num_pages: 320
description: A system for regenerating land storing carbon and creating climate resilience The concept of silvopasture challenges our notions of both modern agriculture and land use. For centuries European settlers of North America have engaged in practices that separate the field from the forest and even the food from the animal. Silvopasture systems integrate trees animals and forages in a whole-system approach that offers a number of benefits to the farmer and the environment. Such a system not only offers the promise of ecological regeneration of the land but also an economical livelihood and even the ability to farm extensively while buffering the effects of a changing increased rainfall longer droughts and more intense storm events. Silvopasture however involves more than just allowing animals into the woodlot. It is intentional steeped in careful observation skills and flexible to the dynamics of such a complex ecology. It requires a farmer who understands grassland ecology forestry and animal husbandry. The farmer neednt be an expert in all of these disciplines but familiar enough with them to make decisions on a wide variety of time scales. A silvopasture system will inevitably look different from year to year and careful design coupled with creativity and visioning for the future are all part of the equation. In this book farmer Steve Gabriel offers examples of diverse current systems that All of these examples share common goals components and philosophies. The systems may take several years to establish but the long-term benefits include healthier animals and soils greater yields and the capacity to sequester atmospheric carbon better than forests or grasslands alone. For all these reasons and more Silvopasture offers farmers an innovative and ecological alternative to conventional grazing practice.
language: English
title: Silvopasture: A Guide to Managing Grazing Animals, Forage Crops, and Trees in a Temperate Farm Ecosystem
publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing