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The re-integration of native woody vegetation within agricultural areas has the potential to support multifunctional productive landscapes that enhance livestock welfare and restore habitat for native wildlife. As there is minimal research on this issue in Aotearoa New Zealand, this study aimed to identify species of native woody vegetation and propose spatial configurations and site designs to increase multifunctionality on a case study site. The three components of a multifunctional agricultural landscape focused on in this study were (1) enhancing foraging opportunities for livestock, (2) optimizing shade and shelter, and (3) establishing native bush bird habitat. During the first phase, sixty-three suitable species were identified and assigned scores based on the primary objectives and site constraints. This produced four optimized plant lists, one each for the three multifunctional components identified above and one combined multifunctional list incorporating those scores with additional environment and soil scores. The second phase used design thinking methodology to strategically locate these plants within an established case study site. Nine different planting configurations (three for each multifunctional component) were proposed and then, informed by site-specific opportunities and constraints, located on the case study site to produce three individual site designs. Finally, these three site designs were combined to propose an exemplar of a multifunctional agricultural landscape. The results indicate that reintegrating native woody vegetation has the potential to contribute toward multifunctional agricultural landscapes, proposing species and spatial layouts from which further investigation into livestock foraging, increased shade and shelter, and restoration of bush bird habitat can follow. This research advances sustainable land management practices by offering valuable insights into future agricultural landscape design.

SignificanceEstimates of nutrient allocation in different plant tissues and the relationships between the nutrient contents and photosynthetic capacity are critical to predicting ecosystem carbon sequestration under global change. Here, we provide an assessment of large-scale patterns of community-level nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in different plant tissues and then examine how nutrient allocations are coupled with plant productivity. The results show that nutrient concentrations in leaves are less responsive to abiotic environments than those in woody stems and roots (stable leaf nutrient concentration hypothesis); the relationships between vegetation primary productivity and leaf nutrient contents are stronger when less nutrients are allocated to the woody tissues (productivity–nutrient allocation hypothesis) and are stronger in deciduous than in evergreen vegetation (productivity–leaf lifespan hypothesis).

Eight willow (Salix) clones (Inger, Klara, Linnea, Resolution, Stina, Terra Nova, Tora, Tordis) were planted on two soil types in Denmark. The biomass quality was evaluated after 3 years of growth by measuring differences in concentrations of 14 elements associated with ash behavior during combustion, and total ash content. Three-year-old shoots of Tordis and Tora performed in general the best with relatively lower mean concentrations of K, Ca, Na, S, and total ash content than other clones across the two experimental sites. Terra Nova was the least suited for combustion as it contained up to 22, 27, 35, and 23 % higher concentrations of K, S, Ca, and total ash than the other clones. In addition to clone and site, appropriate management could further improve the fuel quality of willow biomass. When shoots of Inger were harvested annually (1-year shoots) high concentrations of K and Cl were found in all three consecutive harvests, but concentrations decreased significantly when rotation length was extended beyond 1 year of growth. Significant decreases of Mg, Na, P, S, and Zn were also registered from 2- to 3-year-old shoots. No difference in quality of biomass was found between two plant densities (8000 and 12,000 trees ha−1) of the clones Inger and Tora after the first 3-year rotation when grown at the site with a coarse sandy soil. The study indicates considerable diversity in concentration of elements within commercially available willow cultivars and suggests breeders and growers to select clones not only according to biomass yield potential but also according to biomass quality.

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