Nolan Monaghan, graduate student at the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry studying perennial cropping systems, member of the Agroforestry Coalition
This piece was originally published in The Columbia Missourian 12/10/2024
Gardeners are tucking the last of their plants away for the winter and will soon again be dreaming of springtime. Once seed catalogs start hitting mailboxes, the buzz of verdant backyards and blooming landscapes will quickly fill minds. Agroforestry, a term growing in popularity but still unfamiliar to many, is a fruitful way every gardener can start to make a positive impact on the land and our shared resources as a community. In agroforestry systems, trees and shrubs are combined with crops and/or livestock to offer delicious, nutrient-dense foods such as nuts, berries, mushrooms, grass-fed meats and medicinal herbs. The sustainable practices that underlie agroforestry can be administered on any scale — from large swaths of cropland to urban parks, community gardens and residential lots.
1. Riparian buffers
For homes with small water features, such as a creek or drainage ditch, the agroforestry practice of riparian buffer strips is a great way to improve your neighborhood’s water quality and add diversity to your landscape. Most strips have three layers to them, a row of trees planted on the riverbank, followed by shrubs planted just after that, and then grasses (ideally native) on the outermost border of the strip. This vegetation can stabilize soils that are vulnerable to erosion after heavy rain events. In some cases, properly designed buffers can increase the area’s water-holding capacity to mitigate the impacts of flooding. Buffers can also provide habitat for native critters such as bees and butterflies. Community buffer projects that extend beyond one individual’s property boundary can be a way to build community among neighbors and establish “green” infrastructure that supports ecological resilience.
2. Windbreaks
Also called shelterbelts, windbreaks are rows of trees placed in the path of prevailing winds that protect your garden and home. Windbreaks work to shelter plants and buildings from heavy winds. They can help protect buds in the garden during early-spring frosts and reduce home heating bills during the winter. They also improve water efficiency in drier months. When wind blows across a leaf, it sucks some of the water out of the plant through the stomata, rousing the plant to draw up more water from the soil. Choosing evergreen trees, such as spruce or cedar, is important since having leaf coverage all year is essential to maintain the shielding effect. With proper design, windbreaks can also serve double duty as a privacy screen or living snow fence to reduce time spent shoveling the driveway during winter.
3. Forest farming
For those lucky enough to have access to small woodlots or patches of forest, cultivating specialty crops under the tree canopy is another way to practice agroforestry. The home-scale forest farmer can grow food, herbs and ornamentals for a wide range of uses. For example, logs inoculated with mushroom spores, such as shiitake, are a common way to use humid and shady forest lots. The “fruiting” mushrooms can then be dried and used throughout the year. Established or introduced populations of wild onions and leeks, shade-tolerant berry shrubs, herbaceous medicinal herbs such as goldenseal and decorative woody florals can also be encouraged to provide a low-effort source of food, nutrition and beauty.
4. Community forest gardens
For those who have limited access to garden space, there are still many ways to take advantage of agroforestry. Humans have tended to forest gardens for millennia, utilizing the vertical and horizontal growing niches available within and around an emergent or established tree canopy. Often also referred to as “food forests,” communities across the country are adapting this practice to large and small scales within shared gardens and green spaces to enhance the availability of fresh fruits, nuts, herbs, fungi and ornamentals. This can range from plantings of fruit trees along sidewalks with herbs in the understory to designing complex multistory perennial gardens in traditional community garden plots. These sites have the added benefit of providing shade and opportunities for socialization in communal growing spaces.
Once you’ve studied your species, site and goals, order your trees and shrubs early so you can get planting as soon as the ground thaws in spring. Learn more about agroforestry design and find free tree and shrub growing guides through the University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry.