These strips are managed to intercept sediment, reduce pollution from agriculture activities on adjacent lands, stabilize streambanks, enhance stream and land habitats, improve the landscape appearance, and provide harvestable products such as hybrid poplar and willow. Planting of riparian forest buffers, using native tree species, is a major focus of tree planting programs in the mid-Atlantic area. In the mid-West, hybrid poplar has been used extensively in riparian buffer plantings. Hybrid poplar is a fast-growing tree with many uses and has the ability to uptake large amounts of nutrients that enter riparian buffers from surrounding farmland. Forest farming consists of enterprise activities that have been around for many years but also are part of agroforestry.
Forest farming uses a forested area for producing speciality crops.
These crops are sold for medicinal, ornamental, or culinary uses. Shade tolerant crops such as ginseng, goldenseal, decorative ferns, or shiitake mushrooms are cultivated under a forest cover that is modified to provide the correct level of shade. Forest farming is intentional, intensive cultivation and is different from gathering native wild plants for sale, or wildcrafting. Maple syrup production also is considered forest farming. Issues to Consider Agroforestry is not a new concept.