Thinning forests or planting fields? Producer preferences for establishing silvopasture

Abstract

Silvopasture is the intentional integration of trees, forages, and livestock. Benefits of this agroforestry practice include shade for livestock, nutritious forage, and reduced wind speed in pastures, as well as ecosystem services and tree products. The literature indicate that some livestock producers are interested in silvopasture, but little is known about their establishment preferences and if they vary by demographics or operation type. This study hypothesized that producers are equally interested in planting trees in pastures (planting) and reducing forest canopy and planting forages (thinning) to establish silvopasture, and that the effects of the potential benefits of silvopasture on their preferences are similar. To test these hypotheses, 307 livestock producers in Virginia, United States of America were surveyed about whether they prefer planting or thinning. Producers also were asked about the extent to which potential benefits of silvopasture affect their preferences. Nearly 25% of the 139 respondents (response rate = 45%) were 'very interested' in thinning, compared to 8% for planting. Animal performance and welfare was their primary goal, but forest management and wholefarm productivity also were important. Guidelines are needed for maintaining stand health and productivity when thinning and for improving tree protection and growth in pastures when planting to establish silvopasture.

Carbon Stock Assessment in Silvopastoral Systems along an Elevational Gradient: A Study from Cattle Producers in the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve, Ecuadorian Amazon

“…Aboveground biomass was calculated for each plot using allometric equations developed by [25] for wet tropical forest: AGB = ∑ ρ exp(−1.499 + 2.148 ln(DBH) + 0.207(ln DBH)) 2 − 0.0281(ln(DBH)) 3 ). (2) where AGB stands for aboveground biomass in kg dry mass, ρ is wood specific gravity in g/cm 3 , and DBH is diameter at breast height in centimeters and include all trees having DBH 1.30 ≥ 10 cm. Wood specific gravity data for each species were based on [26].…”

“…Currently, silvopastoral systems (SPS) are the subject of multiple economic and conservation initiatives aimed at increasing the percentage of forest cover globally [1][2][3]. This interest is associated with the fact that SPS contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction [4].…”

Agroforestry for sustainable production and resilient landscapes

“…On another study, Wilkens et al (2021b) explored producers' interest to establish a silvopasture by planting trees in pasture and assessed tree and pasture performance in Virginia, USA. The study provided guidelines that maintain stand health and productivity when thinning trees to establish silvopasture and improve tree protection and growth in pastures when plantings are needed.…”

Continuous Living Cover: Adaptive Strategies for Putting Regenerative Agriculture into Practice

“…Most of the social science research on silvopasture in temperate regions has focused on economic analysis, silvopasture knowledge of resource professionals, and stakeholder perceptions of benefits and costs (Shrestha et al, 2004;Frey et al, 2012;Orefice et al, 2017a;Blanco et al, 2019;Wilkens et al, 2022). Stakeholders usually perceive shade and shelter for livestock as key benefits of including trees in the grazing system.…”