Agroforestry VOLUME 23 I S SUE 2

LEARN HOW YOU CAN 

USE AGROFORESTRY TO 

HELP POLLINATORS
NAC Director's Corner

A commentary on the status of agroforestry by Susan Stein, NAC Director

Many of our food crops depend upon pollinators, and agroforestry can play 

an important role in providing pollinator food 

and habitat. This issue of Inside Agroforestry 

highlights a myriad of ways that agroforestry 

has supported pollinator conservation and management as well as 

efforts that have also served to educate the public.

In light of critical concerns over pollinator declines, a 

Memorandum was released by President Obama on June 20, 2014, 

creating a Federal Strategy to Promote the Health of Pollinators. 

Since the release of this Memorandum, USDA agencies have been 

taking steps to respond, some of which I will review here.

A Pollinator Health Task Force was formed and is co-chaired by 

USDA and the EPA; a report on their actions is planned for this 

spring. USDA agencies have been cataloguing their work related 

to pollinators and implementing new projects in support of the 

Memorandum. The US Forest Service Research & Development 

Deputy Area, for example, has conducted a wide variety of research 

related to pollinators, including pollinators’ relationships with 

restoration, native plant reproduction, climate change, and invasive 

species. The Agricultural Research Service has been exploring ways 

to breed bees that naturally resist varroa mites (Varroa destructor), 

considered the most serious pest of honey bee colonies worldwide. 

In 2014, USDA provided $7 million in technical and financial 

assistance to encourage farmers in Michigan, Minnesota, North 

Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin to improve pollinator 

habitat on working lands through EQIP and CRP. In August 

of 2014, USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture 

awarded $6.9 million to Michigan State University to develop 

sustainable pollination strategies for specialty crops grown in the US. 

These efforts all complement the important work that private 

forest and agricultural landowners have undertaken to support 

pollinators. Throughout this issue of Inside Agroforestry, we hope 

that you will be inspired to consider pollinator conservation efforts 

– such as provision of food and habitat – as you continue your work 

to increase agroforestry practices across the landscape. ]

NAC Resources on Pollinators

NAC has four technical publications related to pollinators. These were developed in 

cooperation with the Xerces Society and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). These 

publications (found in the Agroforestry Notes series) are for those who are thinking about the 

pollinators in their landscapes:

•	 Agroforestry: Sustaining Native Bee Habitat For Crop Pollination (AF Note #32)

•	Improving Forage For Native Bee Crop Pollinators (AF Note #33)

•	 Enhancing Nest Sites For Native Bee Crop Pollinators (AF Note #34)

•	 Pesticide Considerations For Native Bees In Agroforestry (AF Note #35)

These resources give more detailed information on species considerations, habitat 

needs, and landscape design and are available to download from the NAC website: 

http://nac.unl.edu/publications/agroforestrynotes.htm.

Native Pollinators and Agriculture in Canada

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada recently published a report on Native Pollinators and 

Agriculture in Canada. Along with describing important pollinators such as bees, wasps, flies, 

butterflies, moths, and beetles, the report also outlines how to protect native pollinators. The 

report promotes saving existing habitat and creating new habitat through a variety of practices, 

including managing and installing shelterbelts and buffers. The publication is available here: 

http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/aac-aafc/A59-12-2014-eng.pdf

2 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2
Adam Kranz, Graduate Student, 

Woody Perennial Polyculture Research Site, 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Woody Perennial Polyculture (WPP) research site in 

Urbana, Illinois, is an experimental plot created to study 

the ecology and economy of highly diverse fruit, nut, and 

hay polycultures. Polycultures are multiple crops grown in the same 

space, often designed to resemble the diversity of natural ecosystems. 

The site is designed to mimic the structure and composition of the oak 

savanna community historically widespread in the western Midwest. 

Like oak savannas, WPP is comprised largely of grasses and forbs, 

but also contains many woody shrubs, small trees, and vines, and in 

its mature state it will be partially shaded by large nut-bearing trees. 

The woody crops included are all near-relatives of major savanna 

species—chestnuts share a family with oaks, while currants, grapes, 

apples, raspberries, and hazelnuts all have native cousins within their 

genera. This generalized mimicry of a native ecosystem is intended 

to improve agricultural performance in a number of ways, from 

increased water infiltration and reduced nitrogen runoff to carbon 

sequestration and improved habitat value. 

Providing insect habitat can and should be a goal for agricultural 

systems. Insect diversity is crucial for many ecosystem services 

and integrally supports all other taxa of life, which makes insect 

conservation inextricable from biodiversity conservation as a whole. 

High plant diversity meets the varied needs of many different insect 

taxa, and that diverse insect community in turn provides services 

to farmers, like nutrient cycling, pest control, and pollination. 

These services could reduce input costs for perennial polycultures 

compared to monocultures, potentially increasing profits. 

Effective insect pollination is necessary for many fruit crops, 

including apples, raspberries, and currants, to achieve their full 

potential yield (nut crops, as well as grapes, are wind-pollinated).

Honeybee and bumblebee hives work throughout the growing 

season and need pollen and nectar available at all times. WPP systems 

provide a succession of different floral resources throughout the year, 

from currants and apples in the spring to clover and raspberries 

through the summer and fall. 

Insects have diverse needs throughout their life 

cycle. Bees need pollen as larvae to provide the 

protein they need to grow and eventually build their 

adult bodies, while adult bees need nectar to fuel their 

flight and warm their muscles in cold weather. They also 

need places to shelter their young. Depending on the species, 

solitary bees nest in holes in wood, hollow reed and bramble 

stems, and in bare earth. Mimicking as many aspects of the oak 

savanna as is feasible is a broad-brush way to meet many of those 

needs. For instance, untilled hay in WPP alleys provides the grass 

clumps and abandoned mouse nests that bumblebees use to make 

their nests. 

It's important to remember that pollinators are only one aspect of 

the larger issue of invertebrate conservation. Fruit crop pollinators 

generally have long tongues and look for larger flowers with lots of 

nectar. Other insects have different needs that aren't provided by 

these crops. Many insects have shorter tongues and can only feed 

from shallow nectaries like those on carrot family plants. Parasitic 

wasps and flies, among the most important insects for pest control, 

depend on such small flowers as adults. 

While plantings and management practices have a significant impact 

on the insect communities active on farms, management outcomes 

are limited by the possibilities offered by landscape context. Nearby 

flower meadows, weed fields, forests, and gardens provide source 

populations for hundreds of insect species, a large proportion of 

which colonize farms every year. If conditions are amenable to their 

survival, they will establish a new population that remains in genetic 

contact with other populations in the area. This network of habitat 

patches creates what is called a metapopulation, and it is at this 

regional scale that invertebrate conservation efforts function. 

Agroforestry sites are inescapably different from the native habitats 

that house the great majority of our biodiversity. They often overlook 

major plant functional groups, and rarely include the native plants 

that coevolved with rare and threatened pollinators and herbivores. 

Continued on page 11

Left: A Gasteruption wasp flies in to feed on a golden 

alexander (Zizia aurea). Their larvae are predators of 

stem-nesting bees and wasps. Right: A tachinid fly, 

genus Archytas, sits on a hazelnut leaf. Their larvae are 

parasitoids of moth caterpillars. Photos by Adam Kranz.
Incorporating Pollinator Habitat 

into Silvopasture

Tom Ward, Forester, USDA NRCS East National Technology Support Center

Nancy Adamson, Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Xerces Society/NRCS ENTC

Silvopasture is the intentional combining of trees (silvo) and forages for grazing or 

browsing animals (pasture). In its simplest 

application there may be only two plant 

species included in a silvopasture, a pine 

tree species, for example, and a forage grass 

like tall fescue. Neither of these offers much 

for pollinators.

Adding Pollinator Habitat to Simple 

Silvopasture Designs

A typical silvopasture design includes one 

or more rows of trees alternating with wide 

“alleyways” for grazing. An alternative 

design that provides habitat for pollinators 

might include maple as the tree component 

(an important spring pollen source) and 

little bluestem (a grass that lodges and 

provides good bumble bee nesting habitat) 

for the forage component. There are many 

potential combinations of trees and forage 

plants, including lots of choices that benefit 

pollinators. Some pollinator-friendly 

forages include several species of clover and 

vetch, which need to be reseeded every few 

years. Less commonly used are some native 

perennial legumes that, if managed well, will 

persist once established such as bush clovers 

and tickseeds.

Adding Pollinator Habitat to More 

Complex Silvopasture Designs

When the silvopasture design includes 

two or more tree rows, pollinator plants 

can be added or allowed to grow within or 

between the tree rows. These additional small 

trees, shrubs, forbs and grasses can provide 

additional pollen, nectar, and nesting sites 

for pollinators. The diagram below illustrates 

how to incorporate a variety of native grasses, 

forbs, and shrubs into various tree row 

designs for silvopasture.

Depending on the soils and site conditions 

(such as annual precipitation, average 

temperature, growing season, etc.) a variety of 

forbs, shrubs and small trees can be 

added between tree rows without reducing 

the forage crop in the alleyways. Plants 

established in the tree rows will need to be at 

least somewhat shade tolerant, although 

considerable sunlight will reach the ground 

because of the open alleyways on either side 

of the tree rows. Pollinator plants may need 

protection from grazing or browsing while 

becoming established.

Other Management Activities that 

Favor Pollinators

Rotational grazing systems (those that 

involve limiting the grazing period and return 

interval of livestock) have been found to 

stimulate germination of seeds existing in the 

soil. Within a few years this results in greater 

natural diversity than season-long grazing 

systems or overgrazing. Managed rotational 

grazing that leaves adequate plant structure 

both protects pollinator species in tree rows 

and increases species diversity in alleyways. 

More information on managed rotational 

grazing can be found at http://www.

nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ky/

newsroom/factsheets/?cid=stelprdb1101721.

Native tree species are more likely than 

non-native species to provide habitat for a 

diversity of insects, including agriculturally beneficial predators and parasitoids. Tree 

choices that are good for pollinators in the 

southeast include tulip poplar, sourwood, 

black locust, basswood, black cherry, persimmon, sourwood, maple, basswood, and 

black gum. Although pine species are popular choices in silvopasture systems due to fast 

growth and high timber value, flowering tree 

species provide more resources for pollinators. Additionally, some flowering trees such 

as tulip poplar, may have nearly the same 

growth rate and timber value as pine species. 

Other tree species that provide a mix of pollinator and timber value include black locust, 

basswood, black cherry, persimmon, maple 

and basswood.

Silvopasture Diagram

Single Row Set Double Row Set Triple Row Set 

Flowering Tree Species 

can be used in place of pine 

to provide more resources for 

pollinators

Native shrubs, forbs, 

and small trees can be 

added to provide habitat for 

pollinators

Fence out livestock 

until pollinator plants are 

established

4 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2
A portion of a silvopasture alleyway has been disked to prepare the 

site for natural generation of native 

plants expected to be in the soil 

seed bank. Photo by Tom Ward.

Potential pollinator-friendly tall shrubs to 

include within and between tree rows are: serviceberry, redbud, willow, dogwood, witchhazel, hawthorn, crab apple, plum, sand 

cherry, elderberry, mountain-ash, paw-paw, 

blueberry, sumac, and nannyberry. Potential 

low shrubs include: paintbrush, bedstraw, 

salal, huckleberry, blackberry, and raspberry. 

Potential forbs are too numerous to list. 

Alleyways are typically reserved for forage 

but pollinator habitat can be increased by 

reserving a portion of the alleyways for pollinator plants. The design for these areas will 

be similar to a field border designed for pollinators. In systems that tolerate burning, 

prescribed fire can help rejuvenate understory 

plants and increase diversity. 

Some may prefer a more natural appearance 

with silvopasture trees in groups. As with the 

row systems, pollinator habitat can be created 

with additional plantings or by managing 

grazing. Livestock may need to be fenced out 

until pollinator plants are established.

Silvopasture is a good example of an 

agroforestry practice that can be easily 

modified to incorporate key elements of 

pollinator habitat. A multi-functional design 

will integrate elements of grazing, forestry 

and pollinator biology. We can learn from 

some of our most spectacular pollinator 

habitats- our native prairies- how grazing can 

help enhance floral diversity, and support not 

only large grazing mammals, but the bees and 

other pollinators that help feed us. ]

Thinning for pollinators and 

healthier forest communities

Tom Ward, Forester

USDA NRCS East National Technology Support Center

Nancy Adamson, Pollinator Conservation Specialist

 Xerces Society/NRCS ENTC

Bumble bee foraging on sourwood. 

Photo by Debbie Roos.

Forests provide an additional 

opportunity to manage for 

pollinators. This article explores 

opportunities to think about pollinators 

in the context of forest management. 

Managing existing woodlands or forest 

stands by thinning and leaving dead wood 

can be very beneficial for pollinators. While 

the primary aim of thinning is to grow 

bigger and higher quality trees, opening 

the canopy also allows more light to reach 

understory plants, stimulates flowering, 

and can greatly enhance forage resources for 

pollinators. Thinning can also be targeted 

to improve the growth of canopy trees 

or understory species that are especially 

good sources of pollen and nectar. In the 

southeastern United States, for example, 

maple, sourwood, basswood, black gum, 

black locust (where it’s not invasive), 

tulip tree, and magnolia are important 

pollinator species. Understory pollinator 

plants that might benefit from the thinning 

of overstory trees include: serviceberry, 

redbud, blueberry, huckleberry, holly, 

azalea (important for spring migrating 

hummingbirds), black cohosh, and many 

others. In riparian areas, thinning can 

be especially important for encouraging 

regrowth of shrubs and herbaceous plants 

that improve soil stabilization. Leaving 

dead wood to provide nesting habitat for 

bees and other insects (that in turn become 

food for birds and other forest wildlife), 

also creates excellent substrate for natural 

forest regeneration. Rotting logs host 

some species of native bees and are also hot 

spots for new seedling growth, with seeds 

taking root in mosses and fungal hyphae 

that set the stage for succeeding forest 

communities. If managed for both timber 

and wildlife, standing snags provide homes 

for other cavity nesting species.

Sourwood, Oxydendrum arboreum, is 

a good example of an important nectar 

and pollen source for pollinators that 

might benefit from forest management, 

such as thinning and prescribed burning. 

Sourwood is most commonly found on 

dry sites and relatively poor soils, although 

it occurs on a wide variety of sites. 

Sourwood is very shade tolerant and often 

found in the understory or midstory of 

mature forests. Maximum flower and seed 

production, however, will be obtained if 

the sourwood crown is in full sun. Cutting 

or killing one or more trees that overtop a 

sourwood tree will likely result in a slow 

increase in the number of blossoms and 

seed produced. Sourwood seedlings will 

germinate and grow on undecomposed 

leaf litter on the forest floor but prescribed 

burning to reduce leaf litter will increase 

the abundance of sourwood seedlings. 

Thinning to increase the amount of light 

reaching the forest floor will accelerate the 

development of any sourwood seedlings 

that are present. It’s possible to increase 

both the number of blossoms per tree 

and the number of sourwood trees per 

acre by carefully thinning and prescribed 

burning forestland with existing mature 

sourwood trees. ]

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2 5
Planting riparian forest buffers for diverse harvests,

to support pollinators, and to protect our watersheds

Feasting on the forest buffet...er...buffer:

Nancy Adamson, Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Xerces Society/USDA NRCS ENTSC

Katie Trozzo, Doctoral Student, Forest Resources & Environmental Conservation, Virginia Tech 

Riparian forest buffers 

support multiple goals:

Protection of soils and waterways

Greater water infiltration into 

the ground and aquifers

Conservation of wildlife

Production of harvestable crops 

and other products harvestable 

Planning a multifunctional riparian 

forest buffer would stimulate the 

appetite of even the most well-fed 

among us—juneberries and mulberries in 

the spring; black raspberries, blackberries, 

blueberries, wild plums, and elderberries in 

summer; persimmons, pawpaws, walnuts, 

hickories, and hazelnuts in fall. Planting 

these buffers adjacent to our waterways 

creates a corridor of food throughout the 

landscape that can sustain us throughout 

the seasons and for years to come. Processing 

the harvest by canning, freezing, and drying 

can help provide food through the winter 

and add value to products sold. Much of 

this harvest depends on or is improved by 

pollinators. Combining multifunctional 

plants in riparian buffers ensures there is 

food and shelter for pollinators through the 

growing season. 

Riparian buffers, perennial vegetation 

between agricultural fields and waterways, 

also reduce wind velocity, reduce soil erosion, enhance rain water infiltration, and 

improve water quality. Plant diversity reduces the risk of disease or crop failure 

associated with monoculture plantings, and 

when combined with structural diversity 

(a mixture of trees, shrubs, and groundcovers), provides a variety of niches for wildlife, 

including predators and parasitoids that reduce crop pests. We promote natives for conservation plantings because they evolved with 

wildlife, including insects, and are adapted 

to local conditions. Including herbaceous 

perennials in the mix, such as Jerusalem artichoke (which has an edible tuber), or other 

flowers for cutting or for sale as herbs or 

medicinals, provides another layer of pollen 

and nectar sources for insects, and income 

opportunities for landowners. When adjacent to annual crops, diverse native forest 

buffers provide refuge for pollinators and 

other beneficial insects, particularly at times 

when crops are harvested or managed with 

insecticides. These diverse buffers can ensure 

a source of beneficial insects for recolonizing 

successive crops in nearby fields. Depending 

on the plants chosen, these buffers can also 

serve as focal points for hands-on education 

about regional culture and natural history.

Because of their location in riparian 

areas, these plants often provide pollen 

and nectar through the driest parts of the 

6 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2
Left: Leafcutter bee foraging on blackberry. 

Right: A flametwig dogwood within a riparian forest buffer 

just after establishment. Photos by Nancy Adamson. 

More information can be found 

in these publications:

"How to plan for and plant streamside conservation buffers with 

native fruit and nut trees and woody floral shrubs."

http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/ANR/ANR-69/ANR-69.html

"Potential adoption of agroforestry riparian buffers 

based on landowner and streamside characteristics."

http://www.jswconline.org/content/69/2/140.refs

To find maps showing species distribution

PLANTS.usda.gov

BONAP.net

Seasonal Pollinator Benefits

A mix of species with different bloom times 

creates a riparian buffer that is attractive to 

both pollinators and people. This diagram 

suggests a model for potential edible riparian 

buffers in the mid-Atlantic. The mix of species 

produces a range of fruit, nut, and other 

products. Interspersing species with different 

heights and structures provides diverse habiat 

niches and captures run-off and drift vertically 

and horizontally 

Stream

Witch hazel

Black willow

Hazelnut

Black raspberry

Paw paw

Elderberry

Black walnut

Blooming Season

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

growing season, when pollen and nectar may be scarce elsewhere. 

For the farmer, that available moisture can help ensure fruit, nut, 

and flower harvest during drought, while at the same time support 

the pollinators, predators, and parasitoids that improve crop yields.

Some landowners may not have considered multifunctional 

options, or not be aware of the availability, relatively low cost, and 

delicious flavor of many of these plants’ fruits or nuts. One of our 

sweetest native fruits, persimmon, has orange and vanilla overtones. 

Pawpaw has a flavor that hints at banana and pineapple. Honoring its 

family connections, the custard apple family (Annonaceae), pawpaw 

has the texture of crème caramel (a silky French pudding). Some of 

these crops are most appropriate for local markets or processing as 

frozen, canned, or baked goods. 

For those interested in promoting this type of planting (or allowing 

naturally occurring buffers to grow), researchers have looked at 

landowner perceptions of and willingness to adopt streamside buffer 

plantings. In a survey of landowners of nonforested streamsides, 

researchers found that some landowners see riparian conservation 

and agricultural production as competing objectives (Trozzo et al. 

2014). Multifunctional buffers offer a way to bridge these objectives, 

potentially attracting new landowners to plant. When surveyed, 

landowners varied in their likelihood to adopt multifunctional 

buffers, reflecting differences in primary management goals (income 

or stewardship), current land use, and income level. Tailoring 

conservation outreach based on specific management goals and other 

differences could improve adoption.

When planting for pollinators, survey the land for existing pollen 

and nectar sources and nesting habitat, plant to ensure flowering 

throughout the growing season. To qualify for financial support 

through Farm Bill programs, some programs require planting nine 

flowering species, with three flowering per season (spring, summer, and 

fall). In warmer parts of the country, include winter-blooming species 

to support pollinators.

Whatever your management goals, adding diversity and protecting 

the natural bounty of your land can add to both your bottom line and 

your belly! ]
Pollination=Preservation

A Unique Ecotourism Experience in the Nebraska Sandhills

Kat Shiffler, Ecotourism Consultant, Center for Great Plains Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

I

n recent years, a global conversation has emerged about plummeting numbers of 

pollinator species. Essential to our environment, the ecological services that pollinators 

provide are necessary for the reproduction of over 85 percent of the world’s flowering 

plants, including more than two-thirds of the world’s crop species, according to the 

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Yet as wild habitat continues to disappear 

from the landscape, so too do wild pollinators – the native bees, bats, birds and butterflies 

that are dependent on this floral diversity to survive and thrive.

Fortunately, concerned 

citizens are doing something 

about it. One great effort 

is underway in the Nebraska 

Sandhills, where landowners are 

working together to create some 

“buzz” around the pollinator issue 

using ecotourism. 

The project, Pollination=Preservation, 

is a joint effort of the Loup Rivers 

Scenic Byway, the Loup Basin Resource 

Conservation and Development Council 

(RC&D), and the Center for Rural Affairs, 

with the support of the Nebraska Environmental 

Trust. Participants include over a dozen farmers, 

gardeners and community groups along the Scenic 

Byway – Nebraska Highways 11 and 91 – who are 

creating a mosaic of bio-diverse, visually appealing 

gardens certified by the North American Butterfly 

Association (NABA). The Butterfly Byway, as it is 

also known, will be ready for visitors in the spring 

of 2015.

In the year leading up to its launch, the 

Pollination=Preservation organizers held 

nearly 20 workshops in small towns along 

the Byway. In community centers and 

volunteer fire departments across the 

Sandhills, participants learned about 

the plight of the pollinators, and were 

provided with garden design advice 

and area-specific plant lists and 

other necessary information 

for certifying their butterfly 

gardens. At a meeting this 

summer in the town of 

Ord, participants shared 

flower seeds and a farmer 

gave away butterfly houses and 

pollinator nest blocks that he’d 

made out of scrap wood. 

To be certified by NABA, each 

garden must include native plants 

useful to pollinators: at least three plants 

that provide nectar to butterflies and three 

plants that feed caterpillars. In addition, 

the gardener must describe a plan to control 

weeds and pests without harming pollinators, 

i.e. involving limited and responsible use of 

pesticides and herbicides.

The gardens are diverse in form, located at 

private homes, on farms, at schools, businesses and 

in community spaces. In the community of Taylor, 

neighbors maintain a butterfly garden adjacent to 

the visitor information center in an old filling 

station. The garden in Dannebrog includes a 

wooded field edge. In addition to native shrubs 

and forbs, organizers recognize and maintain 

the tall wooded canopy — including 

cedar, hackberry, elm, cottonwood, ash, 

elderberry, chokecherry, and oak – as 

important habitat for pollinators and 

beneficial insects. 

Kathy and Larry Mostek of 

Loup City manage Katalari Farms 

and are participants in the P=P 

project. In addition to growing 

pumpkins and Christmas 

trees, Katalari Farms now 

We know there’s 

been a decline in 

bee populations, 

so we are doing 

everything 

possible to 

counter that.

6 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2

A pollinator garden 

in Taylor, NE. 

Photo by Kat Shiffler.
Native carpenter bee 

on a leadplant in the 

Sandills of Nebraska. 

Photo by Kat Shiffler.

features a prominent 

pollinator garden. “We know 

there’s been a decline in bee 

populations, so we are doing 

everything possible to counter 

that,” says Kathy. In between the 

rows of squash, the Mosteks put 

up native bee and butterfly houses. 

“Because without the bees we don’t have 

any produce.” 

P=P participants know that pollinators 

need nesting habitat and diverse forage 

resources to thrive. This involves planting field 

edges and pond margins, incorporating native 

plant hedgerows or windbreaks with shrubs and 

turning non-crop land into flowering pastures. 

The Mosteks are currently investigating cost-sharing 

options to convert several acres to wildflowers. As 

they’ve seen, pollinator habitat not only improves the 

yield of some crops, but also provides habitat for 

birds, beneficial insects and other wildlife that help 

control pests and reduce crop losses.

The ecotourism component seemed like 

a natural fit for their business that already 

includes a greenhouse and gift shop. “It’s 

one more way to bring customers to our 

business,” says Kathy. The couple has 

plans to incorporate sculpture and art 

into the garden as well as create a 

butterfly pavilion.

“Promotion of the pollinator 

gardens could spread the idea 

among the thousands of 

visitors already coming to 

the area, and perhaps create 

many more islands of safe 

habitat for native pollinators 

across the state and across the 

country,” said Wyatt Fraas, of the 

Center for Rural Affairs, one of the 

project coordinators.

In November, the Loup Rivers 

Scenic Byway became a founding 

member of the Great Plains Ecotourism 

Coalition (GPEC), a group coordinated by 

the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Center 

for Great Plains Studies. The GPEC includes 

both non-profit and for-profit members and 

works to connect members to each other and to 

the relevant research and expertise of the University. 

In addition, the Coalition works on creative regional 

marketing. The Pollinator=Preservation project is 

featured in one of the 12 posters in the Coalition’s kickoff graphic arts campaign. The Butterfly Byway and 

other posters are aimed at drawing new attention 

and enthusiasm for natural attractions and 

ecotourism opportunities of the Great Plains.

While tourists can visit the network of 

pollinator gardens for free, the hope is 

that they will bring tourist dollars to 

participating rural communities and the 

region as a whole. This is the promise 

of ecotourism, a form of travel that 

deepens one’s engagement with 

nature, conserves the environment, 

and improves the well-being of 

local communities. ]
Zaagkii

The Earth’s Gifts bestowed upon 

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula Landscape

Jan Schultz

Program Lead: Botany, Nonnative Invasive Species 

and Special Forest Products

Eastern Region Regional Office, 

US Forest Service

People have shown appreciation for their natural resources in 

many ways, but not all languages succinctly express a deep 

spiritual connection. The Anishinaable word “zaagkii,” 

however, seems to do just that. Translated as "the loving gifts 

which come from the earth," the term was suggested by Ojibwa 

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community elders as a helpful way to frame 

the collaborative efforts of the Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project. This 

project encompasses a number of botanical topics and endeavors 

crop wild relatives, special forest products production, long term 

biodiversity and genetic preservation, food security, and climate 

change. These efforts often tier to traditional ecological knowledge 

(TEK) of agroforestry and may also contribute to future work with 

other agroforestry practices, especially multi-story cropping.

Leaders of five of Michigan’s federally recognized tribes have now 

passed five resolutions concerning the project. Michigan tribes 

formally entering into this partnership include the: Sault Ste. Marie 

Band of Chippewa Indians; Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior 

Chippewa Indians; the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community; Bay Mills 

Chippewa Indian Community; and Hannahville Indian Community. 

Combined, these Native American communities oversee a total of over 

70,000 acres of tribally managed lands. The Wings and Seeds Project 

was coordinated over the last seven years across Michigan’s Upper 

Peninsula by the USDA Forest Service Eastern Region in partnership 

with the nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute and Northern Michigan 

University’s Center for Native American Studies. The common 

language of these resolutions read that the area’s five tribes “desire to 

join in partnership the Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests and 

other Native American communities in Northern Michigan to further 

work with the Zaagkii (Wings and Seeds) Project in recovering native 

plants, encouraging pollinator protection, and restoring threatened 

ecosystems.”

The Zaagkii Project includes the following efforts: 

•	 Habitat restoration using native plants and native pollinators. 

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s (KBIC) new Native Plants 

Greenhouse is a central accomplishment toward the tribe’s 

considerable restoration targets. With a geodesic dome design, 

the structure is used to propagate native plants for tribal plant 

restoration projects and beyond. The site also functions as 

a training site for botanical technology transfer workshops. 

Examples of locally native plants produced include: black-eyed 

Susan; coreopsis; liatris; evening primrose; oxeye; and many more. 

The KBIC Natural Resources Department is also monitoring for 

bumblebees at this site. 

•	 Ethnobotany and the recovery and protection of traditional 

knowledge involving locally native plants are core components 

of the project. To this end, over 100 hours of ethnobotanical 

interviews with Northern Michigan University's Center for Native 

American Studies students and 24 Ojibwa elders from five tribal 

communities have been conducted. 

•	 The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of Baraga County in 

Michigan’s Upper Peninsula hosted a first ever Zaagkii Cranberry 

Crop Wild Relative (CWR) Workshop for partnering efforts 

2012 Zaagkii project volunteers. Photo courtesy 

of the Cedar Institute. 

10 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2
among KBIC, the Forest Service Eastern Region, the USDA 

Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and the Chicago Botanic 

Garden. CWRs are wild plants related to socio-economically 

important plant species and have contributed many useful genes 

to crop plants. Modern varieties of most major crops now contain 

genes from their wild relatives. The ultimate goal of the group’s 

cranberry project is to conserve the range of genetic variation in 

wild cranberry, starting with populations on National Forests and 

potentially on tribal lands also. There are also efforts underway 

concerning other crop wild relatives such as blueberries and 

sunflowers. These collective efforts help increase “food security” as 

our climate continues to change. 

•	 Workshops, trainings and technology transfer gatherings are 

hosted by each tribe and are scheduled several times each year. 

Participation is open to tribal members and non-tribal members 

who work for or with tribal agencies. These efforts are intended 

to provide and increase various botanical technology transfer 

opportunities and skills and have included such topics as: native 

plant propagation; seed collection, cleaning and storage, invasive 

plant identification, crop wild relative (CWR) collection protocols, 

plant taxonomy, special forest products and much more. 

This project celebrates the loving gifts the come from the earth 

by focusing on the restoration, rehabilitation and cultivation 

opportunities through the use of native plants. Participants are 

very hopeful that this partnership will also increase the cultivation 

of valuable and useful native understory forest products such as 

ginseng, goldenseal, wild leeks, and the many other bulb and tuberproducing native perennials that can be produced in a multi-story 

cropping system. Future work will also explore the opportunities 

in the cultivation of native nut and berry species such as hazelnuts, 

blueberries, elderberries and so many more. Through this partnership, 

a diverse assemblage of ecological knowledge is being applied to 

natural resource management and the production of many native 

plant products. While the term agroforestry has not been specifically 

employed to describe Zaagkii activities, these efforts integrate 

forest and crop production with consideration for native foods and 

pollinators. These efforts provide valuable lessons about how to best 

restore, manage, and sustainably gather gifts bestowed by the earth. ]

To learn more about specific activities regarding the Zaagkii Project 

please visit the links provided:

Celebrating Wildflowers – a number of articles on Zaagkii Projects 

and crop wild relatives: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/

Zaagkii Wings and Seeds Project: http://wingsandseeds.org/

Continued From Page 3

Agroforest management practices differ substantially from the 

disturbance regimes that many of those plants and insects need 

(for example, oak savannas are fire-driven ecosystems). However, 

surrounding remnant and restored forests and savannas with medium 

habitat-value land-uses like WPP could mitigate edge effects, ease 

movement between high-quality remnants, and host some stable 

populations of insects not found in annual monocultures. While 

WPP plantings are not effective substitutes for traditional oak 

savanna restoration, they could become a useful element in the 

conservation toolbox at the regional scale.

Diagram by Amy Koester

Did you know?

The Woody Perennial Polyculture site is six acres, 

formerly managed in conventional corn-soy rotation. 

It is divided into eight blocks, four of which are still 

managed in corn-soy, and four of which include a 

diverse mix of perennial crops, the WPP experimental 

treatment. Each WPP plot consists of six tree rows 

separated by hay alleys (four cool-season grasses and 

two clover varieties). The tree rows alternate between 

hazelnut-raspberry rows with apple-grape pairs spaced 

throughout, and red currant-black currant rows 

with chestnut-grape pairs, and have a white clover 

ground cover. 

Research includes biogeochemical cycling of carbon 

and nitrogen, assessment of economic variables like 

labor input and yield, and broad-spectrum sampling 

of insect biodiversity. The data will create a picture 

of how insect communities change and grow 

during the transition from annual crop to a diverse 

agroforest system. 

Visit http://wppresearch.org/ to learn more 

about the site, the theory behind it, and current 

research. Check out the Media section to see the 

site and the research in action. 

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2 11
Pollinator Conservation in 

Pacific Islands Agroforestry

By Eric Lee-Mäder, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, Portland, OR, USA

Jolie Goldenetz-Dollar, Research Forester, American Samoa Community College

Pollinator conservation in the Pacific Islands Region offers a 

few challenges not found in the mainland United States. Among 

these are scarce commercial availability of native plants for habitat 

restoration, small land holdings that require farmers to maximize 

their land’s crop production potential, and limited pollinator 

biodiversity (for example only one genus of bees is native to the 

Hawaiian islands).

All of these challenges can be met by integrating pollinator 

conservation throughout the entire farm. In particular, crop 

diversity, multi-level forest farming, and dual-use plants (those that 

produce crops and support wildlife) offer opportunities to sustain 

pollinators and farm profits.

Multi-Story Farming

Multi-story farming is a common practice among farmers in the 

tropical Pacific Island region. Using this farming approach, existing 

or planted stands of trees and shrubs are managed as an overstory 

with an understory of woody and/or non-woody plants that are 

grown for a variety of products. Typically overstory tree-to-tree 

distance is wide enough to let sufficient light through to understory 

or groundcover plants. 

A model multi-story agroforestry system designed by the Xerces 

Society, foresters at American Samoa Community College, and 

the Natural Resources Conservation Service for the Pacific Islands 

recommends an overstory of pollinator-attractive trees such as 

macadamia (Macadamia spp.), avocado (Persea americana), neem 

(Azadirachta indica), 'Ōhi'a lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha), or 

mango (Mangifera spp.), and an understory of shade-tolerant 

pollinator-dependent plants such as coffee (Coffea spp.), cacao 

(Theobroma cacao), vanilla (Vanilla planifolia), or cardamom 

(Elettaria spp. and Amomum spp.). In such combination plantings, 

the diversity of species provides extended bloom periods for 

pollinators, as well as more complex vegetative structure for nesting 

by leafcutter bees, carpenter bees, and other insects. 

Insectary Windbreaks 

Windbreaks consist of one or more rows of closely spaced trees 

and/or shrubs planted in linear configurations. The wind shadows 

created to the leeward side of these barriers protect crops, livestock, 

soil, as well as homes and farm structures, and can reduce soil 

moisture loss. When planted with pollen- and nectar-rich flowering 

trees and shrubs, windbreaks can also be valuable habitat features 

for pollinators and other wildlife, so long as they are not capturing 

drifting insecticides from adjacent farms. 

In the tropical Pacific Island region, windbreaks have been 

demonstrated to have particular value in protecting farms from 

strong trade winds and typhoons. To incorporate pollinator benefits 

into a windbreak design, Xerces Society biologists conducted a 

NATIVE TREE

COFFEE

MANGO

VETIVER

GRASS

CASSAVA

BANANA PAPAYA

HOG PEN

PUMPKIN TARO

A typical agroforestry site in 

American Samoa
An agroforestry site in Vatia Village on the island of Tutu'ila in American 

Samoa. With assistance from NRCS EQIP, the site was cleared of invasive 

and undesirable plants. The site was cleared of invasive and undesirable 

plants. Desirable overstory trees such as mango, avocado, breadfruit, 

and citrus were left. With help from the Forestry Extension Program at 

American Samoa Community College, the landholder is planning to install 

additional overstory trees and understory plants. 

review of windbreak species recommended by the NRCS Molokai 

Plant Materials Center to identify which trees offer potential 

pollinator value. This process highlighted the value of gliricidia 

(Gliricidia spp.), avocado (Persea americana), dwarf banana (Musa 

spp.), kou (Cordia subcordata), milo (Thespesia populnea), mango 

(Mangifera spp.), tree-like varieties of hibiscus (Hibiscus spp.), 

and coconut (Cocos nucifera) as recommended species. In providing 

design recommendations to farmers, Xerces and USDA biologists 

note the value of including multiple tree and shrub species to 

provide more continuous floral resources, as well as to enhance 

nesting resources for pollinators. Multi-species windbreak designs 

may also increase their effectiveness by improving windbreak density 

at multiple heights. ]

More Information

•	 Molokai NRCS Plant Materials Center presentation: 

Windbreaks for Agroforestry http://www.plant-materials.nrcs.

usda.gov/pubs/hipmssy6712.pdf

•	 University of Hawaii Extension publication Trees and Shrubs 

for Windbreaks in Hawaii http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/

freepubs/pdf/C1-447.pdf

•	 Shade-Grown Coffee for Hawai’i: Results of a twelve farm 

study in Kona http://www.agroforestry.net/caf/Hawaii_shade_

coffee.pdf

•	

Susan Schultz

Education & Stewardship Specialist

National Association of Conservation Districts

The National Association of Conservation 

Districts (NACD) developed the “Local Heroes – 

Your Hardworking Pollinators” education materials 

project. The NACD Stewardship & Education 

Foundation committee has a five-year rotation 

of topics that are developed into educational 

materials each year. These materials are geared for 

students in grades K-8. This is the first year for 

pollinator materials; and NACD is now working 

on the 2016 project focusing on forestry. Assisting 

in the pollinator project are: The Pollinator Project 

(pollinator.org); United States Department of 

Agriculture (USDA); and conservation district staff 

around the nation.

NACD is celebrating its 60th year of Soil and 

Water Stewardship This year, it’s scheduled for April 

26 - May 3. Outreach is continued throughout the 

year in various forms by local conservation districts 

and other educators. 

Visit the NACD education pages to find materials 

related to pollinators including free student 

worksheets, an educators guide with information 

on additional resources, next generation science 

standards, literature connections and more. ]

Visit www.nacdnet.org/education/resources

for our complete list.

•	 USDA – NRCS Pollinators & Plants

www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/

national/plantsanimals/pollinate/

•	 USDA Forest Service - 

Pollinator Resources:

www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/

•	 Pollinator Partnership – Eco-Regional Planting 

Guides and more: http://pollinator.org

•	 Additional Pollinator resources are located in 

the NACD Local Heroes – Your Hardworking 

Pollinators educators guide found at: 

www.nacdnet.org/education/resources/local-heroes

Diagram by Jolie Gldenetz-Dollar & 

 Joseph Banegas 

Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2 13

Resources for outreach
14 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2

Forest Farming:

Pollinators and Native Medicinals

Anne Stine, Pollinator Conservation Specialist, Central Region, 

NRCS Partner Biologist, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation

I

n most forest farming systems, crop 

pollinators are something of a mystery. 

This article explores the pollination ecology 

of forest farming through the examples of 

three high-value medicinal plants from the eastern 

temperate forest: American ginseng (Panax 

quinquefolius), goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis), 

and black cohosh (Actaea racemosa). All three 

species have similar habitat requirements and can 

be cultivated together in a mixed system.

While the biggest threat to 

ginseng growers is poaching, 

there is evidence that this 

high-value species is also 

pollen limited.

These three crops have the potential to provide 

a large supplemental income. In August of 2013, 

producers could sell ginseng for up to $1200 per 

dried pound, more than four times the price of 

silver. Meanwhile, goldenseal averages $30 per 

dried pound, while black cohosh sells for a more 

modest $6 per pound. ‘Wild’ or ‘wild-simulated’ 

products are more highly valued than intensively 

cultivated crops. When developing a patch of 

wild-simulated plants, after the initial seeding and 

site preparation no more maintenance is required 

until harvest 6 to 10 years post establishment. 

There are a number of reasons beyond profits 

to grow these medicinal crops. Forest farming 

of medicinal plants can help ease pressure on 

threatened and declining wild populations. 

Goldenseal is in decline, imperiled, or endangered 

in all of the 27 states to which it is native, yet 

in 2010, 77% of collected goldenseal was wildharvested. In the case of another valuable forest 

medicinal, black cohosh, 99% of the world’s 

supply is wild-harvested. 

While the biggest threat to ginseng growers is 

poaching, there is evidence that this high-value 

species is also pollen limited, meaning that a 

ginseng plant’s reproduction efforts are capped 

by not receiving enough pollen. Ginseng suffers 

because it has been harvested to the extent that 

it is now somewhat uncommon in the wild. This 

makes outcrossing less likely to occur. Inbred 
plants are smaller than outcrossed individuals. 

Additionally, fruit production per flower increases 

with population size, possibly because larger 

patches are easier for pollinators to find. While the 

jury is still out on whether all forest understory 

perennials are pollen limited, there is evidence 

that outcrossing by native pollinators produces 

healthier plants. Outcrossing occurs when the 

ginseng plant receives pollen from another (not 

closely related) individual. The opposite of 

outcrossing is ‘selfing’. 

The primary spring pollinators in eastern 

temperate forests are small generalist bees and 

bumble bee queens. Ginseng, goldenseal, and 

black cohosh are all pollinated by generalist 

sweat bees and syrphid flies, while black cohosh 

has also been observed to attract bumble bees. 

These three plant species can self-pollinate, 

outcross, or reproduce vegetatively, and they tend 

to have a somewhat clumped distribution across 

a landscape. Their reproductive characteristics 

combined with clumped populations help these 

plants avoid reproductive failure.

Sweat bees, the best pollinators of these forest 

crops, overwinter underground. In the spring 

they emerge and dig nests in the soil which they 

then provision with pollen for their offspring. 

These bees are not very picky about the pollen 

they gather. Adults collect pollen from a variety 

of plants and are only limited in their selection by 

the shape of their mouth parts. Sweat bees have 

short tongues and prefer to feed on the easily 

reached nectar of shallow flowers. 

Syrphid flies overwinter as pupae in the litter 

layer. Approximately 40 percent of syrphid fly 

species feed on aphids and other garden pests in 

their larval stage before metamorphosing into 

nectar-feeding adults. The remainder show a 

remarkable diversity of feeding behaviors- from 

snorkeling in stagnant water to consuming 

detritus on the forest floor. Similar to sweat 

bees, and for similar reasons, syrphid flies prefer 

shallow flowers. Syrphid fly mouthparts do not 

grant them access to flowers with longer tubes. 

There are many ways to boost pollinator 

populations in your forest. Sweat bees and syrphid 

fly populations both increase with wildflower 

availability. Sweat bees also need bare soil in which 

to dig their nests. Because sweat bees and syrphid 

flies overwinter in or on the ground, tillage can 

damage dormant populations. Insecticide use 

can also be detrimental. In summary, sweat bee 

and syrphid fly populations can be increased 

by planting additional wildflowers (especially 

shallow flowers with readily accessible nectar), 

avoiding tillage and pesticide use, and allowing 

areas of litter and bare soil to remain undisturbed 

overwinter. Providing for these pollinators 

can help support the growth and 

reproduction of a variety of 

forest farmed crops. ]

Black Cohosh 
Inside Agroforestry

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VOLUME 23, ISSUE 2

Upcoming Events

April 10-13, 2015

Woody Agriculture: Theory and 

Hazelnut Practices

Lanesboro, MN

http://badgersett.com/news/events/2015/

shortcourse.html

April 11, 2015

Agroforestry Workshop

Columbia, MO

http://www.centerforagroforestry.org/

events/2015AgroforestryWorkshop.pdf

May 30-June 2, 2015

North American Agroforestry 

Conference

Ames, IA

https://web.extension.illinois.edu/registrati

on/?RegistrationID=11440

July 24-28, 2015

Silviculture and Agroforestry Training

Ithaca, NY

http://fingerlakespermaculture.org/?page_

id=3239

For more upcoming events, visit our

website calendar:

http://nac.unl.edu/events/index.htm

National

Agroforestry

Center

“Inside Agroforestry” is published by the USDA National 

Agroforestry Center. Phone: 402-437-5178; 

Fax: 402-437-5712.

•		 Susan Stein, NAC Director

•		 Michele Schoeneberger, FS Research Lead (ext. 4021)

•		 Richard Straight, FS Lead Agroforester (ext. 4024)

•		 Vacant - NRCS Lead Agroforester

•		 Kate MacFarland, FS Assistant Agroforester (ext. 4012)

• Joseph Banegas, Information Assistant/ 

 “Inside Agroforestry” Designer (ext. 4014)

http://nac.unl.edu

Mission

The USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) 

is a partnership of the Forest Service (Research & 

Development and State & Private Forestry) and the 

Natural Resources Conservation Service. NAC’s staff is 

located at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE. NAC’s 

purpose is to accelerate the development and application 

of agroforestry technologies to attain more economically, 

environmentally, and socially sustainable land use systems 

by working with a national network of partners and 

cooperators to conduct research, develop technologies 

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16 Inside Agroforestry ] Volume 23, Issue 2