We reforested 10 hectares of former cattle pasture in the high jungle of northern Peru.
I have been reading a lot about silvopasture over the course of the past couple years, because we are trying to reduce ongoing maintenance costs of our experimental farm (currently done with weedwackers).
I was watching this conference with Ian Mitchell Innes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27fUjjlwm7U
At about the 1 hour 6 minute mark he shows an image of a (mesquite?) tree in southern Texas and mentions how the high-density rotational grazing ended up contributing to the decline of the tree by changing the soil from a fungal dominated soil to a bacteria-dominated soil.
What do you think of that? Any hard science to back that up, or hard science to refute that? I’ve seen Ian present anecdotal pieces of evidence in some of his other presentations, showing that the management intensive grazing favored grasses at the expense of other plant types.
So then, why is it that silvopasture works? Why do natural savannas work? What makes a deliberately planted silvopasture tree any different from the Mesquite shown in the above example? If bacterial dominance of the soil created by the management intensive grazing were really a big concern, then what should be done to ensure the health of silvopasture trees in spite of the bacterial soils fostered by livestock grazing?
Ian specifically claims that the tree decline was due to augmenting the Fungal/Bacterial ratio of the soil in favor of Bacteria, and does not suggest that tree decline is a result of mechanical (hoof) damage such as compaction of root zones or direct damage to lateral roots. I know most people blame cows’ weight for killing trees, but such examples are usually where cows are given unrestricted frequent access to the same trees over and over again, not in contexts where a grouping of trees is exposed to cattle for one day and then given two months of rest/recovery.
Cattle are predominantly grazing animals, and a cattle-based silvopasture system will have a more immediate and visible effect on the grass/understory forage. However, cows will eat trees as well. Goats and sheep will eat a little bit of a lot of different plants, but cows will eat all of something at once if they like the taste. The mesquite borer, according to my reading, usually attacks damaged or unhealthy trees. If the mesquite wasn’t protected from the cattle, they probably ate a lot of the foliage.
When incorporating livestock into a planted area, you have to be careful. If the majority of the leaves are within reach of the cows, you will have to fence off each tree or they will eat it. Cattle are best introduced when the trees are taller and out of reach. Keep in mind that cows can reach pretty far over the fence if they can get their necks over it. Goats or sheep are shorter, but they will strip the bark from young trees, and so the trunks would need to be protected.
Silvopasture systems should always be grazed in rotation. Like you said, they will compact the soil if given access too often or for too long. The rotation is the key to silvopasture and to other grazing systems, and that is also why natural savannahs work. Large numbers of animals move through an area quickly, and then don’t return for a while. Livestock provide fertilizer and stomp organic material into the soil. Manure promotes the growth of both fungi and bacteria in the soil, so I wouldn’t think that would be the cause of death or damage to a tree.
In short, if your trees are old enough to be safe from the cows, it sounds like you have a prime setup for silvopasture. I wouldn’t worry about soil damage as long as you keep up with the rotation.
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Hi everyone, so sorry for the late replies. As we’re all involved in eradicating hunger through sustainable and innovative Agriculture,we should help one another with ideas,or techniques and even making some projects together.
Here in the Eastern DR CONGO, Agriculture is a great deal. I’ve got 10 hectors ,I only need funders.
Thanks Seth. So it sounds like cows are more likely to eat foliage vs. bark. Part of our plan was to intentionally prune branches of Inga spp. to feed the cows when they enter a new paddock. Do you think that would keep them from targeting other trees? I think it’s important to buy our starter calves from a place that focuses on nutrition. At first I didn’t want to buy calves from an operation that uses sileage, because we want them to be completely self-sufficient here, but then I thought if we bought from one of the neighbors with extremely degraded pastures and no supplementation, then the calves might immediately target our trees out of desperation as soon as they arrive on our property.