Keeling Curve

Project Summary / Description:

I am at the beginning of a five-year project to pilot intensive silvopasture systems (ISS) emphasizing a suite of 6 of the most promising species. There is much to be learned from researchers who have been implementing and studying ISS in the tropics for years, but there are many uanswered questions; this pilot project will narrow the range of questions to the most critical to farmers. This pilot will provide a setting for future case studies and a network of demonstration sites, and will refine the state of practice. 

I was inspired when reading about intensive silvopastures in Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina that represent "sustainable intensification" at its finest. How could a system with striking yield improvements and habitat values also have positive social and climate impacts? I set out to describe the fundamentals of the system, and research how it might work in the temperate Northeastern US, where I am from, and where I have the most potential to influence the state of practice. Especially as climate and economic variability intensify, ISS systems (along with silvopastoral practice generally) will help keep farmers in business and help make agricultural lands make a better impact on the world.

The process of scaling up ISS adoption is well documented for the project in Colombia, roughly following these five steps: pilot projects/participatory research design, capacity building, incentive system trials, influencing the livestock sector and other larger stakeholders, and large scale projects applying lessons from the first four steps. I hope to emulate this with feedback from the workers who implemented it.

Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Mission Statement:

I want to promote the use of intensive silvopasture systems (tree leaves as livestock feed, essentially) in the Northeastern United States. This system has the potential to have the most positive climate impact of any animal agriculture system, and is compatible with a future that includes omnivory. I emphasize farmer-driven development of this system; I seek t o understand the ecological and economic context I'm operating in; and I value climate solutions that don't compromise other values: this has the potential to be widely-adopted and widely-useful, and the benefits will also accrue widely.

Link: Facebook:

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-319-69371-2_4 https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliaroberts/