Silvopasture in the USA: A systematic review of natural resource professional and producer-reported benefits, challenges, and management activities

Smith, Mike; Bentrup, Gary; Kellerman, Todd; MacFarland, Katherine; Straight, Richard; Ameyaw, Lord; Stein, Susan

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2021.107818

Cited by 35 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Additionally, this study characterizes the adoption of silvopasture as a complete land conversion from conventional grazing to silvopasture. Yet, this differs in practice as Smith et al (2022) found that 96% of the producers who implemented silvopasture in the USA reported using a combination of both open and reforested pastures. Perhaps the share of unwilling respondents towards silvopasture adoption and the compensation claims may have been found lower if farmers had the choice of the amount of land to convert.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the need for agroforestry systems in agriculture has grown more urgent in recent years, an increasing amount of literature has focused on farmers' perception of such systems, silvopasture included (e.g., Calle et al 2009;Gregory et al 2012;Jerneck and Olsson 2013;Meijer et al 2015;Smith et al 2022). These studies acknowledge the complexity of silvopasture implementation and try to assess what determinants influence adoption.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Farmers’ willingness to adopt silvopastoral systems: investigating cattle producers’ compensation claims and attitudes using a contingent valuation approach

Opdenbosch

Hansson

2022

Agroforest Syst

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Intensive cattle production systems are currently a major contributor to CO2 emissions and biodiversity loss. Silvopastoral systems that combine foraging pastures and trees into an integrated system for raising livestock have been suggested a promising avenue to store carbon and preserve farmland biodiversity. However, investments and maintenance costs for these improvements are paid by producers, who reap few of the environmental benefits. The objective of the present study was to assess farmers’ willingness to adopt silvopastoral systems by reforesting treeless pastures, their compensation claims related to adoption, and how both are affected by their attitudes towards silvopastoral systems. This study was based on a contingent valuation approach coupled with exploratory factor analysis to obtain measures of attitudinal constructs derived from the Theory of Planned Behavior. Results indicate that 52% of respondents were willing to adopt silvopastoral systems and the mean compensation claim per year per hectare is estimated at SEK 3107.17 (308€). Adoption decision is positively correlated with attitudes towards silvopastoral systems, suggesting that decision-making is not solely driven by profit maximization through concerns related to pecuniary factors.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Farmers’ willingness to adopt silvopastoral systems: investigating cattle producers’ compensation claims and attitudes using a contingent valuation approach

Opdenbosch

Hansson

2022

Agroforest Syst

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“…Heat increase is expected in the future which will affect animal pregnancy rates, weight, milk production, and overall animal health (Smith et al, 2022). The shade provided by trees, specifically in silvopastoral systems, can ease some of the issues that will be encountered in the future (Smith et al, 2022).…”

Section: Microclimatementioning

confidence: 99%

A review of agroforestry, precision agriculture, and precision livestock farming—The case for a data-driven agroforestry strategy

et al. 2022

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Agroforestry can be defined as an agroecosystem whereby soil is used holistically and synergistically by various stakeholders including farmers, livestock, and plants. As such, agroforestry offers numerous benefits that include conservation of biodiversity, regulation of pests and diseases, increased quality of soil, air and water, efficient cycling of nutrients, and resilience to climate change. Review of published studies in agroforestry shows however that research in this area could benefit from increased real-time, spatial and temporal measurements. This situation is to be contrasted with that of precision agriculture in monocultures and precision livestock farming where progress made in sensor systems has attracted considerable research interest. It is advocated in this review article that wireless sensor networks could also significantly impact agroforestry through the monitoring of the local real-time interactions that occur between the various components constituting agroforestry systems. This review article proposes therefore the new field of data-driven agroforestry which lies at the intersection of precision agriculture, precision livestock farming, permaculture, and agroforestry. Data-driven agroforestry has the potential to not only help farmers harness the interactions between the different components of an agroforestry system to their advantage but also shine light on fundamental interactions between soil, plants, trees, and livestock while offering a sustainable agricultural method beneficial to all agroforestry stakeholders.

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“…Regardless of the opportunities and economic and environmental benefits, the adoption of these systems has been slow in the past [17]. Limited knowledge of these systems, site-specific management requirements, and their economic potential have been constraints to the adoption of silvopasture practices [18]. The understanding of the dynamics between shade and animal behavior/productivity is limited.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hair Cortisol as a Measure of Chronic Stress in Ewes Grazing Either Hardwood Silvopastures or Open Pastures

2022

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Hair cortisol is a relatively non-invasive and reliable measure of chronic stress, but it has received limited use, especially in pasture systems. A two-year study was carried out to compare behavioral and physiological (intravaginal temperature, hair, and blood cortisol) responses of ewes (Ovis aries) that grazed black walnut (Juglans nigra) silvopasture (BSP), honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) silvopasture (HSP), or open pastures (OP) treatments. Ewe weights and intravaginal temperatures were recorded once for every 4-week interval. Plasma and hair cortisol concentrations were determined by ELISA. Trail cameras detected animal behavior. Ewe average daily gain was greater in HSP compared with OP (p = 0.0456) but did not differ with BSP (p = 0.4686) across both years. Ewes on OP had higher (p < 0.0001) hair cortisol concentrations than ewes on silvopasture treatments both summers. Ewes on OP had ≥ 0.4 °C higher (p ≤ 0.03) intravaginal temperatures during portions of the afternoon than ewes managed in silvopasture treatments. Ewes on OP spent 500–700% more (p < 0.0001) time standing and 125–150% less (p < 0.0001) time lying down compared with ewes on silvopasture treatments. Hair cortisol measures could be an effective and relatively non-invasive technique for determining long-term chronic stress in grazing animals.

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Silvopasture in the USA: A systematic review of natural resource professional and producer-reported benefits, challenges, and management activities

Cited by 35 publications

References 75 publications

Farmers’ willingness to adopt silvopastoral systems: investigating cattle producers’ compensation claims and attitudes using a contingent valuation approach

Farmers’ willingness to adopt silvopastoral systems: investigating cattle producers’ compensation claims and attitudes using a contingent valuation approach

A review of agroforestry, precision agriculture, and precision livestock farming—The case for a data-driven agroforestry strategy

Hair Cortisol as a Measure of Chronic Stress in Ewes Grazing Either Hardwood Silvopastures or Open Pastures

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