Nrem/La 468X / 568X Fall 2003

FOR460/560

AGROFORESTRY MANAGEMENT PLAN

Below is an overview of team project assignment for developing an agroforestry management plan for the Biechler Farm site. We will discuss as a class each of these components and the final products in more detail as we progress through the semester.

1. Objectives

Develop a management plan for the site that will incorporate diverse agroforestry practices to achieve multiple objectives related to environmental, social, and economic goals. Discuss major trade-offs in terms of both the costs and benefits involved, and compare these with the “status quo” situation (i.e., no change to current management on the site).

2. Site assessment, data collection, inventory & analysis

Collect information about the historical and current biophysical and social conditions at the site using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Identify environmentally sensitive areas and areas of high cultural or societal importance. Assess the desired future landscapes of different stakeholder groups (in this case, the landowners). Conduct an analysis at the landscape scale to understand broader issues related to access, ownership patterns, biodiversity at multiple scales, and the juxtaposition of different user groups, activities, ecosystems, and other landscape units. Review relevant literature and documents to better understand both the historical and current conditions at the site.

3. Identify and analyze alternatives for implementation of diverse agroforestry practices on the landscape

Develop multiple alternative land management plans at the conceptual level. Consider how to achieve the objectives by using your inventory & analysis of both the biophysical and social data. Include specific land management (agroforestry) techniques and actions. Assess the trade-offs (costs and benefits), risks, and unique constraints and opportunities of each alternative. How do these compare with a taking a “do nothing” approach, and continuing with the status quo? Are there any important externalities or issues that may affect project success and viability and which require special consideration? Assess the degree to which the different plans achieve or fail to achieve the desired environmental, economic, and social goals for the site.

1 4. Select the most appropriate agroforestry practices and develop an integrated agroforestry management plan for the site

The final management plan will include both text and graphics. Although each team’s plan will differ, they should all include the following components: 1) introduction; 2) objectives; 3) plan graphics illustrating existing conditions and the anticipated future conditions; 4) a detailed explanation of the techniques and methods for implementing the plan; 5) an analysis of the larger landscape context in which the agroforestry systems will operate, and potential effects on environmental services at multiple scales; 6) a schedule of activities, 7) a budget, 8) an economic cost-benefit trade-off analysis of both products and environmental services (compared to the status quo); 9) plan for monitoring and evaluation based on clear indicators for success; 10) expected outcomes. *Note: The plan should consider a period of ~50 years.

Evaluation Criteria

 Effective integration of diverse agroforestry components to achieve multiple benefits.  The management plan is based on sound data (social, economic, ecological) and rationale for how the proposed agroforestry practices will achieve desired goals.  The management plan demonstrates a high potential for achieving ecological sustainable while contributing to economic vitality and social well-being.

2  The plan presents a clear landscape perspective demonstrating how the functioning of the agroforestry systems will contribute to enhancing environmental services at multiple scales.  Indicators for assessing the long-term success and sustainability of the agroforestry plan are clearly outlined, along with a scheme for monitoring and evaluation.  The plan is communicated through both oral (a formal presentation) and written (a final report) means using clear language, a well- organized format, and effective supporting visuals. Prior to your first visit to the Biechler Farm (August 30), you are all required to collect the following baseline data. This info will allow you to have a reasonable feel for the farm prior to the tour and will give you the opportunity to practice your ground truthing skills. All of this information is readily available using the resources listed below – as with everything we do, guidance in data collection is available if desired. You will want to organize your baseline data in a way that will be useable in the field – e.g. Printed hardcopy of PowerPoint is a reasonable platform for color graphics and text.

FOR460/560

Lab 1: Creating Baseline Data: Biechler Farm

Prior to your first visit to the Biechler Farm (August 30), each team is required to collect the following baseline data. This info will allow you to have a reasonable feel for the farm prior to the tour and will give you the opportunity to practice your ground truthing skills. All of this information is readily available using the resources listed below – as with everything we do, guidance in data collection is available if desired. You will want to organize your baseline data in a way that will be useable in the field – e.g. Printed hardcopy of PowerPoint is a reasonable platform for color graphics and text.

Purposes:

1) Collect information available on the web to describe your site or problem. 2) To provide a systematic approach to developing baseline data for the project 3) To identify gaps in available information that may need to be filled from field reconnaissance or discussion with the client or other technical experts. 4) To familiarize teams with general physical and biological characteristics of sites before field visits are made to maximize use of time on your visits.

3 5) To provide teams with the background knowledge needed to discuss technical problems with their client. 6) To help identify potential locations and approaches for conducting field inventories to ground-truth aerial digital data. 7) To begin thinking about how the physical components (biotic and abiotic) of the site can be managed to support/fulfill land owner goals.

Action Items:

Teams with Field Based Projects

Go to one of the two web sites and download the following kinds of information (organizing all of this in PowerPoint is a good idea):

Web sites: 1) Iowa State University GIS Site http://www.gis.iastate.edu/homepage.html; 2) NRCS online soil surveys: http://soils.usda.gov/ 3) Iowa DNR Interactive Mapping Site: http://www.iowadnr.com/other/mapping.html. a) Whole project site captured as one aerial photo frame b) One frame where project site occupies ~1/4 of the frame to get an idea of the surround landscape features c) A layer that highlights infrastructure items such as roads, townships, ownerships, buildings, etc. d) A soils overlay e) A topographic map overlay f) A layer with water bodies highlighted g) If you are able to download these digitized layers in GIS even better.

Using these maps and overlays please describe the following for the site:

a) Areas – total project site, different key plant communities, large lake or pond sites, recreational areas, etc.

b) Lengths – total streams and by major orders if relevant and roads, etc.

c) # and kinds of infrastructure features, building sites, recreational areas, etc.

4 d) Develop general topographic descriptions of site – i. Number and order of relevant streams and subwatersheds ii. Variations in relief iii. General orientation of ridges and valleys and dominant aspects iv. Maximum slopes in different areas v. Widths of flood plains, streams naturally meandering or straightened, grazed or ungrazed vi. What ecoregion and physiographic region of Iowa is the project in? vii. Major soils, locations, descriptions viii. What threatened and endangered species might use the project site? ix. What potential archeological sites might be present on the project site – was this an area of active use by Native Americans? x. Major land-use – crop fields, pastures, forests (break down into plantations and different kinds of stands), prairies (break down into dry, mesic or wet) wetlands (break down into type I, II etc), etc xi. Landscape ecological descriptions of the site – what is the matrix on the property, what is the matrix of the larger region, what are the compositions of the major patches, what are the major corridors, is fragmentation a problem (look both at the project site as well as the surrounding area around the project site.