described and distinguish them from other food production systems in the region: the food forests harboured a high plant diversity and structural complexity and were managed with minimal external inputs and a focus on natural processes for the system's functioning. They were typically managed for the provisioning of multiple services in often complex organisational constructions with diversified business models, but most managers were not dependent on the food forest for their livelihoods. Managers focused more on realising food forests' environmental and socio-cultural functions than food production, and temperate food forests' role in a transition to sustainable food systems will depend on how issues outlined with respect to their food production and biodiversity function will be handled in the future.