Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential contribution of silvopastoral systems and holistic planned grazing practices to carbon sequestration and biodiversity enhancement.

All prospective Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme offers were assessed for their potential impact against a range of environmental and cultural services, including carbon sequestration and biodiversity indicators. The assessment was based on a combination of expert opinion and rapid evidence reviews and is now published.

In addition, we have modelled the impact of different densities and tree species suitable for silvo-pastoral systems on carbon sequestration and a limited set of species indicators. These models have given us the capability to assess the potential impact of Environmental Land Management offers.

With over 38,000 live Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) agreements, the SFI offers a wide range of actions for the management of grassland, including herbal leys, legumes in grassland and management of grassland with very low nutrient inputs. The Sustainable Farming Incentive also includes actions for planning soil, nutrient and integrated pest management, which help farmers to choose the most appropriate practices for their farm.