Project Overview
Annual Reports
Commodities
- Animals: bovine, goats, sheep
Practices
- Animal Production: grazing - multispecies, pasture fertility
- Crop Production: agroforestry, no-till, nutrient cycling
- Education and Training: demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research, workshop
- Farm Business Management: new enterprise development, agricultural finance
- Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, habitat enhancement
- Pest Management: biological control, chemical control
- Production Systems: agroecosystems, holistic management
- Soil Management: organic matter, soil analysis, soil quality/health
- Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, sustainability measures
Proposal abstract:
The purpose of this project is to better understand the ecological interactions which are the foundation of sustainability in Southern-pine silvopasture systems. Research will focus on how changes over time in the plant community structure of grazed silvopasture modify belowground pasture productivity and the resulting impacts on pasture soil quality (i.e. soil health or the capacity of the soil to function) components related to water infiltration and retention. This understanding will be achieved by monitoring the interactions of plant, soil and livestock responses to management strategies designed to sustain forage productivity and soil quality through enhanced soil organic matter capital. The specific objectives are to: 1) Determine the impacts of N supply (fertilization versus clover) on above- and below-ground forage productivity, forage quality and plant diversity in developing silvopasture; 2) determine the impacts of N supply on pasture soil structural stability and relationships to soil compaction, and water infiltration and retention in developing and mature silvopasture; 3) compare the use of small ruminants to the more conventional use of herbicides to control invasive broadleaf plants within developing silvopasture systems and impacts on infiltration; 4) examine the economic feasibility and level of landowner acceptance of management practices being proposed; and 5) estimate the effects of silvopasture management practices on watershed-level hydrology using the Hydrology Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF). The holistic approach used in this project is evidenced by inclusion of studies at several levels of ecological scale. Information will be integrated from all studies of management impacts on plant-soil and plant-soil-livestock interactions related to water infiltration and retention. In turn, this information will be used to model the effects of these component interactions on watershed-level hydrology of the system. These models will be used to draw the big picture that will illustrate the ‘story’ of the findings that will be translated into a practical take-home message for all who participate in the planned outreach opportunities. Outreach activities will focus on farmer/landowner education through field days, workshops, grazing schools and publications, and the extent of the participants' understanding and acceptance will be fully evaluated. Through increased dissemination of the insights we gain from this project about the positive links between forage diversity and soil health, as well as how the grazing process modifies the plant-soil relationship, we will promote Southern-pine silvopasture management practices which have an enhanced capacity to regenerate vital ecosystem functions, such as nutrient recycling and water retention, and thereby increase ecological and economic sustainability in the Southern Region.
Project objectives from proposal:
1. Determine the impacts of N supply (fertilization versus clover) on above- and below-ground forage productivity, forage quality and plant diversity in developing silvopasture.
2. Determine the impacts of N supply on pasture soil structural stability and relationships to soil compaction, and water infiltration and retention in developing and mature silvopasture.
3. Compare the use of small ruminants to the more conventional use of herbicides to control invasive broadleaf plants within developing silvopasture systems and impacts on infiltration.
4. Examine the economic feasibility and level of landowner acceptance of management practices being proposed.
5. Estimate effects of silvopasture management practices on watershed-level hydrology using the Hydrology Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF).