SilvopastureinWisconsin:Researchobservations

DianeMayerfeld

ForesttosilvopastureAdvantages:

•  Speed•  Money??•  Treeform

Disadvantages:•  Lesscontrolof

species&loca8on•  Riskoflogging

damage•  Stumps

Sometimesconvertingwoodstosilvopastureisnotappropriate•  IfthewoodsareinMFLorhaveanotherlegalrestric8onongrazing

•  Ifthesoilsaretoowetortheslopesaretoosteep•  Ifthewoodshavespringephemeralsorothersensi8veflorayouwanttokeep

•  Ifthewoodshaveyoungtreesthatyouwanttokeep(<4”dbh)

•  Ifthewoodshavehigh-quality8mber,weighthepoten8alcostofdamage

•  Ifmanagementcapacityislimited

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Step1:consultaforesterWhatisthesite’sforestryandwildlifepoten8al?hOps://dnr.wi.gov/topic/forestlandowners/locator/

Step2:whatareyourgoals?•  Shade?•  Firewood?•  Controlshrubs?•  Wildlifehabitat?•  Savannahabitat?•  Timber?•  Emergencyfodder?•  Other?

Silvopasture:Pastureintotrees

Plan• Canopymanagement• Forageestablishment• Rota8onalgrazing

ForageManagement

LivestockHusbandry

Tree/ShadeManagement

Designoptions

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Silvopasture throughout Silvopasture with open pasture

Croptreeselection

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CropTreeThinning

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Patchtreethinning

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Othertips•  Aimforaround30-50%canopycoverage

•  riskofwindthrow--but--treecanopieswillfillout•  Marktreesbeforeyouthin•  IfoaksarepresentavoidloggingApril1–July15•  Conductthinningwhengroundisfrozenordry

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Haveaplanforslash

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Afterthinning:

•  GrassseedcanbebroadcastbyhandorfromanATVifsiteisnotaccessibleformachinery

•  Shade-tolerantgrassmix?Orchardgrass,meadowfescue,smoothbromegrass,Kentuckybluegrass,(reedcanarygrass)

•  Regularfenceinspec8on

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Lancastersilvopastureresearch

Researchques8ons:•  Whatisthevalueoftheshade?•  Howdoessilvopastureaffectvegeta8onandsoils?

4treatments:•  Openpasture•  Silvopasture•  Grazedwoods•  Woodlandcontrol(ungrazedwoods)

Funding provided by a USDA Hatch Grant

AnimalWelfare5Freedomsandgrazingsystems

• FREEDOMFROMHUNGERANDTHIRSTReadyaccesstofreshwateranddiettomaintainhealthandvigor.

• FREEDOMFROMFEARANDDISTRESS• FREEDOMFROMPAIN,INJURYORDISEASE• FREEDOMTOEXPRESSNORMALBEHAVIOR• FREEDOMFROMDISCOMFORTProvideanappropriateenvironmentincludingshelterandacomfortableres8ngarea.

Trees

Silvopastureisnot1treeinthepasture

…orcowsinthewoods

Silvopasturewelfaregoal:Provideshadeand/orshelterforlivestockwhile:•  Protec8ngsoilandwaterquality•  Providinggoodforage•  Minimizingdamagetotrees•  Maintaininganimalhealth

How?Goodforageandgrazingmanagement

Supplementarywelfaregoals?•  Scratchingorrubbingresources•  Medicinalornutri8onalbenefitsofwoodlandplants?

Establishment

•  Thinnedwoodsto72m2basalarea

•  Clearedslash•  PlantedforageinSilvopastureunderstory

Silvopasture

Accesstoshade&welfare

•  Didcowschoosetoaccessshade?•  Didaccesstoshadereduceheatstress?

Whendocowsseekshade?Whenitiscoolerinthewoodsthanintheopen

Shade

•  Cowsintheopenpasturemorelikelytoshowsignsofheatstress

HeatStressFactors

•  Temperature•  Radia8on(shade)•  Humidity• Wind

Edges

Soilcompaction?

Woodland Characteristics Soil, Bulk Density

0.970.89

0.96

1.24 1.20 1.15

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

Ungrazed Ungrazed Ungrazed Grazed Grazed Grazed

gr/cm3

Woodlands

BulkDensitygr/cm3

•  Un-grazedaverage0.94±0.044gr/cm3

•  Grazedwoodlotsaverage1.2±0.045gr/cm3

•  (p-value:0.002)

Grazedwoodlandisnotsilvopasture

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5

10

15

20

25

30

35

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5De

pth,cm

Coneindex,MPa

SP GW Ctl +TDSP +SDGW +SDCtl -SDSP -SDGW -SDCtl

SilvopasturevsGrazedWoods

•  Grassinthesilvopastureslowsthespreadofspeciessuchasthistles,whitesnakeroot,andpokeweed.

•  GrassinsilvopastureholdsupbeOertocaOleimpactthanthespeciesingrazedwoods,butnotaswellastheopenpasture.

Silvopasture

Canimproveanimalwelfare(esp.thermalcomfort),butrequiresthoughsulmanagementofgrazingtopreventenvironmentaldamage:•  Managegrazing8mingtomaintaingoodforagelayer•  Re-seedhightrafficareas•  Manageshadetomaintaingoodforagelayer•  Ensureanimalsalwayshaveaccesstogoodforage

WewillpostsilvopastureresourcesathOps://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/sustag/resources/in-service-training/

Thankyouto:

MarkRickenbachRhondaGildersleeveEricKrugerAdenaRissmanDanielSchaeferArinCrooksBillMeyerDougWiedenbeckBradleySelzerEliWhitneyKeefeKeeley

SavannaGraylessJoshuaKalmanCaitlinNeumanJoshCoadyFranciscoArriagaNickKeulerMaOhewSebas8anNicoleMinervaEmilyThierryTz-RaeLiu

andmanyothers…

Questions?