Identifying research questions for sustainably integrating trees into the rural landscape in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

Although trees have been integrated into the rural landscape for many years, questions remain about how to conduct this integration sustainably in temperate climates. A prioritisation exercise was therefore undertaken to identify 10 key research questions to sustainably practice agroforestry in Aotearoa New Zealand. The prioritisation exercise used an established participatory methodology to capture a wide range of views and consisted of three steps. First, 57 participants were invited to submit up to 10 questions on the topic, resulting in 93 questions. Secondly, the same group of participants was invited to rank the questions based on importance in four themes: environment, biophysics, socio-cultural and economic. Thirdly, a workshop was held, during which experts identified the final 10 questions. Key questions highlight the importance of understanding what trees to use in which system, the need to integrate mātauranga Māori (indigenous knowledge) and the importance of valuing ecosystem services.