Management
One of the most unique aspects of Syntropic agroforestry is the manner in which the eco-system/plantation is being managed. On this page you can find more information about the goals and techniques of management in Syntropic agroforestry.
Management goals
The foremost goal of all management interventions is to optimize life processes.
The management therefor mostly revolves around the following aspects:
​
Selective weeding (removing senescent plants)
&
Pruning (to reinvigorate and structure plants)
​
In the following paragraphs there is more information about both of these practices.
Selective weeding
Selective weeding in the format applied in Syntropic farming is a technique that was developed by Ernst Götsch during the early years of working on his farm. The idea is to cut plants at their base (leaving the root system in the soil) that have completed their eco-physiological function at the moment where they are about to begin entering senescence. In this manner the following plant that that is in the plant consortium will be able to follow up and fill the space prepared by the plant that was just removed. This is a very basic description of the concept and for this reason we give the website visitor the opportunity to study this concept better in the attached document.
Pruning of plants
Anybody that has become interested in Syntropic agroforestry will have come to understand that pruning is one of the most central and unique aspects about the management of forest eco-systems that this form of agriculture encompasses. The goals of pruning can be various and it depends on the species, as well as the stage in succession that it is, how it will be pruned. Generally Ernst is heard saying that pruning is a dialogue between the plant consortium established on the site and the individual pruning. Structural pruning is a form of pruning that is mostly applied to young plants so that they develop a shape that is compatible with the plants eco-physiological function and it's future integration in the eco-system that it is growing within. ​Fructification pruning is a form of pruning that is applied to fruit trees in order to focus them on the development of healthy and sizable fruits.​Rejuvenation pruning is a more radical form of apical pruning. During the pruning the top of the plants is completely removed and all lateral branches are pruned proportionally to the apical cut made to the top of the plant. If done correctly this will result in a strong vegetative regrowth of the plant that is beneficial to all plants within the radius of influence of the pruned one. During this form of pruning about 70-90% of the foliar mass of a tree will be removed causing increased entry of light in to the lower strata. ​The pruning of plants is the method of how we manage and catalyze the natural succession of species in Syntropic Agroforestry. Through pruning we seek to optimize a number of dynamics that exist within the ecosystem such as shade/light dynamics, increase growth rates, and improve fruit production. During the pruning the goal is to bring each plant into its ideal strata and create a proportion of stratification as the one described on the stratification page. ​
Three year old agroforest after winter pruning
Misconceptions about pruning in Syntropic Agroforestry
There exist some misconceptions about pruning in Syntropic farming to which this section is dedicated. The main one is that trees are pruned just to get organic material to cover the soil. While the organic matter coming from pruning is certainly important, and should always be invested well to cover and protect the soil where most needed, this is never the primary objective. The main objective is always to optimize ecological processes, synchronize the plants in their development with each other, create structural harmony within the individual plants, and structurally harmonize all plants with the neighboring plants.
​
We therefore do not call any plants biomass plants or biomass trees but rather mother trees, since they are raising all the others and creating the right conditions for them to grow.