Tree establishment and growth using forage ground covers in an alley-cropped system in Midwestern USA |
| |
| Authors: | Email author" target="_blank">Kathleen?DelateEmail author Eric?Holzmueller DeAnn Davis?Frederick Carl?Mize Charles?Brummer |
| |
| Institution: | (1) Department of Agronomy, University of Florida, 32611 Gainesville, FL, USA;(2) School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, 32611 Gainesville, FL, USA;(3) Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University, 50011 Ames, IA, USA |
| |
| Abstract: | The integration of forage crops in an alley-cropped system was examined as a method of encouraging tree planting to increase
farm income, improve soil quality, and enhance biodiversity on Midwestern U.S. farms. Crop and tree performance were evaluated
in an alley-cropped system using four forage intercrops grown in tree alleyways to simulate a potential hay crop – oat (Avena sativa L.) and red clover (Trifolium pratense L.); oat, red clover, and red fescue (Festuca rubra L.); oat, red clover, and orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.); and oat and hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) – compared to a herbicide, mowing and control (no management) treatment. Five tree species, divided into fast-growing
hardwoods of two poplar (Populus spp.) clones Crandon (P. alba L. × P. grandidentata Michx.) and Eugenei (P. deltoids Bartr. × P. nigra L.)], and silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.) were compared with two high-value, slow-growing hardwoods planted from seed and as seedlings: red oak (Quercus rubra L.) and black walnut (Juglans nigra L.). Tree survival in the first year was greater for the fast-growing species, and by the fourth year, tree height among
the four forage treatments was equivalent for all upland locations. The oat/hairy vetch ground cover was associated with the
shortest trees in the bottomland site. Herbicide-treated trees were taller than the average of the four forage treatments
for all four planting conditions. Tree height in the mowing and the control treatments was not significantly different for
all four planting conditions. The nutritive value of the forage crop was excellent in the second year of tree establishment,
with crude protein content and digestibility at 17 and 71%, respectively, in the oat/red clover/red fescue treatment, suggesting
the viability of forage crops as alternatives to herbicides in alley-cropped systems. |
| |
| Keywords: | Black walnut Fescue Oak Poplar Red clover Silver maple |
| 本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录！ |
|
