Is there a Home for Agroforestry in Nutrient Credit Trading?
Abstract
Agroforestry riparian buffers and upslope contour plantings provide environmental and economic benefits without eliminating annual farming opportunities. A public/private partnership in Virginia is leading a project titled Conservation Credit for Agroforestry Production (C-CAP) to study the potential for agroforestry to generate profitable credits in private nutrient trading markets. Phosphorus and nitrogen delivered to stream edges are modeled across a sample of agroforestry project sites. Results are being studied to determine financial profitability and relationships to Total Maximum Daily Loads. Research is also being conducted on tree-tube effectiveness, site preparation strategies, plant-water relations on contour, nitrogen fixer intercropping, and financial risk. This presentation will cover C-CAP initiatives, discuss challenges for trading using agroforestry farming, and outline intentions for scaling results to estimate benefits across different agroforestry adoption rates at the landscape-level.
Is there a Home for Agroforestry in Nutrient Credit Trading?
Agroforestry riparian buffers and upslope contour plantings provide environmental and economic benefits without eliminating annual farming opportunities. A public/private partnership in Virginia is leading a project titled Conservation Credit for Agroforestry Production (C-CAP) to study the potential for agroforestry to generate profitable credits in private nutrient trading markets. Phosphorus and nitrogen delivered to stream edges are modeled across a sample of agroforestry project sites. Results are being studied to determine financial profitability and relationships to Total Maximum Daily Loads. Research is also being conducted on tree-tube effectiveness, site preparation strategies, plant-water relations on contour, nitrogen fixer intercropping, and financial risk. This presentation will cover C-CAP initiatives, discuss challenges for trading using agroforestry farming, and outline intentions for scaling results to estimate benefits across different agroforestry adoption rates at the landscape-level.