Innovative agroforestry designs : Ecobuffers
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The predominance of large scale agriculture on the Canadian prairies and the introduction of precision farming technology has led to a noticeable reduction in habitat of marginal lands adjacent to agricultural fields. Removal of existing shelterbelts and a reduction in the number of new shelterbelt plantings is also partially a product of increased field and farm implement size. While improved land management techniques such as zero tillage can help mitigate the negative impact of the loss of shelterbelts, the positive functionality of agroforestry systems cannot be adequately replaced by monocultural farming practices. It is therefore important to target research and development on new agroforestry designs that will fit into modern farming practices. The AAFC Agroforestry Development Centre is conducting research and development on new multi-functional tree planting designs, particularly along field boundaries and riparian zones. The function of the new designs is for multiple purposes including enhancing biodiversity and water quality, conserving soil, biomass production, sequestering carbon and providing economic returns. Three alternative planting designs are being evaluated and demonstrated for their ability to be successfully integrated into current farming systems; ecological buffers (ECOBUFFERS), forest belts and willow buffers. Ecobuffers are a narrow, densely mixed shelterbelt that use native species to mimic natural hedgerows in design and function. Forest Belts are multi species in design, based on traditional plant spacings and willow buffers consist of multiple linear rows of willow cuttings planted in a dense arrangement along riparian areas acting as effective interceptors of nutrients and a source of renewable on farm bio-energy. Only ecobuffers will be addressed in this paper.