Chapter 1: Defining Agroforestry

Agroforestry: Agroforestry Key Criteria

Definition and Practices Four key criteria characterize agroforestry
practices. Application of the 4 “I” criteria are
key to determine what is and what is not an
What is agroforestry?
agroforestry practice:
Agroforestry is new market opportunities. Sus-

tainable “climate-smart” agriculture. Land stew-
ardship. Habitat for wildlife. Improved air and Intentional
water quality. Diversified farm income. Increased Combinations of trees, crops, and/or livestock
wealth for rural communities. are intentionally designed, established, and/or
managed to work together and yield multiple
In simple terms, agroforestry is intensive land- products and benefits, rather than as individual
use management combining trees and/or elements which may occur together but are
shrubs with crops and/or livestock. managed separately. Agroforestry is neither
monoculture farming, nor is it a mixture of
Agroforestry practices are designed to fit monocultures.
specific niches within the farm to meet specific
landowner objectives. Intensive
Agroforestry practices are created and inten-
Agroforestry practices help landowners to sively managed to maintain their productive
diversify products, markets, and farm income; and protective functions, and often involve
improve soil and water quality; and reduce cultural operations such as cultivation, fertil-
erosion, non-point source pollution and dam- ization, irrigation, pruning and thinning.
age due to flooding. The integrated practices
of agroforestry enhance land and aquatic
habitats for fish and wildlife and improve bio- Integrated
diversity while sustaining land resources for Components are structurally and functionally
generations to come. In a changing climate, combined into a single, integrated manage-
agroforestry practices can be designed and ment unit tailored to meet the objectives of the
strategically located to provide greater resil- landowner. Integration may be horizontal or
iency in agricultural landscapes so landowners vertical, above- or below-ground, simultane-
can meet production objectives when faced
with extreme weather (e.g., drought, floods).
Tree-based practices sequester significant
amounts of carbon that can help meet future
potential greenhouse gas reduction goals.

Definition of Temperate Agroforestry (USA):

Intensive land-use management that optimizes
the benefits (physical, biological, ecological,
economic, social) from biophysical interactions
created when trees and/or shrubs are deliber-
ately combined with crops and/or livestock.
Working with UMCA staff and natural resources profes-
sionals helps landowners plan and implement agroforestry
practices.

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry 9

 ous or sequential. Integration of multiple crops 1. Riparian and Upland Forest Buffers
utilizes more of the productive capacity of the Riparian forest buffers are strips of perma-
land and helps to balance economic production nent vegetation, consisting of trees, shrubs,
with resource conservation. and grasses, planted or managed between
agricultural land (usually cropland or pas-
Interactive tureland) and water bodies (rivers, streams,
Agroforestry actively manipulates and utilizes creeks, lakes, wetlands) to reduce runoff and
the interactions among components to yield non-point source pollution. Forest buffers are
multiple harvestable products, while concur- usually planted in three distinct zones near an
rently providing numerous conservation and agricultural stream for stabilizing streambanks,
ecological benefits. improving aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and
providing harvestable products. Upland buffers
with cool- or warm-season grass alone or com-
bined with shrubs and/or trees are also used to
reduce nonpoint-source pollution and prevent
gully formation in agricultural watersheds.

2. Windbreaks
Windbreak practices (shelterbelts, timberbelts,
hedgerows, and living snowfences) are planted
and managed as part of a crop or livestock
operation to enhance crop production, protect
crops and livestock, manage snow distribution,
and/or control soil erosion.

Field windbreaks are used to protect a vari-

Specialty mushrooms can be grown on logs in a forest ety of wind-sensitive row crops, forage, tree,
farming practice for additional income, as explained
by Nicola MacPherson of Ozark Forest Mushrooms at and vine crops to control soil erosion, and to
this field day. provide other benefits such as improved insect
pollination of crops and enhanced wildlife
habitat.
The five recognized agroforestry
practices Livestock windbreaks help reduce animal
• Riparian and Upland Forest Buffers stress and mortality, improve feed and water
• Windbreaks consumption, enhance weight gain and calving
• Alley Cropping success rates, and control odor. Timberbelts
• Silvopasture are managed windbreaks designed to increase
• Forest Farming the value of the forestry component.

Forest Farming Silvopasture Alley Cropping Riparian Forest Buffers Windbreaks

10 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices – 2015 Edition

 Crops or forages grown in the alleys, and nuts
Definition and Practices
from walnut, pecan and chestnut trees, pro-
Is it agroforestry?
vide annual income from the land while the
Application of the 4 “I”’s
longer-term wood crop matures. Specialty
crops (herbs, fruits, vegetables, nursery stock,
The four key criteria revisited flowers, etc.) can be grown in alleys, utilizing
Application of the 4 “I” criteria are key to deter- the microclimate created by trees, to boost
mine what is and what is not an AF practice: economic production from each acre.
• Intentional
• Intensive 4. Silvopasture
• Integrated This practice combines trees with forage (pas-
• Interactive ture or hay) and livestock production.

Silvopasture can be established by adding trees

Characteristics of Agroforestry Practices to existing pasture, or by thinning an existing
forest stand and adding (or improving) a forage
Land-use practices deliberately integrated
component. Trees are managed for high-value
into the whole farm
timber or sawlogs, and at the same time they
provide shelter for livestock, reduce heat stress
Contain complex interactions among compo-
and improve food and water consumption.
nents suited to particular environments and
In the winter, the protection of trees reduces
human needs
cold stress — therefore, animals do not lose
as much energy keeping warm and are able to
Competition and its management is critical
gain more weight.
Has two or more outputs
Forage and livestock provide short-term
income at the same time a crop of high-value
The “cycle” of an agroforestry practice is always
sawlogs is being grown, providing a greater
more than one year
overall economic return from the land.
Even the simplest agroforestry practice is more
complex, ecologically (in terms of structure and 5. Forest Farming
function) and economically than monocropping In forest farming practices, high-value specialty
crops are cultivated under the protection of a
For the landowner, often judged successful or forest overstory that has been modified and
not by the bottom line “does it pay?” managed for sustained timber production and
to provide the appropriate microclimate condi-
tions.
3. Alley Cropping
Shade-tolerant specialty crops like ginseng,
This practice combines trees planted in single
shiitake mushrooms, and decorative ferns
or multiple rows with agricultural or horti-
grown in the understory are sold for medici-
cultural crops cultivated in the wide alleys
nal/botanical, decorative/handicraft, or food
between the tree rows. High-value hardwoods
products. Overstory trees are managed to pro-
such as oak, walnut, ash, and pecan are favored
duce timber and veneer logs.
species in alley cropping practices, and can po-
tentially provide high-value lumber or veneer
A key concern in developing agroforestry
logs in the long-term.
nomenclature for the U.S. is overlap and confu-
sion with mainstream land use management

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry 11

disciplines, e.g., forestry, agriculture, and • Advancing agroforestry literacy through:
livestock production. There is a fundamental o Regional/state agroforestry
need to develop a definition and criteria that academies
would effectively distinguish practices that are o Agroforestry majors/certificates
agroforestry from those that are not. Applica- offered by universities
tion of the four criteria defining agroforestry (e.g., online Master’s Degree and
(intentional, intensive, integrative, and interac- Graduate Certificate in Agroforestry
tive) provide the key to determine what is and offered by the University of Missouri).
is not an agroforestry practice. o Certification of agroforestry
professionals (e.g., joint national
Perspectives on U.S. “certified agroforester” program
sponsored by professional forestry/
agroforestry and landowner natural resource/agricultural
adoption societies).
Although there is currently no national da-
tabase or inventory, landowner adoption Partnerships:
and application of agroforestry practices is • Bringing people together to increase
believed to be very low. A significant expan- awareness and understanding of
sion of agroforestry in the U.S. will require an agroforestry, landowner objectives, com-
increased focus on the four “P”s of adoption: munity, and watershed goals.
• Peer-to-peer learning • Multi-state/regional partnerships may
• Professionals be most effective. Examples include the
• Partnerships 1890 Agroforestry Consortium (1890 AFC),
• Programs Chesapeake Bay Agroforestry Team (CBAT),
and the Mid-American Agroforestry Work-
Specifically, it will require more: ing Group (MAAWG)
Peer-to-peer learning: • Lasting partnerships need a clear purpose
• Identifying respected landowners/pro- and tangible project(s) to keep members
ducers that have adopted and practice engaged. For example, The 1890 AFC brings
agroforestry. together the 20 1890 land-grant universi-
• Getting them connected with other pro- ties and USDA agency partners to advance
ducers who are not currently practicing agroforestry research, teaching and exten-
agroforestry. sion. CBAT is focusing on implementing the
actions in Section 4 - Agroforestry of the
• Knowledge of local customs/culture and
Chesapeake Bay Forest Restoration Strat-
employing methods/tools such as:
egy. The MAAWG sponsors networking and
Farmer meets farmer in the “back forty”
educational activities to advance regional
On-farm demonstration sites, workshops agroforestry interests. As a tangible proj-
Social media/networks ect, The MAAWG is helping to facilitate the
weeklong Agroforestry Academy.
Professionals: • Establishing agroforestry communities of
• An increased number of professionals with practices such as the Forest Farming com-
agroforestry expertise are essential to pro- munity that has been established by a team
vide the technical, educational, marketing led by Virginia Tech with USDA support.
assistance requested by landowners.

12 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices – 2015 Edition

Programs:
• USDA and other state/local programs pro-
vide vital resources that make it possible
for professionals to provide the assistance
that supports planning and establishment
of agroforestry practices.
• USDA assistance that helps advance
agroforestry adoption and practice applica-
tion includes: the Natural Resource Con-
servation Service’s Environmental Quality
Incentives and Conservation Stewardship
programs; the National Institute of Food
and Agriculture’s Renewable Resources
Extension Act and McIntire-Stennis Coop-
erative Forestry Research programs; and
the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Stewardship
and Research & Development programs.
• The 2012 Census of Agriculture (USDA
National Agricultural Statistics Service) in-
cludes the first-ever agroforestry practice
question. Simply asking the right question
might get a producer/landowner thinking
about adopting agroforestry!

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry 13

Additional Resources
In Print:
• Garrett, H.E., (ed.) 2009. North American Agroforestry: An Integrated Science and Practice.
2nd. ed. Madison, WI. American Society of Agronomy, Inc..
• Gordon, A.M. and S.M. Newman. 1997. Temperate Agroforestry Systems. CAB International, 269
p.
• Jose, S., M.A. Gold and H.E. Garrett. 2012. The Future of Temperate Agroforestry in the United
States. In: Garrity, D.P. and P.K.R. Nair (eds). Agroforestry – The Way Forward. Advances in
Agroforestry Book Series, Springer Science.
• Josiah, Scott J. 2000. Discovering Profits in Unlikely Places: Agroforestry Opportunities for Added
Income. University of Minnesota Extension. WW-07407 2000.
• Schoeneberger, M.; Bentrup, G. 2012. Branching out: agroforestry as a climate change mitigation
and adaptation tool for agriculture. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. vol. 67 no. 5. 128A-
136A.

Online:
• Association For Temperate Agroforestry: http://www.aftaweb.org/
• Beetz, A. 2011. Agroforestry: An Overview. National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service,
National Center for Appropriate Technology (ATTRA) IP155. http://www.agmrc.org/media/cms/
agrofor_A18CE08578D41.pdf
• Brant, G. 2011. +H: The Human Considerations in the Adoption of Agroforestry. Agroforestry
Note 43. USDA National Agroforestry Center, Lincoln, NE. http://nac.unl.edu/index.htm
• Chesapeake Bay Forest Restoration Strategy, including Section 4 – Agroforestry:
http://executiveorder.chesapeakebay.net/chesapeakeforestrestorationstrategy.pdf
• 1890 Agroforestry Consortium: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/nea/nre/in_focus/forests_
if_1890agro.html
• eXtension Forest Farming Community of Practice: http://www.extension.org/pages/62959/
forest-farming-community
• Green Lands/Blue Waters: http://greenlandsbluewaters.net/
• Center for Integrated Natural Resources and Agricultural Management: http://www.cinram.
umn.edu/
• Iowa State University Riparian Management Systems: http://www.buffer.forestry.iastate.edu/
• Mid-American Agroforestry Working Group:
http://www.leopold.iastate.edu/midamerican-agroforestry-working-group
• Midwest Cover Crops Council: http://www.mccc.msu.edu/
• The Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri. http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/
• USDA National Agroforestry Center: http://www.unl.edu/nac/
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2011. USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework, FY 2011-2016.
Washington, DC. 35 p. http://www.usda.gov/documents/AFStratFrame_FINAL-lr_6-3-11.pdf
• U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Secretary. 2013. USDA policy for agroforestry. De-
partmental Regulation 1073-002.
http://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/departmental-regulation-1073-002
• World Agroforestry Centre: http://www.worldagroforestry.org/

14 Training Manual for Applied Agroforestry Practices – 2015 Edition

Notes

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry 15