Syntropic farming, syntropic agriculture or syntropic agroforestry is an organic, permacultureagroforestry system developed by Ernst Götsch in Brazil.[1][2] Sometimes this system is referred to as a successional agroforestry systems or SAFS, which sometimes refer to a broader concept originating in Latin America.[3] The system focuses on replicating natural systems of accumulation of nutrients in ecosystems, replicating secondary succession, in order to create productive forest ecosystems that produce food, ecosystem services and other forest products.[4]
The system relies heavily on several processes:
Dense planting mixing perennial and annual crops
Rapid cutting and composting of fast growing pioneer species, to accumulate nutrients and biomass[5]
A temperate Syntropic system in Dordogne France, including heavily mulched Sunflower plants.Creating greater water retention on the land through improving penetration of water into soil and plant water cycling
The systems were first developed in tropical Brazil, but many similar systems have been tested in temperate environments as soil and ecosystem restoration tactics.[6]
The framework for the syntropic agroforestry is advocated for by Agenda Gotsch an organization built to promote the systems.[7]
