Proceedings of the 4th European Agroforestry Conference, Agroforestry as Sustainable Land Use

Foreword. It is a great pleasure to share with you the excellent book of abstracts of the 4th European Agroforestry Conference carried out in the beautiful city of Nijmejen (The Netherlands) during the European Green Capital 2018. The book is plenty of extraordinary information and experiences about agroforestry practices and systems around the world including Africa, America and Europe. Silvopastoralism is the most relevant agroforestry practice shown in the book, but also silvoarable or alley cropping practices become important. Sessions and topics deal with the enhancement of productivity of both the woody perennial and the lower storey component of the agroforestry practice trying to cope with an increasing primary sector products demanded by the world, but also highlighting the importance of the ecosystem services delivery and considering the fulfillment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The importance of agroforestry as one of the best tools available to mitigate and adapt to climate change is also discussed in different papers. Biodiversity preservation and enhancement through locally adapted agroforestry practices is also tackled as well as water and soil quality and health. Social aspects and innovation promotion, needed to successfully reach the necessary transition towards an extensive use of agroforestry, are also outreached in several papers. The needed change of international, national, regional and local policies is described as a mean to provide insights to foster the transition to agroforestry practices spread. As President of EURAF, I wish you a successful 4th European Agroforestry Conference and an enjoyable reading! Rosa Mosquera-Losada, President of EURAF