Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency in U.S
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United States Department of Agriculture Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency in U.S. Agricultural Landscapes Under Changing Conditions Forest Service Gen. Tech. Report WO-96 November 2017 Michele M. Schoeneberger is Research Program Lead and soil scientist (retired), U.S. Department of Agricul ture, Forest Service, USDA National Agroforestry Center; Gary Bentrup is a research landscape planner, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, USDA National Agroforestry Center; Toral Patel-Weynand is the Director of Sustainable Forest Management Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Research and Development. 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Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 202509410; (2) fax: (202) 6907442; or (3) email: [email protected]. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. https://doi.org/10.2737/WOGTR96 United States Department of Agriculture Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency in U.S. Agricultural Landscapes Under Changing Conditions Michele M. Schoeneberger, Gary Bentrup, and Toral Patel-Weynand Editors U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Washington, DC Forest Service Gen. Tech. Report WO-96 November 2017 ii Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency in U.S. Agricultural Landscapes Under Changing Conditions Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................................ v Overview and Purpose ...................................................................................................................................... v Key Messages ................................................................................................................................................... vi Literature Cited................................................................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Cited.................................................................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 2. Reducing Threats and Enhancing Resiliency .................................................................................... 7 Adaptive Capacity of U.S. Agriculture .............................................................................................................. 7 Commodity Production ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Crop Diversity ................................................................................................................................................. 11 Soil Resources ................................................................................................................................................. 13 Water Resources .............................................................................................................................................. 15 Air Quality ....................................................................................................................................................... 19 Biodiversity ..................................................................................................................................................... 21 Adaptable Plantings ......................................................................................................................................... 25 Literature Cited................................................................................................................................................ 28 Chapter 3. Greenhouse Gas Mitigation and Accounting ................................................................................... 43 Potential Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Roles of Agroforestry .......................................................................... 44 Carbon Accounting at the Entity Level ........................................................................................................... 51 Carbon Accounting at the Regional and National Levels................................................................................ 53 Advancing Greenhouse Gas Performance and Accounting in Agroforestry Systems ..................................... 55 Literature Cited................................................................................................................................................ 58 Chapter 4. Valuation of Agroforestry Services.................................................................................................... 63 Valuation of Financial Returns to the Landowner ........................................................................................... 64 Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Externalities From Agroforestry ......................................................... 65 Risk and Uncertainty ....................................................................................................................................... 68 Summary and Conclusions .............................................................................................................................. 69 Literature Cited................................................................................................................................................ 69 Chapter 5. Human Dimensions of Agroforestry Systems .................................................................................. 73 Agroforestry Adoption Constraints and Opportunities ................................................................................... 73 Indigenous Systems as Models for Modern Resiliency .................................................................................. 78 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................................................... 84 Literature Cited................................................................................................................................................ 84 Chapter 6. Agroforestry Resources ...................................................................................................................... 91 Decision-Support Tools ................................................................................................................................... 91 Conservation Programs ................................................................................................................................... 94 Challenges and Opportunities ......................................................................................................................... 95 Literature Cited.............................................................................................................................................. 100 Agroforestry: Enhancing Resiliency in U.S. Agricultural Landscapes Under Changing Conditions iii Chapter 7. Expanding the North American Perspective— Canada ................................................................ 101 Impacts of Climate Change on Canadian Agriculture ................................................................................... 101 Agroforestry Across Canada ......................................................................................................................... 102 Overview of Existing Policies and Programs ................................................................................................ 106 Needs for Agroforestry in Canada ................................................................................................................