Agroforestry, Poultry Litter, and Soil Health
Agroforestry—the intentional management of trees along with pasture or crops—could be an important avenue for farmers to sequester additional carbon and make use of land unsuited for conventional crop production. Between widely spaced trees, producers can plant forages, which means feed for livestock and shortterm income while the trees grow. Before long, the innovative farmer could harvest lumber, nuts, or fruit from those trees. It creates multiple revenue streams on one piece of land while increasing biodiversity and sustainability.
But how do you manage those trees? How are they impacting soil health? These are the questions that researchers in Fayetteville, AR seek to answer. Back in 1999, a combination of industry members, university researchers, and USDA-ARS scientists joined forces to create a longterm agroforestry site near the University of Arkansas. Now, researchers are reaping the rewards of two decades of hard work as they see how tree species and management regimes impacted soil health.