Forest farming

Forest farming is an agroforestry practice characterized by the four "I's"- Intentional, Integrated, Intensive and Interactive management of an existing forested ecosystem wherein forest health is of paramount concern. It is neither forestry nor farming in the traditional sense.

Forest farming, or three-dimensional farming, was pioneered by Toyohiko Kagawa in the 1930s. Kagawa addressed problems of soil erosion by persuading many of Japan's upland farmers to plant fodder trees to conserve soil, supply food and feed animals. He was an inspiration to Robert Hart who pioneered forest gardening in temperate climates.

Forest farm management principles constitute an ecological approach to forest management through efforts to find a balance between conservation of native biodiversity and wildlife habitat within the forest and limited, judicious utilization of the forest's varied resources. It attempts to bring secondary growth forests that have been overused and whose ecosystems have become so fragmented that their natural processes are out of equilibrium, back into ecological balance through careful, intentional manipulation over time, emulating natural processes to restore original, natural diversity of species and ecosystem stability.

In some instances, the intentional introduction of native or native-related species for use as botanicals, medicinals or food products is accomplished, utilizing the existing forest ecosystem to aid in support of their growth. The tree cover, soil type, water supply, landform and other site characteristics determine what species will thrive, as opposed to field-grown crop plantings. Developing an understanding of species/site relationships as well as understanding the site limitations is necessary in order to utilize these resources for current needs, while conserving adequate resources for the health of the forest today and for the future.

Forest farm management is a type of forest stewardship ethic whose philosophy is that the term "sustainable" means what is sustainable for the earth, not what is sustainable for human demands, and its objective is to restore and maintain the health of the forest land's many and varied ecosystems.

In recent years, the concept of ecosystem services has been developed to satisfy the human demand for a means of participating actively in support of ecosystem health and appreciation of the Earth's natural assets. This movement is taking many physical forms - the planting of trees; the leaving of timber to grow older; the protection of forest habitat for animal species; creek riparian enhancement. Forest health is already a priority and is currently undertaken on forest farms as part of the management program. This positions them well to respond to this societal need, of conservation-minded individuals who are willing to provide monetary support for the program.

Methods

Forest farm management methods may include: Intensive, yet cautious thinning of overstocked, suppressed tree stands such that no individual species is decimated and such that the crown cover is never depleted leaving the forest floor exposed to excessive sun, rain and erosion ; multiple Integrated entries to accomplish thinnings so that the systemic shock is not so great; and Interactive management to maintain a cross-section of healthy trees and shrubs of all ages and species, rather than a monoculture of timber species. Caution is used to ensure that physical disturbance to the surrounding area is minimized in order for the forest ecosystem to recover more quickly.

See also

• American Tree Farm System
• Agroforestry
• Conservation movement
• Ecosystem services
• Forestry
• Forest gardening
• Forest management
• Natural environment
• Natural resource
• Permaculture
• Stewardship
• Sustainable forestry
• Tree farm
• World Forestry Congress

References

Notes

• "Natural Selection Forestry, A Guide to Forest Farming"; Orville Camp, 1984.
• "The Forest Management Controversy"; Orville Camp, from "The Forest Farm Journal", Forest Farm Association publication, 1985-1992.
• "North American Agroforestry: An Integrated Science and Practice, American Society of Agronomy, Inc."; Gold, Rietveld, Garrett and Fisher, 2000.
• "Forest Farming Practices"; D.B. Hill and L.E. Buck, 2000.
• "Alex's Forest Farm, the Ecological Approach-Rx for Forest Health"; j.a. kendrick, 2005.
• [1] "In Context" magazine, article by Robert Brothers on forest farmers objectives and goals.
• [2] Cornell University "Forest Farming" defined, with USDA and other related references.
• [3] Proceedings from the 1998 Specialty Forest Products/Forest Farming Conference.
• [4] National Woodland Owners Association (NWOA), "Green Tag" forestry management program
• [5], American Tree Farm System (ATFS)

External links

• Tropical Reforestation