Agroforestry Research and Development in Canada: The Way Forward

Thevathasan, Naresh V.; Gordon, Andrew; Bradley, Robert L.; Cogliastro, Alain; Folkard, Percy; Grant, R. F.; Kort, J.; Liggins, Lavona; M, Njenga, Francis,; Olivier, Alain Patrick; Pharo, Chris; Powell, George; Rivest, David; Schiks, Tom; Trotter, David; Rees, Ken Van; Whalen, Joann K.; Zabek, Lisa

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-4676-3_15

Cited by 37 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Agroforestry adoption has been surprisingly low, considering the well-documented benefits [111][112][113]. Barriers have included the expense of establishment [114], landowner's lack of experience with trees [108,113], and the time and knowledge required for management [115].…”

Section: Challenges To Agroforestry Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agroforestry—The Next Step in Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture

2016

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Agriculture faces the unprecedented task of feeding a world population of 9 billion people by 2050 while simultaneously avoiding harmful environmental and social effects. One effort to meet this challenge has been organic farming, with outcomes that are generally positive. However, a number of challenges remain. Organic yields lag behind those in conventional agriculture, and greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient leaching remain somewhat problematic. In this paper, we examine current organic and conventional agriculture systems and suggest that agroforestry, which is the intentional combination of trees and shrubs with crops or livestock, could be the next step in sustainable agriculture. By implementing systems that mimic nature's functions, agroforestry has the potential to remain productive while supporting a range of ecosystem services. In this paper, we outline the common practices and products of agroforestry as well as beneficial environmental and social effects. We address barriers to agroforestry and explore potential options to alter policies and increase adoption by farmers. We conclude that agroforestry is one of the best land use strategies to contribute to food security while simultaneously limiting environmental degradation.

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Section: Challenges To Agroforestry Adoptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Agroforestry—The Next Step in Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture

2016

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“…In addition, willows have mutual symbioses with ectomycorrhiza and vesicular-arbuscular endomycorrhizae, allowing roots to increase the surface area for nutrient uptake, specifically N and P [19,[53][54][55]. It may be that the greater [P] in agroforestry beans and potatoes partially relate to willows facilitating P through tree root-crop root interactions and enhancing mycorrhizal fungal networks [16,18,20,56]. Additionally, willow roots may provide available P to soil by obtaining nutrients deeper in the soil profile [16,19,56].…”

Section: Agroforestry Sites Had More Available Phosphorusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It may be that the greater [P] in agroforestry beans and potatoes partially relate to willows facilitating P through tree root-crop root interactions and enhancing mycorrhizal fungal networks [16,18,20,56]. Additionally, willow roots may provide available P to soil by obtaining nutrients deeper in the soil profile [16,19,56]. Within the willow tree, nutrients translocate and some are released and available for nearby crops when tree roots slough-off tissue during growth or when the roots die or decay [19,21].…”

Section: Agroforestry Sites Had More Available Phosphorusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nutrient Concentrations of Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Cultivated in Subarctic Soils Managed with Intercropping and Willow (Salix spp.) Agroforestry

2017

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Abstract:To ease food insecurities in northern Canada, some remote communities started gardening initiatives to gain more access to locally grown foods. Bush beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) were assessed for N, P, K, Mg, and Ca concentrations of foliage as indicators of plant nutrition in a calcareous silty loam soil of northern Ontario James Bay lowlands. Crops were grown in sole cropping and intercropping configurations, with comparisons made between an open field and an agroforestry site enclosed with willow (Salix spp.) trees. Foliage chemical analysis of the sites revealed an abundance of Ca, adequacies for Mg and N, and deficiencies in P and K. Intercropping bean and potato did not show significant crop-crop facilitation for nutrients. The agroforestry site showed to be a superior management practice for the James Bay lowland region, specifically for P. The agroforestry site had significantly greater P for bean plant (p = 0.024) and potato foliage (p = 0.002) compared to the open site. It is suspected that the presence of willows improve plant available P to bean and potatoes by tree root-crop root interactions and microclimate enhancements.

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“…Though agroforestry is practiced across the country, there are few estimates of the total land area currently used for agroforestry or where agroforestry could be successfully implemented. Thevathasan et al (2012) estimated the linear dimension of shelterbelts across Canada (excluding British Columbia) to be 0.3 million km, one third of which occurs within Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. A more comprehensive assessment estimated the total length of shelterbelts in Saskatchewan to be 45 231 km (Amichev et al 2015), while just 991 km of spruce shelterbelts in Saskatchewan are estimated to have sequestered 50 440 Mg C over the past 80 years (Amichev et al 2016).…”

Section: Comentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While these systems are not unique to specific regions in Canada, they may be more widespread in some areas than others, depending on edaphic conditions, climate, and history. Across the Canadian prairies, common agroforestry systems include shelterbelts, hedgerows, and silvopasture Turnock, 1999, Kort et al 2014), while alley cropping is common in Eastern Canada (Thevathasan and Gordon 1997, Oelbermann et al 2004, Oelbermann et al 2006, Thevathasan et al 2012.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of agroforestry to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases in Canada: Insight from pairwise comparisons with traditional agriculture, data gaps and future research

Baah-Acheamfour

Chang

Bork

et al. 2017

The Forestry Chronicle

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Canadian agriculture is a source of greenhouse gases (GHG) and agroforestry has the potential to sequester carbon (C), and mitigate agricultural GHG emissions. Agroforestry systems are common features in Canada's agricultural landscape; however, there are limited empirical data to support implementation of agroforestry practices for GHG mitigation. This shortfall of data may be a contributing factor to the lack of policy that supports the use of agroforestry for GHG mitigation in the Canadian agricultural landscape. We reviewed published studies that compared C stocks in vegetation and soils, and/or GHG emissions in agroforestry systems to traditional agriculture across Canada, with the aims of assessing the benefit of adopting agroforestry for GHG reduction. We then identified data gaps and obstacles that could direct future research. We found that most studies reported increases in vegetation and soil organic C storage in areas with woody species compared to herbaceous crops. Agroforestry systems also reduced the emission of CH 4 and N 2 O, and increased CO 2 respiration from soil, but few studies have examined these gases. The small set of studies we reviewed demonstrated the potential of agroforestry to store terrestrial C and mitigate GHG emissions. However, additional research is required to verify this pattern across geographic regions, determine the regional potential for development of agroforestry systems, and assess the potential atmospheric GHG reduction at regional and national scales.Keywords: carbon flux, methane, mitigation, nitrous oxide, soil carbon RÉSUMÉ L'agriculture canadienne est une source de gaz à effet de serre (GES) et l'agroforesterie pourrait bien contribuer à piéger le carbone (C) et ainsi atténuer les émissions de GES d' origine agricole. L'agroforesterie fait partie intégrante du paysage agricole canadien; on trouve cependant peu de données empiriques permettant d'appuyer l'utilisation de pratiques agroforestières comme moyen d'atténuer les GES. Ce manque de données pourrait expliquer la rareté des politiques encourageant la pratique de l'agroforesterie comme moyen pour atténuer les GES sur la scène agricole canadienne. Nous avons analysé la documentation existante qui compare les stocks de carbone dans la végétation et les sols ou les émissions de GES dans les systèmes agroforestiers à ceux de l'agriculture traditionnelle au Canada en vue d' évaluer les avantages de l'agroforesterie comme moyen de réduire les GES. Nous avons ensuite déterminé les données qui manquent ainsi les autres obstacles qui pourraient faire l' objet de recherches dans l'avenir. Nous avons constaté que la plupart des études consultées rapportent un niveau plus élevé de carbone organique stocké dans la végétation et le sol sur les étendues boisées que sur celles couvertes d'herbacé. L'agroforesterie réduit aussi les émissions de CH 4 et de N 2 O et augmente le CO 2 venant de la respiration du sol même si peu d' études se sont penchées sur ces gaz. Le corpus limité d' études que nous avons consultées ...

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Agroforestry Research and Development in Canada: The Way Forward

Cited by 37 publications

References 48 publications

Agroforestry—The Next Step in Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture

Agroforestry—The Next Step in Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture

Nutrient Concentrations of Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Cultivated in Subarctic Soils Managed with Intercropping and Willow (Salix spp.) Agroforestry

The potential of agroforestry to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gases in Canada: Insight from pairwise comparisons with traditional agriculture, data gaps and future research

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