This dissertation describes a research program investigating ecological processes, appropriate management practices, and social dynamics at play in silvopasture. Specifically, we examined applications of silvopasture in oak ecosystems, which in the eastern US generally lack disturbance needed for their persistence, as well as in reforestation of open pastureland, which represents a globally important carbon sequestration strategy. We also studied knowledge exchange and land tenure as key factors for adoption of silvopasture. In Silvopasture establishment shifts plant community and soil properties in oak woodlands in the Driftless Area of the Midwest USA, we tested the influence of tree and shrub canopy thinning, forage establishment, and rotational grazing on environmental outcomes in on farm experiments in Crawford County, Wisconsin. Grazing reduced shrub cover only where initial thinning occurred and more so with native than introduced shrub species. Planting agricultural forages reduced floristic diversity but did not increase forage quality. Grazing increased soil exposure and compaction in the upper 10 cm of the soil; the former effect was moderated by canopy thinning. Impacts of grazing and vegetation management on soil microbial community composition was mixed.
Silvopasture: Integrating livestock in land restoration and reforestation
Year: 2021
