Browsing by Subject "agroforestry"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Discovering Profits in Unlikely Places: Agroforestry Opportunities for Added Income
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2000) Josiah, Scott J; Elias Morse, Debra (Senior Editor)
    This publication highlights opportunities for Midwestern farmers to introduce agroforestry practices on their farms, outlines some of the benefits associated with agroforestry, describes six different agroforestry practices, and provides a list of resources for additional information.
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    Entomological investigations in a novel agroforestry crop to the Midwestern US: Arthropod pests, their damage, distributions, and resistance factors associated with hybrid hazelnuts (Corylus americana x Corylus avellana)
    (2023-05) Shanovich, Hailey
    Hazelnuts (Corylus spp.) (Fagales: Betulaceae) are an emerging crop within the upper Midwest. New interspecific hybrid crosses between European (Corylus avellana) and American (Corylus americana) hazel species are being utilized as crops within sustainable agroecosystems. As perennial shrubs, hazels hold soil, cycle nutrients, while requiring only minimal inputs. As these plantings have developed, however, growers and researchers have noticed several insects and mites feeding on and causing damage to the plants. Over the past decade, several arthropod pests, comprising both introduced and native species, have been identified as potentially serious limitations to hazelnut production in the Upper Midwest. Depending on the arthropod pest species, however, there is either a complete lack of or extremely limited information on the species’ biology, ecology, and/or phenology. Knowledge of how these arthropod species interact with hazel plants is foundational to developing proper management. There are three major arthropod pests of concern that we have identified as economic threats to hazelnut production in the region: the hazelnut weevil (Curculio obtusus), the hazel stem borer (Agrilus pseudocoryli) and the filbert bud mite (Phytoptus avellanae). My dissertation research aims to develop pest management recommendations for the hybrid hazelnuts that will allow growers to be successful upon adopting them throughout the Upper Midwest for each of these pests individually and when considered together within an ecosystem.
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    Productivity, Carbon Sequestration, Nutrient Accumulation, And Species Interactions In Perennial Biomass Alley Cropping Systems
    (2016-02) Gamble, Joshua
    Perennial biomass production in agroforestry systems has been promoted as a strategy to increase productivity and ecosystem services from marginal agricultural lands. However, little is known about appropriate species combinations and production potential for biomass crops in agroforestry systems. Our objectives were to evaluate the potential for biomass feedstock production, nutrient uptake and accumulation, and carbon sequestration in alley cropping agroforestry systems at two Minnesota sites, and to determine how tree – crop interactions influenced productivity in these systems. Short-rotation woody crops (SRWC) were hybrid poplar (Populus maximowiczii x P. nigra ‘NM6’) and shrub willow (Salix purpurea ‘Fish Creek’). Herbaceous alley crops were switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Bosc ex Link), ‘Rush’ intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium [Host] Barkworth and Dewey cv. Rush), and an eleven species native polyculture. After four years of growth, we found that NM6 poplar alley cropping systems maximized biomass yields at Empire (13.5 Mg ha-1 yr-1) and Granada, MN (9.6 Mg ha-1 yr-1), irrespective of herbaceous crop type. NM6 poplar – intermediate wheatgrass systems showed the greatest potential for aboveground N, P, and K uptake (477, 62, and 301 kg ha-1), while NM6 poplar – prairie cordgrass systems had among the highest root biomass, and root C, N, P, and K due to extensive coarse roots. Soil carbon declined slightly over the study period, although alley system roots sequestered up to 7.0 and 6.3 Mg C ha-1 at Empire, and Granada, respectively. At Empire, above– and belowground biomass of herbaceous alley crops declined substantially with proximity to SRWC rows, as did soil water potential, soil NO3 – N, and transmittance of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). A mixed effects model with predictors for PAR and soil water potential best explained patterns in prairie cordgrass and native polyculture yield, suggesting that competition for light and water limited crop growth at this site. Our results show that after four years of production, NM6 poplar and prairie cordgrass were among the best SRWC and herbaceous crop choices for biomass production, C sequestration, and nutrient accumulation in alley cropping systems. However, competition may limit the stand longevity of herbaceous crops, which could reduce the utility of these systems for biomass production and ecosystem services over time.
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    Remote sensing-based approaches for large-scale comprehensive assessments of tree cover and windbreaks in the Great Plains region of the United States
    (2020-08) Meneguzzo, Dacia
    Trees are an important resource in the Great Plains region of the United States yet little information describing their extent and location is readily available in formats that are convenient for resource professionals and decision makers. National forest inventory and natural resource monitoring programs seldom account for these non-traditional forests in their official statistics. In addition, most satellite-derived datasets are too coarse to accurately depict small or narrow groupings of trees common in the Great Plains. As a result, there is a lack of scale-appropriate data for inventory and monitoring of these tree resources. Methods are needed to conduct large-scale comprehensive assessments of tree cover in the Great Plains. Remote sensing-based approaches offer several advantages over ground based inventories because they are often cost effective, they alleviate access issues, and they provide wall-to-wall spatial coverage. The research presented here will demonstrate that tree cover can be mapped at a statewide level using an object-based image analysis (OBIA) approach and high-resolution (i.e., 1 m) digital aerial photography from the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) as the sole data source. Initial results indicated that the OBIA method was more accurate in terms of describing the actual observed spatial pattern of tree cover and produced a more realistic output product compared to a pixel-based classification method. Next, technological improvements were made to the OBIA method to make it more robust for operational land cover mapping at a regional level. Lastly, a shape-based classification approach was developed for positively identifying various configurations of windbreaks (both single and multiple-leg) from the output land cover maps, which is an improvement over existing methods that only map single-leg windbreaks. This is important for management purposes since windbreaks provide many ecological and economic benefits on the landscape, from conserving topsoil to protecting crops, livestock, and farmsteads from the harsh effects of wind. The outcomes of this research are actual published (or in the process of) high-resolution geospatial data products that are publicly available for download. These datasets identify and provide detailed spatial information about mapped tree cover and windbreaks that can be summarized at a variety of scales, from individual farms to the state or regional level. In addition, they are valuable for many different types of research studies and on-the-ground management activities. In a region of climate extremes, the hope is that these datasets will support informed decision making for placing trees in the right place on the landscape to maximize the benefits they can provide. For example, one of the goals in this region is windbreak establishment in areas with highly erodible soils that lack trees arranged as windbreaks. These maps will assist with such planting efforts as stated by Darci Paull, a GIS technician with Kansas Forest Service, “If we know where windbreaks are, then we know where they aren’t. Combining this information with other spatial information, for example, highly erodible soils data, we can identify at-risk soils that would benefit from the protection of a windbreak.”
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    Silvopasture: Establishment and Management Principles for Minnesota
    (2017) Zamora, Diomy; Wyatt, Gary; Buttler, Megan; Ford, Maggie; Magner, Joe; Reichenbach, Mike; Burkett, Eleanor; Current, Dean; Walter, Dusty
    As an agroforestry practice, Silvopasture intentionally integrates livestock, forage production, and trees into an intensively managed system. The forage, trees, and livestock in silvopasture complement one another to increase productivity. The practice of silvopasture provides annual income from livestock (e.g., meat, dairy products) while fostering long-term economic benefits from trees including timber, fence posts, firewood, fruit, and nuts. This guidebook was created to increase awareness of silvopasture in Minnesota.