what is forestry in agriculture

Forestry contributes in myriad of ways to sustainable agricultural production and food security. The greatest contribution is through its protective environmental functions such as the maintenance and restoration of soil fertility and soil improvement, erosion control and maintenance of biodiversity. Forestry also contributes in many other ways such as through the direct production of food, provision of rural employment and income. A detailed discussion of these contributions is made below.

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Is agroforestry branch of agriculture or forestry?

Forestry is both a science and an art. It is rooted in the basic sciences of biology, chemistry and mathematics and is performed with the applied sciences of ecology, silviculture, and management. While science guides the decisions of a forester, it does not make them for him or her. Foresters must apply their knowledge in a decision-making arena where good solutions …

How do forest effect agriculture?

 · Agriculture and Forestry Information about environmental requirements relating specifically to establishments that operate timber tracts, tree farms, forest nurseries, and related activities, such as reforestation services and the gathering of gums, barks, balsam needles, maple sap, Spanish moss, and other forest products.

Does agriculture include forestry?

 · Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees or shrubs with crop and animal production. The result? A more diverse agricultural operation, boosted profits, and conservation gains. If you’re interested in agroforestry, there are five …

What is the forestry meaning?

Definition of forestry 1 : forestland. 2a : the science of developing, caring for, or cultivating forests. b : the management of growing timber.

What does forest mean in agriculture?

Forest farming is the cultivation of high-value crops under the protection of a managed tree canopy. In some parts of the world, this is called multi-story cropping and when used on a small scale in the tropics it is sometimes called home gardening.

What is forestry and why is it important?

They purify the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, prevent erosion, and act as an important buffer against climate change. Forests offer a home to much of the world’s diverse array of plants and animals and provide essential natural resources from timber and food to medicinal plants.

What is forestry example?

An example of this is forest farming, in which crops that require shade, like shiitake mushrooms, are grown in a forest environment. Alley cropping is a type of agroforestry in which an agricultural crop is grown on land adjacent to and simultaneously with a tree crop.

How are forests useful to farmers?

The combination of forest and farms also allows family farmers to collect, process and market a wider variety of products, from timber to an astonishing array of non-wood forest products such as medicinal and ornamental plants, forest fruits, mushrooms, honey, edible insects, fish, bush meat and many other crops and …

What is the main difference between forestry and farming?

Answer. Forestry deals with concept of forest which consist large trees spread vastly, while agriculture is all about edible and usable crops gown in small areas.

Why is forestry?

The maintenance of biodiversity is achieved through forestry. Forestry is extremely important for maintaining the rich diversity that nature offers. For eg, a hectare of tropical forest land can have more than 480 tree species which are vital for the proper functioning of the ecosystem.

What is the scope of forestry?

The public sector jobs includes work in zoological parks, wildlife ranges, corporate having their own plantations for timbering, wildlife research institutes, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) and its affiliated institutes, wildlife department, forest department, national parks & sanctuaries, …

How does forestry affect the environment?

Forests provide habitat for wildlife, help remove dangerous greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, reduce soil erosion, and help sustain the environment in other ways. It is important that the forests are used responsibly.

Why are forests important?

U.S. forests provide a number of important goods and services, including: habitat for wildlife. U.S. agricultural and forest production are sensitive to changes in climate, including changes in temperature and precipitation, more frequent and severe extreme weather events, and increased stress from pests and diseases.

What are the sources of nonpoint source pollution associated with forestry activities?

Sources of nonpoint source (NPS) pollution associated with forestry activities include: removal of streamside vegetation, road construction and use, timber harvesting, and. mechanical preparation for the planting of trees.

What is agroforestry?

Agroforestry combines agriculture and forestry technologies to create more integrated, diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems. Practices are focused on meeting the economic, environmental and social needs of people on their private lands.

What is Forest Service Research and Development?

Forest Service Research and Development scientists carry out basic and applied research to study the biological, physical, and social sciences related to our diverse forests and rangelands.

What is the Healthy Forests Initiative?

The Healthy Forests Initiative focuses on reducing the risk of catastrophic fire by thinning dense undergrowth and brush in priority locations that are on a collaborative basis with selected Federal, state, tribal, and local officials and communities.

What is forest farming?

Forest farming operations grow food, herbal, botanical, or decorative crops under a forest canopy that is managed to provide ideal shade levels as well as other products. Forest farming is also called multi-story cropping.

What is the purpose of agroforestry?

Agroforestry is the intentional integration of trees and shrubs into crop and animal farming systems to create environmental, economic, and social benefits. It has been practiced in the United States and around the world for centuries.

What is the agroforestry strategic framework?

The agroforestry strategic framework (PDF, 562 KB) is a roadmap for agroforestry services USDA provides to landowners through its conservation programs. As such, it plays a critical role in advancing agroforestry to enhance the nation’s economy and its agricultural landscapes, watersheds, and communities.

What is an alley crop?

Alley cropping means planting crops between rows of trees to provide income while the trees mature. The system can be designed to produce fruits, vegetables, grains, flowers, herbs, bioenergy feedstocks, and more.

What are riparian forest buffers?

Riparian forest buffers are natural or re-stablished areas along rivers and streams made up of trees, shrubs, and grasses. These buffers can help filter farm runoff while the roots stabilize the banks of streams, rivers, lakes and ponds to prevent erosion.

How does forest contribute to agriculture?

The greatest contribution is through its protective environmental functions such as the maintenance and restoration of soil fertility and soil improvement, erosion control and maintenance of biodiversity. Forestry also contributes in many other ways such as through the direct production of food, provision of rural employment and income. A detailed discussion of these contributions is made below.

How does forest contribute to food security?

Forest also contributes indirectly to household food security, through the generation of employment and income from the sale and exchange of gathered and processed forest products. According to Aju and Uwalaka (2010), a wide range of forest products which rural people gather, produce and trade in order to derive income. These products include fuel wood, dyes, rattan, fibres, fruits, nuts, leaves, mushrooms, bamboo, medicines, gums, and forest game. In many countries, forestry – based activities are a major source of off-farm employment in rural areas. According to Kilby and Liedholm (1986), small forest based gathering and processing enterprises provide one of the largest source of non-agricultural employment and income to rural people at a time when rural households have to look to non-farm employment and income for a growing share of their total livelihood. For example in Sierra Leone and Jamaica, forest – based, small – scale enterprises account for more than one – fifth and one – third of off-farm respectively, of total employment in the small-scale enterprise sector (FAO, 1985b). Kaimowitz, (2007), reported that between 15 – 30% of non – farm rural enterprises involve wood – based activities. Forest – based activities also accounts for a significant proportion of household income in many rural areas in Nigeria. A survey carried out in Imo state for instance revealed that forest and farm tree products accounted for 43% of household income among its farming communities (Aju, 1999). This income helps to supplement income from agricultural production as well as provide a relief source in times of seasonal and emergency food and cash shortages:

How does erosion affect agriculture?

Erosion whether by wind or water leads to the loss of top soil where soil nutrients are concentrated thus leading to the disruption of agricultural production and degradation of the soil. This situation can however be halted by the provision of vegetation cover. Trees conserve the soil by protecting it from rain and wind, reducing soil erosion to a minimum. The canopy of trees shelters the ground from the impact of heavy downpours. The leaves drip water on the earth, giving it time to seep underground, bringing nourishment to animal and plant live beneath the tree.

How do trees help the soil?

But continued crop production on a piece of land leads to the depletion of soil nutrients which translate into poor yield. However, maintenance of forest cover on the land helps in restoring soil fertility hence resulting to increased yield of agricultural crops. Trees improve soils by many processes the most important of which are organic matter maintenance, nitrogen fixation, nutrient recycling and augmentation of nutrient uptake. The inclusion of trees in land use systems can augment the supply of plant material to the soil, as above ground litter and pruning deposits and more importantly by the shedding of fine roots. Many tropical species of trees belong to the family of leguminosae whose roots harbor bacteria that enable nitrogen to be fixed from the atmosphere. As many as 600 different tree species (not only leguminous ones) are known to be able to fix atmospheric nitrogen. In the humid tropics for example, it has been estimated that Leucaena leucocephala fixes an annual average of 500kg of nitrogen per hectare and Casuarina littoralis 218 kg (FAO 1985a). The greatest potential contribution of fertility maintenance lies in the capacity of root system from trees to recycle plant nutrients that would otherwise be lost in leaching. Due to their sheer size, trees have a major role to play in the cycle by which nutrients pass from the soil through plants and back to the soil. The slow removal of nutrients through leaching by rainwater is compensated by the steady release of minerals through the weathering of the underlying rock. Tree roots reach far down, bringing up water and nutrients from depths that non woody plants cannot reach. Also, their leaf fall can be used as a natural mulch to increase soil moisture as well as fertility.

Why is biodiversity important?

Maintenance of this diversity is an insurance and investment necessary to sustain and improve agriculture. This is because it is the sources of all our food. Moreover, cross breeding of domestic crops with wild varieties can improve yields and produce new strains better adapted to growing conditions or more resistant to diseases and pests. In the United States for instance, crossbreeding main crops with fresh genetic characteristics (taken either from the wild or from primitive cultivated varieties) has yielded an estimated 1% annual increase in productivity worth more than U.S $ 1 billion (WWF and IUCN, undated). Between 1930 and 1975 for example, yields per hectare of wheat in the United States rose by 115%, rice by 117%, maize by 320%, sugar cane by 141% and cotton by 18%. About half of this increase was attributed to genetic improvement and breeding (FAO et al undated).

What is the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector?

The agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector is part of the natural resources and mining supersector. The Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals from a farm, ranch, or their natural habitats.

What is a farm?

A farm may consist of a single tract of land or a number of separate tracts which may be held under different tenures. For example, one tract may be owned by the farm operator and another rented.

What is forest farming?

Forest Farming:In forest farming, high-value specialty crops are grown under the protection of a managed forest canopy. Crops such as ginseng, shiitake mushrooms, ramps, goldenseal, and pine straw can be profitably produced with this practice.

What is the intentional mixing of trees and shrubs into crop and/or animal production systems to create a gro

groforestry is the intentional mixing of trees and shrubs into crop and/or animal production systems to create

What are working trees used for?

Special Applications: Working Trees can be used to accomplish landowner objectives such as production of bionergy feedstock. Any Agroforestry practice can be designed to incorporate special needs such as wildlife habitat, annual income or carbon storage.

What is an alley crop?

Alley Cropping: An alley cropping system integrates crops such as vegetables in alleyways between high-value trees and shrubs. The agricultural crop provides annual income until the trees are able to yield a long-term income product.

What is the alley cropping system in Florida?

In Florida, this alley cropping system combines cotton in the alleyways between rows of pine trees. — Photo by Shibu Jose

What is a riparian forest buffer?

Riparian Forest Buffer: This practice uses trees, shrubs and other plants growing adjacent to streams, ponds, lakes and wetlands to protect water bodies from negative impacts of adjacent agricultural fields. These buffers can be designed to produce income while accomplishing their conservation purposes.

Agroforestry

• Agroforestry combines agriculture and forestry technologies to create more integrated, diverse, productive, profitable, healthy and sustainable land-use systems. Practices are focused on meeting the economic, environmental and social needs of people on their private lands. The forestry profession encompasses the science and practice of establishing…

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Forest Research and Development

Healthy Forests Initiative

Landowner Assistance Programs

USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework: Fiscal Year 2019-2024

Agroforestry Farming Systems

• Alley croppingmeans planting crops between rows of trees to provide income while the trees mature. The system can be designed to produce fruits, vegetables, grains, flowers, herbs, bioenergy feedstocks, and more. Forest farmingoperations grow food, herbal, botanical, or decorative crops under a forest canopy that is managed to provide ideal shade l…

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Linear Agroforestry Practices