A Survey of Land Use Professionals

In the 1990s, in collaboration with North Carolina's Campbell University, SRS researchers conducted a survey of 218 southern land use professionals employed by the Cooperative Extension Service, State forestry divisions, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to explore the potential for expanding the use of agroforestry in the South. Those surveyed were asked to identify current agroforestry systems they were familiar with, state whether or not they would recommend agroforestry systems to their clients, describe what they viewed as the most likely benefits of using agroforestry systems, and list obstacles to expanding agroforestry in the South.

Almost two-thirds of the respondents indicated that they would consider recommending agroforestry to small farmers and forest landowners, a clear indicator of the potential for agroforestry in the South. Most (69 percent) of those surveyed would recommend silvopastoral systems, especially those involving cattle. The remaining respondents suggested alley tree-cropping systems, with grains and soybeans the most frequently mentioned alley crops. Softwoods were mentioned about three times more frequently than hardwoods as the tree component of the recommended agroforestry systems. Loblolly pine was the most commonly noted softwood species, with oaks and fruit trees the most frequently listed hardwood types.

The five most frequently mentioned benefits associated with agroforestry were: (1) increased economic returns; (2) diversification of outputs and incomes; (3) erosion control and soil conservation; (4) more regular income; and (5) the enhancement of ecosystem service benefits such as biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and water quantity and quality.

The five most frequently mentioned benefits associated with agroforestry were: (1) increased economic returns; (2) diversification of outputs and incomes; (3) erosion control and soil conservation; (4) more regular income; and (5) the enhancement of ecosystem service benefits such as biodiversity, wildlife habitat, and water quantity and quality.

Southern land use professionals reported that agroforestry practices have great potential for improving the productivity of marginal lands, enhancing revenue production early in rotations of both softwood and hardwood production, and as environmentally sensitive yet economically attractive alternatives for small farmers and weekend hobbyists yearning to return to their agrarian roots. However, they saw several research, training, extension, and policy constraints that would have to be overcome to realize this potential.

More Research and Training Needed

The most common reason for rejecting the agroforestry option by southern land use professionals was the high degree of uncertainty associated with what they considered an unproven land use. Expanding research and disseminating research results is one of the most pressing needs for southern agroforestry. Critical agroforestry research needs identified by the survey involved methods to improve the economic returns and reduce the costs of starting and maintaining agroforestry systems, enhance the productivity of agroforestry systems, predict and reduce damage to trees and soils by livestock and farming equipment, quantify the contributions of agroforestry to ecosystem services, and develop alternative approaches for educating the public and extension personnel about agroforestry.

In addition to research, the enhancement of agroforestry extension and training is crucial to its further expansion. Almost a third of the southern land use professionals rated the quality of agroforestry technical assistance available to landowners as "low," with an average rating of 3.5 on a scale of 1 to 7. The professionals suggested specifically that agroforestry extension should expand training of extension personnel, develop a research base and guidelines for the evaluation process, expand publicity for agroforestry options, develop demonstration sites, improve interagency cooperation, and increase the number of personnel specialized in agroforestry.

Conclusions

Our research suggests that the greatest potential for agroforestry in the South lies in its ability to improve the productivity of marginal lands, reduce soil degradation, enhance revenue production in the establishment phases of forest plantations, and diversify risks and improve economic returns for small farmers. However, a number of critical research questions need to be answered to move agroforestry forward in the South. For example, we need to know if adequate forage can be produced to maintain longterm livestock production in southern silvopastoral systems. Can tree plantation-row crop systems be profitable over several rotations? What are the conditions that will lead landowners to adopt agroforestry systems to increase the productivity of marginal cropland or to rehabilitate already degraded lands? And finally, we need a better understanding of the attributes of land use systems most desired by southern landowners-and ways to determine which agroforestry systems are most likely to produce the attributes desired while returning adequate economic returns.

For more information:
Evan Mercer at 919–549–4095 or
emercer@fs.fed.us.

Evan Mercer is a research economist with the SRS Economics of Forest Protection and Management unit located in Research Triangle Park, NC.