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Silvopastoralism (timber and pasture production in association) may offer an opportunity to mitigate adverse down-stream environmental affects of dairy farming, especially on the pumis soils of the North Island’s volcanic plateau.
The choice of tree species is crucial. Here poplar stands out as the obvious first choice. Poplar;
Is a vigorous grower, far ahead of other deciduous hardwoods;
has a natural apical form, making it suited for wide-spaced planting;
is deciduous, reducing the impediment of pasture growth. (Indeed, in its early years pasture growth may be increased;
propagates from a pole (enabling practical establishment over grazed pasture; with all cattle systems protection can be with electric systems);
has recognised special timber value (and is extensively cultivated globally);
is proven in New Zealand;
Is an attractive tree.
New Zealand’s forestry industry has been focused on the blanket cultivation of that remarkable species, pinus radiata. Other species have attracted little interest other than from farm forestry enthusiasts. Poplar, however, has been widely cultivated over the last fifty or so years for the purposes of hill country soil conservation over pasture land. This has been driven by catchment boards and regional councils, most especially in the North Island. Huge numbers have been successfully grown, but silviculture (pruning) to develop a clean millable log has been very much the exception. Accordingly these trees have reached a prodigious size, or will do so, and have little or no commercial value. Further, given the nature of the country, extraction is often challenging.
But what if it was determined that poplars over dairy pasture planted – and managed – at, say, 100-120 stems to the hectare mitigated soil water enrichment? If this was the case then it could mean that dairy farming on fragile environments could continue rather than be regulated out.
This would necessitate a change in culture for the traditional dairy farmers, and certainly a change in the landscape. But what could be the economic benefits? Firstly there is the timber crop; a high-quality log produced, given the fertility of the land, in perhaps as little as twenty years. Added to this is the likely return from carbon credits.
On the other hand there would be some inconveniences such as fodder harvest, and irrigation using boom-type systems would be out. Impact on fodder production is more of an unknown, but could be increased through pasture shelter and leaf fall. Animal comfort could also be a plus.
What I believe is justified is some trialling of this so that research can be done into the longer-term environmental and economic effects.
Interest is invited. Contact ewan-mac@xtra.co.nz.
Note: The writer studied the cultivation and utilization of poplar on a Churchill Fellowship in North America and Europe in 1994. He has been growing and (sort of) managing poplars for forty years. Several years ago he won an award at the National Field Days for an invention to protect poplar poles using an electrified system.