Regional Opportunities for Agroforestry Systems in Australia

Agroforestry can confer many benefits to Australia. To date development has been impeded by lack of clear identification of regions and particular agroforestry systems with the greatest opportunities for commercial investment and environmental outcomes. The combination of potential agroforestry systems, their products and regions is large and will be driven by the imagination of the diverse range of investors. As global wood shortages increase and new markets emerge for products such as forests for carbon off-sets, we can expect that large-scale expansion of agroforestry will become a viable possibility for Australia.

This project examined opportunities for different agroforestry systems across regions in Australia, including in relation to potential infrastructure and carbon markets. It assessed the profitability of various systems within a spatial framework and the potential impacts of new agroforestry developments on water interception and biodiversity. The resulting data base and spatial outputs provide a rich resource for ongoing assessment of agroforestry opportunities in Australia for investors.