Agroforestry sequesters 1.22 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year

Seven agroecological practices tested, seven that increase carbon sequestration: that is the central finding of a study published in 2024 by Jessica Villat and Kimberly Nicholas in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.

Agroforestry — the integration of trees and crops on the same plot — records the highest rate: 1.22 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year on average. Silvopasture (animals and trees together on wooded pasture) reaches 2.05 t C/ha/yr, though this figure rests on fewer data points.

These results challenge the dominant model. Large-scale intensive monocultures erode soils and release carbon accumulated over centuries. Agroforestry builds organic matter over the long term — whilst maintaining agricultural yields.

This is not a nostalgic return to pre-industrial farming. Farms in Burgundy, Normandy and Brittany are integrating hedgerows, intercropped orchards and tree alleys between their cultivation rows. The benefits are multiple: shade for livestock, water regulation, attracted pollinators, restored biodiversity.

Carbon sequestration through agroforestry is not a single solution to climate disruption — emissions must fall at source. But for farmers in transition, it is a path that reconciles profitability, resilience and soil restoration.

Source: Villat & Nicholas, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2024

Further reading: Regenerative Agriculture: What the Data Proves (and What It Doesn’t yet)