E-grāmata: North American Agroforestry

"The formal history of agroforestry in North America can be traced back to the 1930s when windbreaks were established in the U.S. Great Plains following the dust bowl. It was not until the 1970s, however, science-based agroforestry research and practice gained attention in temperate North America. Even then, the progress of agroforestry and its acceptance by practitioners, farmers and policy makers were hindered by the paucity of hard evidence to support the practice. The scientific foundation that has been laid, over the past two decades in particular, has elevated agroforestry's role as an integral component of a multifunctional working landscape in North America. Recent trends in the agriculture sector necessitate farm diversification as an essential strategy for economic competitiveness in a global market. The realization that agroforestry systems are well suited for diversifying farm income while providing environmental services and ecosystem benefits has increased receptivity on the part of some landowners"--

North American Agroforestry

Explore the many benefits of alternative land-use systems with this incisive resource

Humanity has become a victim of its own success. While we’ve managed to meet the needs—to one extent or another—of a large portion of the human population, we’ve often done so by ignoring the health of the natural environment we rely on to sustain our planet. And by deteriorating the quality of our air, water, and land, we’ve put into motion consequences we’ll be dealing with for generations.

In the newly revised Third Edition of North American Agroforestry, an expert team of researchers delivers an authoritative and insightful exploration of an alternative land-use system that exploits the positive interactions between trees and crops when they are grown together and bridges the gap between production agriculture and natural resource management.

This latest edition includes new material on urban food forests, as well as the air and soil quality benefits of agroforestry, agroforestry’s relevance in the Mexican context, and agroforestry training and education. The book also offers:

• A thorough introduction to the development of agroforestry as an integrated land use management strategy
• Comprehensive explorations of agroforestry nomenclature, concepts, and practices, as well as an agroecological foundation for temperate agroforestry
• Practical discussions of tree-crop interactions in temperate agroforestry, including in systems such as windbreak practices, silvopasture practices, and alley cropping practices
• In-depth examinations of vegetative environmental buffers for air and water quality benefits, agroforestry for wildlife habitat, agroforestry at the landscape level, and the impact of agroforestry on soil health

Perfect for environmental scientists, natural resource professionals and ecologists, North American Agroforestry will also earn a place in the libraries of students and scholars of agricultural sciences interested in the potential benefits of agroforestry.