Agroforestry has been playing traditionally an important role in Austria. Especially so called Streuobstwiesen (a type of meadow orchard) were widely spread in pre-alpine areas. They mostly represent a loose combination of apple/pear trees with grassland for ruminants.

The arable areas of the East and North of Austria also were shaped by hedges, ditches and often fields included randomly spread groups of trees.

Like in most European countries Austria witnessed an agricultural intensification during the post World War 2 era. Technological advances allowed for economies of scale which in return asked for simpler field structures. This lead to land reforms, which cleared plots from disturbing structures and obstacles. Those reforms were sometimes accompanied with the establishment of shelter belts, but mostly lead to cleared landscapes.

Today farmers, researchers and advisers increasingly discover the value added by the presence of wooden structures for agriculture. Although there are few farmers who actively get engaged in the development of agroforestry systems in Austria, there are many who include trees and shrubs to some certain extend in their way of farming.

Most modern agroforestry systems are silvoarable alley crop systems consisting of quality wood or short rotation coppice production. Apart from that you also can also find sometimes combinations of trees/shrubs with free range poultry.