3 An Agroecological Foundation for Temperate Agroforestry

      Brent R. W. Coleman, Naresh V. Thevathasan, Andrew M. Gordon, and P. K. Ramachandran Nair

      The primary natural ecosystems of North America are dominated by either perennial grasses or woody vegetation. Prior to European settlement, grasslands occupied 39% of the current United States, while forests and shrub‐dominated systems covered most of the remainder (Sims, 1988). These highly diverse assemblages of species evolved during millions of years in response to major changes in climate and physiography. Powered almost exclusively by solar energy, they have sustained production and provided enormous ecosystem services, generating a legacy of rich soils and other biological wealth.

      Because of this legacy, most of these ecosystems have been converted to agroecosystems (agricultural systems) through the substitution of annual food plants (e.g., corn [Zea mays L.], wheat [Triticum aestivum L.] and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.]) for the original perennial vegetation. Where climate or other conditions preclude the planting of row crops, native grassland is exploited through the substitution of domestic livestock for native herbivores, and forests are intensively managed for timber production. The conversion has been extensive and thorough; at the extreme are states like Illinois that have seen a decrease of 99.9% of prairie acreage, with approximately 930 ha (2,300 acres) remaining statewide (Steinauer & Collins, 1996). Of the 930,000 ha (2.3 billion acres) of total land area in the United States, 17% is classified as cropland, 29% is classified as grassland pasture and rangeland, 28% is classified as forest‐use land, 23% is classified as special use (parks and wildlife areas) or miscellaneous (wetlands, tundra, unproductive woodlands), and 3% as urban land (USDA, 2017). Approximately 43 million ha (106 million acres) are designated wilderness areas under the National Wilderness Preservation System, accounting for roughly 4.6% of the total land area of the United States (Watson, Matt, Knotek, Williams, & Yung, 2011). The landscape is now a “semi‐natural matrix” (Roberts, 1988) within which humans and all other species must survive.

A similar situation exists in southern Canada, especially in southern Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime Provinces. Herbaceous and woody biomass crops are being cultivated on increasing areas across North America as a means of producing bioenergy or for use as animal bedding. Warm‐season grasses such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and miscanthus (Miscanthus spp.) and fast‐growing woody species such as hybrid willow (Salix spp.) and poplar (Populus spp.) are growing in popularity among producers as a result of their high yields, low nutrient requirements, broad environmental tolerances, and environmental benefits such as enhanced C sequestration potentials compared with conventional agricultural crops (Coleman et al., 2018; Graham et al., 2019). The ability of these crops to grow on marginal lands is likely to contribute to increasing popularity going forward. The ecological principles explored in this chapter would apply equally to temperate agroforestry and biomass crop production systems developed in these regions.

      The goal of this land‐use conversion has been to maximize the amount of net primary or secondary production from these systems that can be used by humans. In the short term, this goal has been met and a massive increase in food and wood supplies has been generated. However, the long‐term consequences of these conversions bring into question the sustainability of this level of production. For example, in addition to solar energy, U.S. agroecosystems use large amounts of fossil fuels to power machinery or produce other inputs such as fertilizer and pesticides. Irrigated corn production in Nebraska, for example, requires an estimated average of nearly 86 million kJ ha⁻¹ of fossil energy input (Pimentel, 2009), or 1 kJ input for each 1.65 kJ harvested. Conventional beef production requires 13 kg (29 lb) of grain and 30 kg (66 lb) of forage to produce 1 kg (2.2 lb) of beef, meaning fossil fuel energy inputs of 40 kJ kJ⁻¹ (or 40 kcal energy input per 1 kcal) of beef protein, without considering the energy costs of processing or transportation (Pimentel et al., 2008). This energy profligacy occurs in a country that imports 10.14 million barrels per day of petroleum (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2018a). Additionally, the United States also heavily relies on shale oil for its own domestic production, accounting for nearly 60% of the total U.S. crude oil production (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2018b), with fracking posing devastating environmental impacts and requiring significantly greater amounts of energy to extract compared with conventional drilling.

      Soil degradation caused by erosion, salinization, waterlogging, and such other processes are major environmental issues that seriously impact land use. For example, approximately 30% of U.S. cropland has been severely damaged because of erosion, salinization, or waterlogging (Pimentel et al., 1995). Soil loss by erosion continues at a rate of 1.54 billion Mg of soil per year, with water erosion causing annual soil losses of approximately 900 Mg annually, and wind erosion causing soil losses of nearly 640 Mg annually (Natural Resources Conservation Service, 2015).

      The continuing decline of genetic diversity in agriculture is yet another issue of major concern. Instead of the 250–300 plant species found in an equivalent area of tall‐grass prairie (Steiger, 1930), or the 100 species in a similar area of oak–hickory (Quercus spp.–Carya spp.) forest, a typical midwestern corn–soybean farm maintains only two species on a majority of the land area. In addition, genetic diversity within the major U.S. crops is quite low. Farmers who plant several hybrids or cultivars to increase their diversity are often planting essentially the same thing, under different names (National Academy of Science, 1972; Raeburn, 1995). These highly simplified single‐species systems are at increased risk from pest outbreak or climate extremes.

      Sustainability is “the concept about meeting today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs, and it strives to achieve a balance between ecological preservation, economic vitality, and social justice” (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987). Our current farming system