Prehistoric Decline of Freshwater Mussels Tied to Rise in Maize Cultivation

On December 26, 2004, the National Agroforestry Center (NAC) was administratively transferred from the Rocky Mountain Research Station to the Southern Research Station. Although the agroforestry research work unit and the State and Private Forestry technology transfer program will actually remain in their current location in Lincoln, Nebraska, NAC program manager Greg Ruark has moved to the campus of Alabama A&M University (AAMU) in Huntsville, Alabama, where he will serve as SRS national program manager for NAC. This relocation will allow NAC to build on the growing interest in agroforestry in the Southeast and continue to expand the Center's efforts with AAMU and other historically black universities through the newly formed 1890 Agroforestry Consortium.

NAC began as a USDA Forest Service effort in 1992 and expanded into a partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in 1995. The Center conducts research on how to best design and install forested buffers to protect water quality and provide other environmental benefits, and develops and delivers technology on a broad range of agroforestry practices to natural resource professionals who work directly with landowners and communities.

Agroforestry is the intentional blending of agricultural and forestry production and conservation practices. Agroforestry tools and techniques include buffers, wind and snow breaks, and alley cropping. “The most obvious aspect of agroforestry is integrating the planting of trees and shrubs into the production of crops and livestock on agricultural lands,” says Ruark. “In the last few years, we have also started working on ‘green infrastructure' projects, which use planned and interconnected networks of green spaces to help address issues such as water quality and erosion in urban and urban-wildland interface areas.” In Kansas, NAC and other partners have worked with both Topeka and the greater Kansas City region on green solutions to urban and rural watershed and stormwater runoff issues.

Agroforestry practices involve four key characteristics: they are intentional combinations of trees with crops or livestock; they involve intensive, interactive management; and they result in an integrated ecosystem. While research at the Center is focused on tree-based buffer technologies for sustainable land use, it also addresses other benefits provided by agroforestry: water quality improvement, carbon sequestration, noise abatement and visual screening, additional income generated from trees grown as buffers, forage and protection for livestock, and snow and wind breaking.

NAC also synthesizes research conducted by universities and State and Federal agencies into products for landowners and communities interested in adopting agroforestry practices. Formats include field demonstrations, training workshops, computer software, newsletters, “how to” notes, videos, and displays.

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