The use of agroforestry to control erosion — financial aspects

A long-term study was initiated in northwest Missouri to evaluate the financial and biological aspects of adopting agroforestry systems by area farmers. Three "representative farms" of different sizes containing a composite mix of the most common soils in the region were developed and several agroforestry systems along with terracing and grass stripcropping were simulated for each farm size to reduce soil erosion from typical crop rotations on the highly erodible soils to tolerance (T) levels. Trees were planted in strips on the contour within row crops for each of the three representative farm sizes. Tree species included were black walnut for timber and nuts, Scotch pine for Christmas trees, and American sycamore for industrial fuelwood. Agroforestry enterprises (except biomass production) were found to be more profitable over the long run than conventional cropping systems utilizing conservation measures. Economies of size were noticeable among the different farm sizes. Key words: Agroforestry, erosion, economics, black walnut, veneer, nuts, sycamore, fuelwood, Scotch pine, Christmas trees