plantegång

Plantegång is a Swedish term used in horticulture and forestry to describe the deliberate arrangement of planted material in rows or alleys, often with an access path between them. The word combines the Swedish elements for “plant” and “walk” or “passage,” and is applied to practices where seedlings, saplings or orchard trees are set out in linear patterns to facilitate planting, maintenance, harvesting or movement of people and equipment.

As a method, plantegång emphasizes regular spacing and clear access corridors. In orchards and shelterbelts it aids pruning, pest control and fruit collection; in forestry and reforestation it simplifies thinning, inspection and mechanized work. Planted alleys can also function as windbreaks, living fences or boundary markers, and they are compatible with various agroforestry systems that combine trees with crops or pasture.

Ecologically, well-planned plantegångs can increase structural diversity, create habitat edges, reduce soil erosion and improve microclimates for adjacent crops. Economically, they can raise labor efficiency and long-term productivity by concentrating management activities along accessible lines. The term appears in farming manuals and local place names in Swedish-speaking areas and is analogous to row planting and alley-cropping concepts used internationally. In contemporary practice, plantegång remains relevant in small-scale orchards, landscape design and sustainable land management.