Tag: Agroforestry

Shifting to a Bioeconomy

by Jesse Brewer, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Forests and trees have always been crucial to people’s food security, nutrition, and culinary cultural identity. With a steadily growing world population, one of the most significant challenges of the 21st century will be increasing food production while maintaining worldwide forest health and biodiversity. “I have come to realize that we, forest management experts, don’t…  More 

Southern Silvopasture

by Megan Bequette, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Viewed over the span of human history, the current separation of agriculture and forested lands is a recent construct. However, integrating forestry and agricultural practices offers opportunities for benefits. Combining forests and pastures, for example, allows trees and livestock to be raised for profit on the same plot of land, and the trees offer shade…  More 

Agroforestry Strategies for Landowners

by Patty Matteson, SRS Public Affairs  • 
When most people think of livestock and farming, they envision rolling, open fields with cows grazing on green grass. Add trees to that picture, and you have silvopasture — an agroforestry practice that combines livestock and forest management. Chris Fields-Johnson uses agroforestry on his 300-acre loblolly pine forest in Scottsville, VA. He had planned to…  More 

Growing American Ginseng on Forestland

by Zoe Hoyle, SRS Science Communications  • 
Science You Can Use Planting alternative crops such as American ginseng is increasingly popular among forest landowners. Ginseng, a native medicinal herb prized throughout the world, can be deliberately cultivated under a forest canopy. As landowners in the southeastern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States become more aware of possible income opportunities from American…  More