Forest Farming: An Agroforestry Practice

Samuel Feibel, James L. Chamberlain, Katherine Favor, Annabelle Moore and Kate MacFarland

No 404931, USDA Miscellaneous from United States Department of Agriculture

Abstract: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Forest Farming Conservation Practice Standard (379) defines forest farming as “managing or establishing stands of trees or shrubs in coordination with the management and/or cultivation of understory plants or nontimber forest products [NTFPs]” (USDA NRCS 2022a). The intentional management of vertical space and the interactions of plants and microclimate distinguish forest farming from recreational or opportunistic harvesting. Forest farmers may create intensive, cultivated systems or manage existing plant populations in more extensive systems to enhance production, yield, and marketability of desired species. In different contexts, many terms such as multistory cropping, forest gardening, tree home gardens, and food forests are used to describe forest farming practices. These terms reflect the different emphases, uses, or designs of these systems.

Keywords: Crop Production/Industries; Marketing; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Resource/Energy Economics and Policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 12
Date: 2024-07
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/404931/files/AF%20Note-7rev.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:usdami:404931

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.404931

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in USDA Miscellaneous from United States Department of Agriculture
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().