Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry

425 Pages·2006·11.75 MB·English

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry
Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry
Practices - 2006 Edition
Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices
Produced by the University of Missouri
Center for Agroforestry
Technology Transfer and Outreach Unit
203 ABNR
Columbia, Mo 65211
www.centerforagroforestry.org
email: [email protected]
ph: [phone]
Funding for this work is via the United States Department of Agriculture National Agroforestry Center,
from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service with agreement number 68-7482-3-803Y.
Additional funding for this work is through the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry under
cooperative agreements 58-6227-1-004, 58-6227-2-008 and 58-6227-0-049 with the USDA Agricultural
Research Service. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication
are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the USDA.
2 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices
Acknowledgements
This publication is the result of the collaborative efforts of several individuals and organizations.
The University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry acknowledges the USDA National Agroforestry Center, the
Association for Temperate Agroforestry and the Small Woodlands Program of British Columbia, an initiative
designed to support management of forest resources on private land, for contributions to the text of this manual.
Portions of this material are also credited to the “Forest Landowner’s Guide to Evaluating and Choosing a Natural
RRReeesssooouuurrrccceee---BBBaaassseeeddd EEEnnnttteeerrrppprrriiissseee,,,””” pppuuubbbllliiissshhheeeddd bbbyyy ttthhheee NNNaaatttuurraall RReessoouurrccee,, AAgriculture, and Engineering Service (NRAES)
Cooperative Extension program, Ithaca, New York. NRAES is an interdisciplinary, issue-oriented program spon-
sored by cooperative extension of fourteen member land grant universities and is housed at Cornell University. For
more information, visit www.nraes.org.
View this manual online at: www.centerforagroforestry.org
Printed: January 2006
U n i v e r s i t y o f M i s s o u r i C e n t e r f o r A g r o f o r e s t r y 3
Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry
Practices: Table of Contents
User’s Guide to the Training Manual
About the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry
Section 1:
Defining Agroforestry
Section 2:
Planning for Agroforestry
Section 3:
Alley cropping
Section 4:
Silvopasture
Section 5:
Riparian forest buffers
Section 6:
Windbreaks
Section 7:
Forest farming
Section 8:
Agroforestry and Wildlife
Section 9:
Marketing Principles for Agroforestry
Section 10:
Economic Considerations for Agroforestry
Appendices:
Section 1:
• Economic Budgeting Guide
• Funding Incentives for Agroforestry
• Tax Considerations for Agroforestry
Section 2: Trees and Shrubs
Section 3: Grasses and Forages
Section 4: The Basics of Selling Timber
Section 5: Planning for Agroforestry Workbook
Section 6:
4 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices
User’s Guide to the Training Manual
Farmers and other landowners drawing suste- dience is both forest and agricultural landowners
nance from the land strive continually to pro- and resource professionals; yet, anyone interested
duce goods through methods that are economical, in establishing or managing trees for multiple
conservation-minded and socially acceptable. functions on the landscape can use the guidelines
of agroforestry to assist in achieving success.
This is not an exhaustive source of information
on agroforestry. Agroforestry is both an art and
a science. Therefore, do not assume this guide is
an exhaustive resource of agroforestry practices.
Rather, it is a tool to be used in the decision-mak-
ing process. There are countless ways for trees
to meet conservation, economic and societal
goals, and we are learning more and more each
day about effective designs that better ensure
agroforestry will meet one or more specifi c goals.
How this Guide is Organized
This manual is divided into specifi c sections
explaining agroforestry practices and manage-
ment. Section two is intended to assist you in
implementing your knowledge of agroforestry
into your operation in a step-by-step process. The
appendix contains information about the econom-
There is a very small window of opportunity
ics and taxation involved with agroforestry, as
for farming practices to meet these diverse, and
well as crop sheets for selecting the appropriate
often seemingly opposed, objectives. However,
trees, shrubs, grasses, forbs and crops for your
agroforestry practices are unique in that through
agroforestry practice. You may pull out sections
their application each objective of economy,
and use them independently as needed.
conservation of resources and social acceptance,
can be met.
Let’s Begin
From specifi c land management practices de-
Yet, as each agroforestry practice is applied to
signed to conserve limited resources to the mar-
the landscape, there will most likely be a balance
keting of specialty, noncommodity products, the
between each of the objectives. This manual will
ideas in this manual can improve the likelihood of
help explain each of the agroforestry practices
your success. We hope it is both a useful tool and
and their application. Additionally, the manual is
a source of inspiration for additional management
designed to assist in the decision process so that,
practices that utilize trees or shrubs on the farm
when established or managed, the agroforestry
for multiple benefi ts.
practice is most effective at achieving the desired
objectives.
Land management practices that integrate trees
and shrubs with agriculture can provide benefi ts to
About this manual
the farm and the surrounding landscape. We hope
This guide is designed to provide easy-to-use that the ideas and practices put forth in this man-
information about agroforestry. The intended au- ual inspire and assist in making decisions related
U n i v e r s i t y o f M i s s o u r i C e n t e r f o r A g r o f o r e s t r y 5
to managing land resources that involve trees and
shrubs. It is our desire to help farm managers and
land owners achieve long-term satisfaction from
working harmoniously with the soil, water, air,
forests and wildlife resources of this Earth.
Gene Garrett, left,
director of the Center
for Agroforestry,
and Michael Gold,
right, associate
director, speak about
the opportunities
agroforestry pro-
vides at the First
World Congress of
Agroforestry,
Orlando, Fl.
6 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices
About the University of UMCA Mission:
Missouri Center for To initiate, coordinate and enhance agroforestry
activities to meet the environmental, social and
Agroforestry (UMCA)
economic needs of land management within the
state of Missouri, North America and the temper-
Agroforestry practices help landowners diversify
ate zone worldwide.
products, markets and farm income; improve soil
and water quality; and reduce erosion, non-point
source pollution and flood damage. The integrated
practices of agroforestry enhance land and aquatic
habitats for fish and wildlife and improve biodi-
versity while sustaining land resources for genera-
tions to come.
UMCA, which was established in 1998, is one
of the world's leading centers contributing to
the science underlying agroforestry. Since 1998,
UMCA has been supported by and managed three
significant USDA-ARS programs representing
more than 50 individual projects.Eleven inter-
disciplinary cluster groups comprised of faculty
and research specialists representing forestry, Ken Hunt, UMCA post-doctoral fellow, discusses Chi-
wildlife, agronomy, animal science, horticulture, nese chestnut production at the HARC farm.
soils and agricultural economics collaborate to
provide sound science that uncovers new benefits
To accomplish our mission, UMCA:
from agroforestry practices and solves production
• Conducts, coordinates and promotes interac-
challenges.
tive research on agroforestry practices to im-
prove the productive and protective functions
Linked to the center’s solid science and research
of agricultural and forest lands.
programs are several key partnerships with land-
• Conducts, coordinates and promotes interdis-
owners, natural resource professionals, federal
ciplinary research on the social, economic and
and state agencies and non-profit organizations.
market dimensions of agroforestry.
Through these critical relationships, UMCA and
• Conducts a technology transfer program
its partners are producing an expanding list of
that increases the awareness and adoption of
positive outcomes for landowners, the natural
agroforestry practices.
environment and society as a whole.
• Conducts, coordinates and promotes interdis-
ciplinary research on the policy dimensions of
UMCA Philosophy:
agroforestry.
“A farm can be regarded as a food factory and
• Provides opportunities for formal education in
the criterion for its success is saleable products.
agroforestry through the University of Mis-
Or, it can be regarded as a place to live, and the
souri
criterion for its success is harmonious balance
• Develops and carries out a collaborative inter-
between plants, animals and people; between the
national agroforestry program in the areas of
domestic and the wild; and between utility and
instruction, research and outreach.
beauty.” - Aldo Leopold
U n i v e r s i t y o f M i s s o u r i C e n t e r f o r A g r o f o r e s t r y 7
Examples of current HARC
Research projects:
Goals for our efforts:
• To protect the environment by reducing Pitch x Loblolly Pine and Black Walnut Winter
nonpoint source pollution Forage Alley Cropping Study: This study ex-
• To create and improve natural habitats for plores the effects of row spacing on tree growth
wildlife and tree/forage interactions in an alley cropping
• To mitigate against the impacts of periodic practice. Pitch pine/loblolly pine hybrids and
fl ooding
black walnut planted in single, double and triple
• To sequester carbon for reducing the
rows are grown to examine the effects of row
impacts of greenhouse gases
confi guration on these species.
• To generate income and develop new
market opportunities for landowners and
farmers Riparian Buffer Biofi lter Livestock Trial: As-
sesses the value of riparian buffers in fi ltering ni-
The Horticulture and trates and phosphates out of runoff from adjacent
livestock grazing.
Agroforestry Research Center
(HARC)
Mushroom Trials for Forest Farming:
The Horticulture and Agroforestry Research
Researchers are evaluating morel, shiitake and
Center (HARC), located at New Franklin, Mo., is
other gourmet mushrooms for landowner produc-
the primary research site for UMCA. This 660-
acre farm opened in 1953, incorporated a major tion and profi t.
agroforestry dimension in 1993, and includes
several experimental fruit and nut orchards; forest Cottonwood Clonal Trial: This project seeks to
farming, riparian buffer and silvopasture demon- identify poplar clones that are well-adapted to the
strations; forage shade trials; greenhouses; a flood climate of the lower Midwest fl oodplain and that
tolerance laboratory; five lakes and ponds and
produce substantial wood crops for fi ber, chips or
one of Missouri's oldest brick homes, the 1819
energy over short (4-5 year) rotations. The project
Thomas Hickman House. The farm, set in the
also will provide estimates of total carbon seques-
beautiful, rolling Missouri River hills, is also the
tered by such plantations, data that will be useful
U.S. National Arboretum Midwest Plant Research
in determining potential economic returns from
and Education Test Site. Tours and educational
events are hosted regularly. carbon credit programs that may emerge.
Silvopastoral Practice: Researchers are inves-
HARC Farm Highlights:
tigating the similarities and differences in cattle
performance between traditional open grazing and
• Forest farming, riparian buffer and
silvopastoral grazing practices. Factors also being
silvopasture demonstrations
evaluated include the success of electric fences
• Forage shade trials and greenhouses
• The U.S. National Arboretum Midwest as deterrents to protect young trees from grazing
Plant Research and Education Test Site damage, and how grazing and forage production
• Premier research studies on the
affect tree growth.
development of eastern black walnut,
northern pecan and Chinese chestnut
into profitable orchard crops Pine-Straw: The purpose of this study is to evalu-
• An innovative, outdoor 12-channel flood ate pitch x loblolly hybrid pines (Pinus rigida x
tolerance research laboratory taeda) along with cold-tolerant selections of pure
• Projects for producing gourmet, high-
loblolly pine for their suitability for the produc-
value mushrooms, including morel and
tion of pine straw mulch in Missouri.
shiitake
• Location of one of Missouri's oldest
brick homes, the historic 1819 Thomas Missouri Gravel Bed for Nursery Stock: The
Hickman House
Missouri Gravel Bed (MGB) is a method, devel-
8 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices
Aerial view, 660-acre Horticulture and Agroforestry Research Center
oped at HARC, that allows planting of bare rooted Flood Tolerance: This facility provides a unique
nursery stock at any time of the year. Dormant, fi eld laboratory for studying the response of
bare rooted trees and shrubs are set into a fre- plant species to the periodic fl ooding common to
quently irrigated mixture of pea gravel and sand. mid-western fl oodplains. The laboratory has 12
Plants can be removed from the gravel at any time channels, each approximately 20-ft wide by 600-ft
during the summer and fall and fi eld planted as long. Each channel can be independently adjusted
bare root stock. The main objective of this project for water depth, standing or fl owing water, and
is to evaluate the potential of MGB to facilitate duration of fl ooding.
planting of trees and shrubs in agroforestry and
landscape plantings. Nut Tree Improvement: The tree improve-
ment program focuses on identifying and testing
Forage Shade Study: In 1994, researchers began selections of black walnut (Juglans nigra), pecan
this project by examining 27 forage species (na- (Carya illinoensis) and chestnut (Castanea mollis-
tive and exotic legumes, warm season and cool sima) for incorporation into agroforestry plant-
season grasses) for the effect of shade on dry ings. Major components of this research include
weight production and nutritional value. The goal (1) testing cultivars on various sites; (2) identify-
is to determine growth and development under ing superior rootstocks for grafting and dwarfi ng;
different shade levels when forages are grown as (3) developing improved vegetative propagation
companion crops in agroforestry practices or for techniques; and (4) creating a breeding program to
savanna and woodland restoration. develop improved selections.
Evaluating the MDC quail cover bundle
shrubs:Bare root seedlings of false indigo, wild
plum, fragrant sumac and dogwood were estab-
lished in 2001. These shrubs were chosen for their
potential to provide quality escape cover and food
for bobwhite quail. The main objective is to com-
pare their growth and development with moderate
management under fi eld conditions.
U n i v e r s i t y o f M i s s o u r i C e n t e r f o r A g r o f o r e s t r y 9
Notes
10 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices