Guide to Agroforestry in BC

327 Pages·2001·3.28 MB·English

Supporting Management of Forest Resources on Private Land
National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
A guide to agroforestry in BC
Co-published by Forest Renewal BC.
ISBN 0-7726-4618-X
1. Agroforestry (cid:150) British Columbia. 2. Forests and
forestry (cid:150) British Columbia. 3. Forest management (cid:150)
British Columbia. I. Small Woodlands Program of BC.
II. Forest Renewal BC.
S494.5.A45G84 2001 634.9’9’09711 C2001-960238-3
' 2001 Forest Renewal BC
Preface
A Guide to Agroforestry in BC was produced by the Small Woodlands Program of BC, an initiative
of Forest Renewal BC. The Program is designed to encourage owners of private forest lands in BC
to manage their properties in an economically and environmentally sustainable manner.
This guide represents the combined efforts of many people. Contributors and reviewers
included Richard Hallman, Don Whiteside, Tim Brigham, Geoff Ellen, Derek DiBiasio, and
Detmar Schwichtenberg. Editing, design, and layout services were provided by Bev Bowden,
Betsy Brierly, John Beerbower and TM Communications.
All illustrations are used with permission.
Thanks go to:
• Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, for permission to use illustrations and
information from: Managing Your Woodland: A Non-Forester(cid:146)s Guide to Small-Scale
Forestry in British Columbia
• British Columbia Ministry of Forests, for permission to use information from the Woodlot
Licence Inventory Manual.
For additional copies of this guide, or more information about the Small Woodlands Program
of BC, please contact the provincial office in Smithers through any of the following:
SMALL WOODLANDS PROGRAM OF BC Provincial Office
Call toll free: 1.877.847.1830 or
Email: [email protected]
Mail: The Small Woodlands Program of BC
Box 2179
Smithers, BC V0J 2N0
Website address: www.swp.bc.ca

Preface iii

Table of Contents
Preface iii
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction vii
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part I: Agroforestry Systems
Chapter 1: Agroforestry(cid:151)An Overview 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 2: Shade Systems: Shade Agroforests and
Forest Farming 9
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 3: Sun Systems: Sun Agroforests and Intercropping 13
. . . . . .
Chapter 4: Silvopasture 17
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 5: Integrated Riparian Management 21
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 6: Timberbelts 25
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part II: Agroforestry Development Toolkit
Chapter 7: Getting Started 29
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 8: Planning Your Agroforestry Development 33
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 9: Site Assessment 39
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 10: Completing a Non-timber Forest Crop Inventory 53
. . . . . .
Chapter 11: Choosing Your (cid:145)Best Bets(cid:146) 63
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 12: Marketing Agroforestry Products 67
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 13: Agroforestry System Design and Management 79
. . . . . . . .
Chapter 14: Building an Agroforestry Development Plan 97
. . . . . . . . . .
Agroforestry Workplan 101
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part III: Crop Sheets 129
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Part IV: Appendices
Appendix 1: Glossary 279
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix 2: Sources of Information 289
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix 3: Mapping 303
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix 4: Hardiness Zones 309
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix 5: Inventory Information 313
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Table of Contents v

Introduction
Private landowners in British Columbia(cid:151)like landowners everywhere(cid:151)must find a
balance between short-term income and long-term financial security, while at the
same time taking care to maintain the environmental integrity of their land.
Traditionally, agriculture has been used to generate immediate cash flow, while
investment in trees and forestry have provided income for the long run. By
combining agriculture and forestry, agroforestry can provide short- and long-term
returns, as well as meet a growing interest in improved land stewardship.
Agroforestry is not a new land-use practice but new information and techniques, as
well as increasing environmental awareness, have provided new life for an old idea.
While it(cid:146)s not the answer in all situations, it has tremendous potential to re-direct
your efforts towards financially viable and ecologically sustainable land
management.
About this Guide
This illustrated guide is designed to provide easy-to-use information about
agroforestry to forest or agricultural landowners in British Columbia with holdings
from approximately eight to 4000 hectares. It is not intended to cover everything
there is to know about all types of agroforestry in all parts of the province. Instead,
the guide provides information landowners can use to make their own decisions
about what agroforestry systems (if any) best suit their circumstances.
Some landowners may already be practicing agroforestry, while others will be new to
agroforestry as a land-use alternative. For those who do not own land, this guide can
also help develop opportunities for agroforestry on public land, including woodlots,
community forests, utility rights-of-way, urban greenways and urban forests.
Introduction vii
How this Guide is Organized
Information is divided into four parts. Part I provides an introduction and overview
of agroforestry. Part II provides information and directions landowners can use to
develop agroforestry systems on their land. Part III and Part IV provide plant
information and other useful references and resources.
Part I: Agroforestry Systems
Chapters 1 to 6 provide a general overview of agroforestry, and describe the five key
agroforestry systems.
Part II: Agroforestry System Development
In Part II users will find instructions for developing a comprehensive agroforestry
development Workplan. Chapters 8 to 14 guide users through 23 steps that help them
gather information they need to make good decisions about potential agroforestry
options. Included is a pull-out Workplan for recording property information,
management objectives, and business decisions. The main information-gathering
steps are:
1. Planning an agroforestry development
2. Completing a site assessment
3. Marketing agroforestry products
4. Designing and managing agroforestry systems
5. Building a five-year management projection and yearly activity schedule.
Part III: Crop Information
To make good decisions about what plants to include in their agroforestry systems,
landowners need to know as much as possible about their main plant options. The
(cid:145)Crop Sheets(cid:146) provide detailed information about the description, habitat,
management considerations, propagation and economic use of 63 trees and other
marketable plants that can be grown in BC.
Part IV: Appendices
The five appendices provide supplementary information.. The appendices are:
• Appendix 1: Glossary (cid:150) Definitions of agroforestry terms used in the guidebook
• Appendix 2: Sources of Information (cid:150) References and other sources of
information on agroforestry and related topics. Includes lists of crop buyers, and
suppliers of plant materials and equipment.
• Appendix 3: Mapping (cid:150) Information on aerial photos and forest cover maps.
• Appendix 4: Hardiness Zones (cid:150) Information that supplements the site assessment
steps in chapter 9, especially climatic conditions and their impact on various plants.
• Appendix 5: Inventory Information (cid:150) Templates that guidebook users will need to
do a non-timber forest product inventory, as well as supplementary information.
viii A Guide to Agroforestry in BC
Chapter 1
Agroforestry: An Overview
…………
In this chapter
What is Agroforestry? 1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
How does it Work? 2
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
What are the Benefits? 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
..........................................................
What is Agroforestry?
Agroforestry is a land management approach that deliberately combines the
production of trees with other crops and/or livestock. By blending agriculture and
forestry with conservation practices, agroforestry strives to optimize economic,
environmental and social benefits.
Intensive management of trees, non-timber forest crops, agricultural crops and
animals on traditional forest and agricultural lands is the key to successful
agroforestry.
Agroforestry has been carried out in British Columbia for some time, although it has
not been called agroforestry. The most widely recognized practice is the grazing of
cattle and sheep in central Interior forests, both to feed the animals and to control
weeds that compete with the trees. Another well-established agroforestry system
combines grazing with sustainable Christmas tree production in the East Kootenay.
1 Agroforestry: An Overview 1
Part 1 Agroforestry Systems
How Agroforestry Systems Work
Agroforestry systems vary according to the resources available and the outcomes
desired. Different management practices will yield different combinations of crops,
products or functions (e.g., wind protection or soil stabilization).
In BC, the five main management systems are:
1. Shade systems: shade agroforests and forest farming
2. Sun systems: sun agroforests and intercropping
3. Silvopasture
4. Integrated riparian management
5. Timberbelts.
Illustrations of these systems are provided on the following page. Chapters 2 to 6
define these systems in greater detail and provide additional examples.
Note: Some plantations in BC(cid:151)hazelnuts, Christmas trees, hybrid poplars(cid:151)are
grown as monocultures and are not true agroforestry systems. However,
agroforestry management practices can easily be applied to these crops.
2 A Guide to Agroforestry in BC