Alright, lack of resources, the majority of my academic reading comes from New Zealand yet there is still so much not covered, has
led to some frustration.
When looking at a pasture based system being properly rotationally gazed with ruminants I see so much potential for more species diversity, higher
feed values, improved animal health, drought tolerance &
water retention,
carbon sequestration, soil health and microbiological diversity; overall higher capture percentage of incoming
energy which creates diversity and lowers the volatility of a system.
All of this can be achieved by incorporating fodder
trees in the form of coppice, pollard, or mast/pod bearing.
Now this is a pasture with THE goal of raising animals, I'm not focused, in this conversation, on implementing a silvopasture for
wood harvest but rather the previously mentioned beneficial potentials. With that said a silvopasture based system is not be overlooked when stacking functions on pasture.
Coppicing trees-
Poplar and Willow are the most commonly utilized varies. In my
experience mulberry has proven to be highly palatable for ruminants along with taking very well to the animals pruning and bark stripping, often responding with numerous shoots after a healthy resting period. This period of time I have yet to measure consistently.
Pollarding-
More time/labor inputs but potentially higher DM yields. I am more interested in not creating more time investment to maintaining pasture which makes coppicing a more desirable method. Although, on areas of ungrazable
land large pollard trees can serve as a great addition for feed values.
Mast/pod bearing trees-
Since this is a pasture light penetration is pivotal to understory growing success, where the majority of DM is derived. This rules out most, but not all, trees of mast bearing variety.
Honey locusts are an amazing option in my opinion when placed in a pasture based setting due to their canopies which allow high amounts of light penetration(can't
think of the term for that). Upon maturation, with a cultivar bred for pod production and nutrition, you are provided with copious amounts of late fall/winter forage( more practical for sheep as they can digest a higher percentage of the hard seeds). Shoots sprouting up from the mother trees are continuously grazed hence adding forage and never getting a foothold to harden it's spikes for protection. There are other great options but for my climate- zone 4- but honey locusts are of personal most interest.
Fruit trees are another fabulous mast bearing option if properly protected.
So we put this all together-
A diverse understory with microclimates of partial shade allowing for further diversity along with a "Savannah"-esque planting of honey locusts with a larger number of poplar and willow coppice trees.
What are the draw backs to this?
More management meaning scaling becomes more difficult(50+ acres? 20 acres of this system is not that intensive to manage if done during animal rotations).
Need for permanent fencing infrastructure as electric netting is not practical in such a setting(from experience).
Potential for pasture degradation due to overshading if not properly managed.
If not equidistantly planted trees may hinder ability to drive machinery through as well as increasing the difficulty of removing coppiced non edible wood.
What are your thoughts? I didn't go into detail for each of the benefits mentioned in the beginning of the post as they are some what commonly known. If anybody has questions on those benefits be sure to ask for elaboration! If anyone sees other potential, or obvious, benefits be sure to share!
Surely we can find a pasture option that is widely applicable, perennial, practical and of immense benefit when compared to the traditional open meadow style of grazing. Yes, sheep are classified as grazers but I have observed mine head straight for the browse every chance they get.