Originial photo courtesy of Kasten Dumroese Small,but mighty

V O L U M E 1 7 I S S U E O N E

IT’S true, there is a relatively smallbudget for agroforestry research andthere are a limited number of scientistsworking in the field.

However, with strong partnershipsand a focused research program, theU S D A National Agroforestry Center(N AC) is rooted in fertile soil and takesadvantage of being a G M O (governmentmodified organization) that is a uniquehybrid of Forest Service Research, State& Private Forestry, and the NaturalResources Conservation Service.

Similar to the improved seedlingsabove, N AC is a small research facilitywith enhanced productivity. By cultivating partnerships and leveragingresources, valuable tools and informa-tion are unleashed that are answeringthe right questions that pay off big inthe field.

Take a look inside this issue of “InsideAgroforestry” for the latest informationabout what is happening with agroforestry research. ]

Small, but mighty

Originial photo courtesy of Kasten Dumroese

In search of answers

NAC Director’s CornerA commentary on the status of agroforestry by Dr. Greg Ruark, NAC Program Manager

2 Inside Agroforestry | Volume 17 Issue One

TREES in an agroforestry system are intended to beWorking Trees that produce conservation and/or eco-nomic benefits. However, research is often needed to helplandowners achieve these intended goals. When trees areincorporated into on-going farm or ranch operation, oran existing tract of forest is modified, science helps us tounderstand how an intended agroforestry system func-tions to produce the desired benefits. Examples includestudies done to determine the most effective plantingdensity and arrangement of shelterbelts for reducing windvelocity in adjacent crop fields in order to lessen soil ero-sion and evapotranspiration loss. Other studies helpdetermine the best mixture of trees, shrubs, grasses, andother plants to establish in a denuded riparian zone torestore a functioning riparian forest ecosystem that canprotect water quality, reinforce stream banks, andenhance wildlife habitat. Spatial models provide insightinto where in a watershed to locate upland and riparian

buffers to optimize conservation benefits at the landscapescale. Research also develops the maintenance protocols tokeep agroforestry practices economically productive andenvironmentally functioning. In situations where a tractof forest already exists, agroforestry research is studyingways to modify the understory to encourage the propaga-tion and growth of a wide variety of commercially valu-able non-timber forest produces, such as black cohosh,goldenseal, and ramps. This includes efforts to determinenursery protocol for producing and outplanting manyspecies of native understory plants. To help improve eco-nomics, silvopasture research is providing landowners theinformation needed to blend timber production, livestockgrazing, and wildlife benefits on the same tract of land.Although the national investment in agroforestry researchhas been modest, significant progress has been made toclearly demonstrate the high potential that agroforestrypractices hold for landowners. ]

THIS handbook provides a step-by-step pro-tocol for determining optimal (variable) bufferwidths for water quality and wildlife that max-imize riparian ecosystem benefits and mini-mize the loss of productive farm and ranchland. It contains a companion C D including acase study, data forms, worksheets, referenceappendices, and other informational material.

For Water Quality and Wildlife Habitat Functions onAgricultural Landscapes in the Intermountain West

] General Technical ReportRMRS-GTR-203 available atwww.fs.fed.us/rm/publications/or at http://treesearch.fs.fed.us/pubs/viewpub.jsp?index=29201.

By Craig W. Johnson and Susan Buffler

Riparian Buffer Design Guidelines

Inside Agroforestry | Volume 17 Issue One 3

THE wonderful thing about agro-forestry is that agroforestry practices,properly located and designed, can helptackle environmental and productionissues at many levels.

Traditional agroforestry practices, likewindbreaks, riparian forest buffers, andalley cropping are rooted in farm andranch lands where they convert land backto permanent vegetation and help improveand diversify a landowner’s income. Here,agroforestry conserves soil, reduces homeand farm energy consumption, and diver-

sifies and protects crops and livestock.

When carefully planned and designed,agroforestry also addresses non-farmissues, like enhancing outdoor educationand aesthetics. Many, small- to mid-sizedacreage homeowners are more motivatedby scenery, wildlife, and privacy than theyare by production. Consequently, a net-work of agroforestry natural areas andparks among agricultural, acreage, andurban developments provide these ameni-ties to homeowners, all the while creatinga sense of place and community.

While agroforestry practices on farmsand in and around communities are busyreducing soil erosion, increasing cropproduction, and creating greenways they

are providing additional benefits to thepublic. These benefits, like water quality,wildlife habitat, pollination services, andcarbon storage are called ecosystem ser-vices and are extremely importantsocially, economically, and ecologically.

The unique collaborative approachused by scientists at the U S D A NationalAgroforestry Center has far-reachingeffects. By identifying technology gapsand working with partners, they are strate-gically developing conservation and pro-duction technologies for private lands.These tools and methods influence theway individual landowners do businessand the benefits we all derive from it. ]

Kimberly Stuhr

Technology Transfer Specialist / InsideAgroforestry Editor, Lincoln, N E

NAC scientists are researching site, landscape, and regional scale applications of agroforestry. Original photo: NAC file photo

Someassemblyrequired


see Tools on page 10

TOOL development guides most of thetree-based buffer research at N AC. N ACresearchers in Lincoln review and orga-nize scientific knowledge and then syn-thesize and distill that knowledge into aform that helps land managers makeeveryday decisions about where to install

a practice, how to design it, and how tomanage it in order to achieve desiredresults. These tools help to ensure thatagroforestry practices will be successful.

Deciding what tools to work on is aconstant challenge. We continually assessthe needs of field professionals throughfrequent discussions with N AC tech-nology transfer specialists, in-house andexternal N RC S partners, and throughorganized conferences and user forums.There are a lot of demands and ourresearch group is small, so the list must beprioritized. Ideas that float to the top arethose that are in higher demand, have thegreatest potential for national or regionalimpact, fill a larger information gap, andcan be produced the quickest.

Next, we look for opportunities to

combine our limited resources with thoseof partners who have similar interests,including universities, nongovernmentalorganizations, and government agencies.Buffer-type agroforestry practices (e.g.,riparian forest buffers, windbreaks) havereceived a great deal of attention over thelast several years.

Producing tools can be as straightfor-ward as reviewing and synthesizing infor-mation found in scientific papers andtranslating it into agroforestry-focusedguidelines. Often, however, new research isneeded to fill critical information gapsbefore a useful tool can be developed. Thiscan involve field experiments and mathe-matical modeling. Conducting new researchcan significantly increase the time andresources it takes to produce a new product.

water quality,wildlife, aesthetics,soil protection,economic oppor-tunities, andpublic health andsafety. Over 1400research papersfrom diverse scientific disciplines werereviewed and synthesized into a manage-able set of illustrated, easy-to-understand,design guidelines. Numerous partners withvaried expertise helped review and refinethem. This tool is now in the process ofbeing published and will be posted on theN AC website when it becomes available.

Buffer$ cost /benefit tool

Buffer$, was developed to promote theeconomic benefits of adopting agro-forestry practices to landowners. It com-putes the economic costs and benefits ofinstalling and managing buffer practicesover the long term. Buffer$ can beordered or downloaded from N AC atwww.unl.edu/nac/buffer$.htm.

Conservation buffer guidelines

Another design tool was developed to be acomprehensive source of information todesign vegetative buffers for any of severaldifferent agroforestry benefits, including

Mike Dosskey, Research RiparianEcologist; Gary Bentrup, ResearchLandscape Planner; Lincoln, N E

Buffer placement tool for water

quality

This tool identifies locations in a land-scape, both riparian and upland, where soiland slope conditions would enable a bufferto be more effective for reducing sedimentand nutrient loads to streams. For manyyears riparian forest and other vegetative

buffers have beenrecommended as awater qualityimprovement prac-tice, yet watershedmanagers havelacked quantitativetools for guidingtheir placement and

Here are five tools that N A C researchers have developed to helpyou plan and design agroforestry buffers:

* tools

included


NON-TIMBER forest resources arediverse, just like the people who harvest,process, and consume them. The peopleare eclectic and actually an enigma to mostforesters and natural resource managers.Identifying, contacting, and working withthese people to improve forest resourcemanagement are challenging at best. Fewresearch institutions have endeavored todo so. The U S D A National AgroforestryCenter is an exception. Jim Chamberlain,a non-timber forest products (N T F P)researcher located at Virginia TechUniversity has been working directly withcollectors and harvesters of N T F Ps to findways to better manage the resources fromwhence they originate.

Beginning in 2001, Chamberlain madea concerted effort to find and work withharvesters and related industry folks.Unlike the timber industry, there are nodirectories of N T F P enterprises. His initialefforts focused on collectors of ramps,smelly potent wild onions that are themainstay for annual festivals organized bylocal civic groups. That first year, he visitedchurches, fire departments, rescue squads,county extension offices, local roadsidemarkets, and small “mom-and-pop” stores,in search of organizers of the unique rampfestivals in western North Carolina.

After identifying about a dozen groups,the next challenge was to convince themthat his motives were altruistic. Many

were skeptical that a government scientistcould really be interested in finding waysto ensure that they could harvest rampsfrom national forests in perpetuity. Thefirst group sent him off to one patch,while the main group went to their tradi-tional digging place. Understandably, theydidn’t want to reveal their main source oframps. Through perseverance and opencommunication, these challenges havebeen overcome, and today Chamberlain iswelcomed by the group to harvest in theirstaple patch. Working with other N T F Pharvesters presented challenges as well.

Herbalists and natural healers use med-icinal plants that are collected from nat-ural forests. Black cohosh is native to theAppalachian Mountains and is used totreat menopausal symptoms. Increasedmarket demand, coupled with a lack ofknowledge about managing this impor-

tant forest resource, prompted theMedicinal Plant Working Group, part ofthe Plant Conservation Alliance, of whichthe Forest Service is a member, teamed upwith the Garden Club of America, toaddress conservation concerns regardingthis species. The goal of this volunteer cit-izen-scientist effort was to examine theimpacts of harvesting and generate theknowledge necessary to support soundrecommendations on how to best managethe black cohosh resources.

In 2005, Chamberlain joined theteam, strengthening the group’s researcheffort. Permanent long-term researchplots were established in two locations inthe Blue Ridge Mountains. Initial planswere to measure and harvest these sitesannually, using volunteer citizen scien-tists. The first year more than 20 volun-teers showed up to help collect data fromthe southern site. Only seven volunteerscame out for the northern site. All wentwell that year and the future lookedpromising. The next year, most of thevolunteers showed up to collect data onthe northern site. But, data collection onthe southern site had to be cancelled dueto lack of volunteers. With more outreachto more groups, the project was able toattract enough volunteers to collect dataon the southern site, this past year.

Those interested in N T F Ps have notbeen in the mainstream of Forest Serviceresearch and development. Just findingthese people is a challenge. Convincingharvesters and industry folks to open upand share their knowledge takes time andrequires transparent communication.Collecting reliable and consistent datafrom volunteer citizen scientists requiresextra effort as well. But, the benefits ofincreasing the diversity of Forest Serviceclientele, reaching out to under-servedcommunity members, and folks that maybe skeptical of the government are wellworth the effort. ]

Diverse stakeholders enhance research

James Chamberlain

U S F S Research Scientist, Non-TimberForest Products, Blacksburg, V A

Many local N T F P collectors are skepticalthat a government scientist would really beinterested in finding ways to ensure thatthey can harvest plants from natural forestsinto perpetuity. NAC file photo

Working with volunteer

citizen scientists requires

extra effort.Many aren’t

involved with mainstream

research;just finding them

is a challenge.

Tree-based buffer tools and technologies torestoreecosystem services on agricultural andrural/urban lands

THE U S D A National AgroforestryCenter’s (N AC) modis operendi (M O ormethod of operations) is all about cat-alyzing, facilitating, and acceleratingagroforestry technology development anddelivery at a national scale as effi-ciently as possible. “Bigger

Michele Schoeneberger

Research Program Leader / SoilScientist, Lincoln, N E

Product-driven researchNAC’s goal is to catalyze, facilitate, and accelerate researchcritical to the development of targeted tree-based conservationand production technologies for private lands. The small staffaccomplishes this by relying on partnerships and external infrastructure to leverage the resources needed.

bang per buffer buck,” as we like to say;something we are only able to accom-plish by leveraging resources throughpartnerships.

N AC’s Research & Development(R &D) programs seek to provide the sci-entific basis required for information andtechnology development. Needless to say,

given the variety of prac-tices and settings

into which these technologies are appliednationally, this is a daunting task andR &D must rely on N AC’s M O to addressthe research needs out there.

So how does N AC’s R &D Program, arelatively small program, accomplish this?

Under the newly realigned researchwork unit at the Southern ResearchStation, N A C ’s R&D internal programis focused in four main areas:

Nursery andrestoration technologies

page 5

Non-timber forestproducts

page 4

page 9

Silvopasture

page 8

Photo by LynnBetts, U

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Greg Ruark

Photo courtesy of

Kasten Dumroese



Partnerships

You will note in the articles in this issue of“Inside Agroforestry” that even thisinternal research program relies heavily oncollaboration with many different partners. Without the research leadership

of other institutions on many otheragroforestry fronts, N AC would

not be able to accomplishits mission in advancing

agroforestry science,technology, and

delivery.

Looks internally

When the other avenues are not avail-able for addressing a particular research need,the N AC then looks to its two other options for getting thingsdone: the work is either taken on internally by N AC scientists,or since expertise and resources are limited within N AC’s R &Dstaff, N AC works to facilitate the development of research pro-grams at these other institutions.

Both must be approached very strategically as research dollarsand scientists are very limited at the N AC. ]

Looks outward

Next, R &D looks outward – to seeif the information gap is or can be

addressed by other research “engines” – such as theU S D A Agricultural Research Service, U S Geological Survey, oruniversities. As a means to accelerate and/or better focus theseexternal research efforts, R &D develops cooperative research ven-tures for financial support. While extra funding is always nice, thereal leveraging of resources comes from the collaboration betweenthe scientists themselves at N AC and the external institutions.Many times the data produced from these cooperative researchventures are then utilized by N AC scientists to facilitate additionalpartnerships in order to go after other extramural funding, such asthe C S R E E S – National Research Initiative programs.

Works with TT&A Program

By being directly coupled to theTechnology Transfer andApplications (T T &A) Programat N AC, R &D works withT T &A to identify keyinformation gaps.

Identifies information gaps

These gaps are tackled by first doing“research” – looking to see if informationalready exists out “on the shelves” and canreadily be pulled in, or if needed, modified or synthesized to fit the specificdemand and current context.


IN the United States, over 1000 nurs-eries annually produce more than 1.2 billion seedlings for forest and wildlandrestoration activities. One of the missionsof the U S D A National AgroforestryCenter’s Nursery and RestorationProgram is to make the latest scientificinformation available to those nurseriesto help ensure immediate use of newnative plant propagation informationand outplanting technologies, and pro-mote environmentally and economicallysound nursery production practices. Forthe past several years, additional focus ofthe program has been delivery of nurserytechnology information to AmericanIndians.

The Nursery and Restoration Programsynthesizes and distributes information infour important ways:

“Forest Nursery Notes” is publishedtwice each year and distributed to over1000 nursery managers and restorationspecialists around the world. Each issuecontains several articles synthesizing someof the latest scientific information andproviding potential management implica-tions of that work. In addition, each issuehas a bibliography of the latest papers

dealing with nursery and restoration issues,and subscribers can request a C D con-taining reprints of most of those articles.

The Native Plant Network is an on-line, searchable database of techniques forgrowing specific native plants. Individualnursery managers can upload informationthey have developed, as well as search foradditional information provided byothers. Currently the database containsmore than 2800 protocols from across theU S and Canada.

The Reforestation, Nurseries, and

Genetics Resources (R N G R) website,managed by the program, is a searchabledatabase of thousands of publicationsdealing with nursery production ofnative plants and subsequent out-planting. Classic publications, like “TreePlanters’ Notes” and the “ContainerTree Nursery Manual,” are available, aswell as dozens of nursery proceedingsand specialty publications. The site pro-vides information for a range of exper-tise, from beginners to professionals.

The program’s on-going tribalemphasis has enabled American Indiansto grow their own native plants for cul-tural, spiritual, medicinal, and restorationactivities. Annual activities include coor-dination of the Intertribal NurseryCouncil and a hands-on workshop.Through this emphasis a Cultural PlantPropagation Center was constructed atMoencopi Day School in Tuba City, A Zto foster educational opportunities forHopi and Navajo school children andproduce plants for wildland restorationon the Hopi Reservation. ]

Nursery and Restoration Program:Synthesizing research and sharing knowledge

Kasten Dumroese

Research Plant Physiologist / NationalNursery Specialist, Moscow, I D

Take advantage of R N G R’s online resources

NAC’s nursery and reforestation tribal emphasis provides American Indians the opportunity to grow their own native plants for cultural, spiritual, medicinal, and restoration activities. Photo courtesy of Kasten Dumroese

] Reforestation,Nurseries, and GeneticsResources (R N G R)Database – A searchablecompilation of nursery andreforestation publicationsfrom 1950 through present.

http://rngr.net/

] Native Plant Network –A searchable database containing more than 2800protocols for nursery production of native plants.

www.nativeplantnetwork.org/

] Growing Forest TreeSeedlings At Home – Aneasy-to-understand manualtargeting small landownersand hobbyists.

http://rngr.net/Publications/rsah


LIMITED staff and tight budgets makeit impossible for the U S D A NationalAgroforestry Center, (N AC) to beactively engaged in every aspect of agro-forestry research. But through partneringwith others, like the Alabama ForestryCommission and local universities, N AChas been effective in driving the researchagenda.

Last year, N AC Director, GregRuark, gave a presentation about sil-vopasture management to the AlabamaForestry Commission. Afterwards,Alabama State Forester, Linda Casey,wanted to set up a silvopasture field tourfor her leadership staff to discuss newideas that could support silvopastureresearch and technology development.

A coordination team with representa-tives from the U S Forest Service –Southern Research Station, local N RC S,

N RC S National Technology SupportCenter in Greensboro, N C, AuburnUniversity, Alabama A &M University,and the Alabama Forestry Commission,toured existing silvopasture sites as well as

the Alabama Forestry Commission’sHauss Nursery near Atmore, A L . Twoissues rose to the top of discussions; long-leaf pine and native grasses and forage tosupport native wildlife in silvopastures.

The Alabama Forestry Commissionsees silvopasture as a viable alternativeplantation management scheme for pri-

vate forest owners who face a rapidlychanging and challenging market. Today,these landowners, in addition to pulp andtimber sales, are interested in wildlife ofall kinds, especially turkey and quail.

Some of the Alabama ForestryCommission’s seed production nurseriesare going out of production, but not outof ownership, providing an opportunityto establish 80 acres of replicated plots oflongleaf and loblolly pine silvopastureswith three different forage treatments.Some plots are all native grasses, some areall improved forage grasses, and some area mixture of native and improved forages.

N AC’s technical expertise, coupledwith installation and maintenanceexpenses that the Alabama ForestryCommission is willing to take on is thefoundation for answering specific researchquestions like how to manage wildlife useand forage production of different sil-vopasture management systems. ]

Silvopasture research: leveraging resourcesRichard Straight

F S Lead Agroforester, Lincoln, N E

By cooperating with others NAC scientists are able to stretch both time and money to answer specific research questions. Photo by Greg Ruark

Silvopasture is a viable

alternative plantation

management scheme for

private forest owners who

face a rapidly changing

and challenging market.

design. This problem is especially acute where regulatory limitssuch as Total Maximum Daily Load (T M D L) and MaximumContaminant Level, (M C L), must be met and funding for doingso is limited. The buffer placement tool interprets familiar andwidely-available soil surveys to guide you to locations whereimpact would be greater and away from those locations whereimpact is likely to be minimal. Visit N AC’s website for moreinformation about the buffer placement tool: www.unl.edu/nac/research/2006soilsurveys.pdf.

Buffer width tool for water quality

The buffer width tool enables you to calculate an appropriatebuffer width for a given site to achieve the desired level of pollu-tant reduction. It is a graphical simplification of a complex mathe-matical model and is designed to be accurate enough for devel-oping cost-effective site designs yet easy enough to use to makequick determinations on a large number and variety of agriculturalsites. The buffer width tool focuses on surface runoff and takesagricultural field length, cover management, slope, soil texture,and pollutant type into consideration. This tool is now in theprocess of being published in an applied research journal, and willbe available on the N AC website after it is published.

Research partners have been invaluable in the development ofboth of these water quality tools. New research by faculty andgraduate students at the University of Nebraska and Iowa StateUniversity produced the information that these tools were devel-oped from andhelped to pro-duce these tools.

CanVis: visual

simulation

software

CanVis enables alandowner to seewhat alternativedesigns will looklike on theirproperty. CanVissoftware is anentry-level pro-gram that allows resource professionals to create photo-realisticsimulations with minimal computer skills. More information onCanVis is available at www.unl.edu/nac/simulation/index.htm.

All N AC tools are available at no cost to users by orderingprint or C D versions, or by downloading digital versions,through the N AC website, www.unl.edu/nac. ]


agroforestry research websites

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Treesearch – The largest freely available collectionof online forestry research in the world.www.treesearch.fs.fed.us

Forest Encyclopedia Network – Connects scientificresults, conclusions, and impacts with managementneeds and issues. www.forestryencyclopedia.net

University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry –Interdisciplinary agroforestry science collaboration.www.centerforagroforestry.org

University of Florida Center for SubtropicalAgroforestry – A multidisciplinary, multi-institutionalinitiative with activities in research, extension, education, and training. http://cstaf.ifas.ufl.edu

Agriculture Research Service – Two research sites areinvolved with agroforestry research: www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=2354 and www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=19-32-00-00

Agroforestry.net – One of the most comprehensivesources of tropical agroforestry information.http://agroforestry.net/aflibr.html

Silvopasture in the Southeast – Blog with articles,research, and tools. Serves as a forum to share ideasand experiences. http://silvopasture.blogspot.com

World Agroforestry Center – uses science to generateknowledge on the complex role of trees in livelihoodsand environment. www.worldagroforestrycentre.org

Iowa State University – Includes researchers fromforestry, agronomy, animal ecology, earth resources,entomology, and plant pathology. www.forestry.iastate.edu/res/agroforestry.html

Agroforestry Research Trust – A temperate agro-forestry non-profit. www.agroforestry.co.uk

Toolscontinued from page 4


IN addition to food and fiber production,agricultural lands must address other con-cerns, such as water quality and wildlifehabitat, and are now being looked at toalso address the emerging issues of climatechange and the need for greater indepen-dence on foreign oil. Agroforestry practicescan play an important role in achievingthese diverse objectives, like food and fiberproduction, energy, and greenhouse gasmitigation, but, most importantly, theycan help link these objectives.

We already know that regardless ofthe intent for establishing an agroforestryplanting, it will mitigate greenhouse gas(G H G) production by sequesteringcarbon, especially in the abovegroundwoody components. Agroforestry can alsocontribute to G H G mitigation through

Working Trees for carbon, and bioenergy, too

reduction in fertilizer and equipment use,greater irrigation efficiency, and microcli-mate control of buildings; providing energysavings. These same Working Treesplantings also have the potential to playnumerous roles in support of agriculturalbased energy strategies, be it bioenergy production or providing energy savings.

Scientists with the U S D A NationalAgroforestry Center’s (N AC) Research &Development (R &D) Program have beenworking to advance the scientific basis andtools needed to optimize agroforestry’spotential to address climate and energyissues, to communicate these findings intoproducts that will further the acceptanceand adoption of these practices, andincrease the awareness and support bypolicy and program makers. They areworking with many collaborators to addresscritical information gaps that hamper ourability to readily measure, report, and pre-dict carbon in agroforestry plantings. In

regards to energy, the scientists arelooking at feedstock and bio-productpotentials of different woody species, aswell as what modifications in species mix-tures, arrangements, and size and manage-ment of practices would be needed tomeet the various roles these plantingscould play along the energy continuum.

Three of the most significant projectsinclude:

• Equations for estimating biomass andcarbon production in agroforestry tree and shrub species with the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

• Energy values for agroforestry plant species; potential arrangements/planting designs with C I N R A M – University of Minnesota

• Estimating carbon sequestration and voluntary reporting by an online toolcalled C O M E T-V R being developed by the N RC S. ]

Michele Schoeneberger

Research Program Leader / SoilScientist, Lincoln, N E

Working Trees serve many functions along an energy continuum. Original photo by Lynn Betts, U S D A N R C S

USDA National Agroforestry CenterEast Campus–UNLLincoln, NE 68583–0822

PRSRT STDPOSTAGE & FEES PAID

USDA — FSPERMIT NO G-40

June 30–July 2, 2008Summer Specialty Conference:

“Riparian Ecosystems and Buffers: Working at the Water's Edge.” Virginia Beach, VA . For more information: http://awra.org/meetings/Virginia_Beach2008/

August 18–22, 2008Short Rotation Crops International Conference: “Biofuels, Bioenergy, and

Bioproducts from Sustainable Agriculture and Forest Crops.” Bloomington, M N. For more information: www.cinram.umn.edu/srwc/index.html

September 9–1, 2008Great Plains Riparian Forest Management Summit. Sioux Falls, S D .For more information: www.unl.edu/nac/Riparian_Summit.htm

Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use, $300

Address Service Requested

Agroforestry V O L U M E 1 7 I S S U E O N EInside

Upcoming Events

“Inside Agroforestry” is published three times per year by theUSDA National Agroforestry Center. Phone: 402–437–5178; Fax: 402–437–5712.

• Greg Ruark, NAC Program Manager (256–372–4540)• Michele Schoeneberger, FS Research Lead (ext. 4021)• Richard Straight, FS Lead Agroforester (ext. 4024)• Bruce Wight, NRCS Lead Agroforester (ext. 4036)• Kimberly Stuhr, Technology Transfer Specialist/

“Inside Agroforestry” Editor (ext. 4013)• Ryan Dee, Technology Transfer Assistant/

“Inside Agroforestry” Designer (ext. 4014)www.unl.edu/nac

MissionThe USDA National Agroforestry Center (NAC) is a partnership ofthe Forest Service (Research & Development and State & PrivateForestry) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. It isadministered by the Forest Service, Southern Research Station; andits program manager and headquarters are located in Huntsville, A L,on the campus of Alabama A&M University, while NAC’s staff arelocated at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, N E ; University ofIdaho, Moscow, ID; and in Blacksburg, V A . NAC’s purpose is toaccelerate the development and application of agroforestry technolo-gies to attain more economically, environmentally, and socially sus-tainable land use systems. To accomplish its mission, NAC interactswith a national network of partners and cooperators to conductresearch, develop technologies and tools, establish demonstrations,and provide useful information to natural resource professionals.

PolicyUSDA policy prohibits discriminationbecause of race, color, national origin,sex, age, religion, or handicapping condition. Any person who believes heor she has been discriminated against inany USDA-related activity should immediately contact the Secretary ofAgriculture, Washington, D C 20250.

Opinions expressed in “InsideAgroforestry” are those of the authorand do not necessarily represent thepolicy of the USDA Forest Service andthe USDA Natural ResourcesConservation Service.

For more upcoming events, visit our website calendar: www.unl.edu/nac/calendar.htm.

Originial photo courtesy of Kasten Dumroese Small,but mighty

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Transcript of Originial photo courtesy of Kasten Dumroese Small,but mighty