Agroforestry for forage production could be a promising solution to provide additional leaf tree-based forage, especially during summer, when risks of drought-induced decrease in forage production are the highest. Indeed, many tree species can be more resistant to drought than herbaceous species and leaves of specific fodder tree species can have excellent digestibility and nutritional value for livestock. The AgroForageTree project aims at evaluating the potential of fodder tree hedgerows to provide supplementary tree-based forage in summer and is organized according to five main objectives:

1. Monitoring the survival and annual growth of five selected fodder tree species in different permanent grassland sites across an altitudinal and climatic gradient,
2. Determining leaf production and nutritive value of the fodder tree species and their variation along the growing season across a climatic gradient,
3. Assessing the palatability and selection for the fodder tree species by different livestock categories,
4. Evaluating the profitability of forage hedgerows compared to pure grassland systems at plot and farm level.