Agroforestry in the Southwest:
A Rich Past and Promising Future
By David A. Bainbridge
©1994
Associate Professor
United States International College of Business
Alliant International University
San Diego, CA 92131
Presented at the Symposium, Agroforestry and Sustainable Systems
(Ft. Collins, CO, August 7-10, 1994)
ABSTRACT
Table of Contents
- History of Agroforestry in the Southwest
- Prehistory
- Agroforestry Use in the
Development Period
- Regional Description
- Climate
- Soils
- Bioregions
- Land Use & Land Capability
- Principal Environmental Problems
- Marginal Economics of Rural
Resource Management
- Disruption of the Soil and
Hydrologic Cycles
- Air Quality Problems
- Loss of Rare and
Endangered Ecosystems, Species and
Populations
- Invasive Plants
- Health Issues
- Agricultural Pest
Management
- Current Status of Agroforestry in the Region
- Forest and Woodland
Grazing
- Fuelwood
- Biofuels
- Windbreaks
- Fiber
- Waste Treatment
- Wild Harvest
- Minor Products and
Christmas Trees
- Recreation, Fishing, and
Hunting
- Intercrops
- Filter Strips, Buffer
Strips and Watershed Rehabilitation
- Groundwater and Drain
Water Management
- Restoration and
Conservation Plantings
- Forest Gardens
- Wood and Craft Products
from Range and Woodlands
- Opportunities for Agroforestry
- New Jobs and Economic
Diversification
- Forest Gardens to
Improving Living Conditions
- Environmental Improvement
- Health Issues
- Pest Management
- Trees and Transportation
- Global Warming
- Problems and Obstacles
- Emphasis on Technical
rather than Socio/Political Issues
- Subsidies and Distorted
Markets
- Ignorance
- Over-specialization
- The Separation of
Knowledge and Experience
- Limited Time, Vision, and Commitment
- Demand for Publications
rather than Actions
- Recommendations
- Policy and Programs
- Demonstration
- Acknowledgements
- Literature Cited
Also Available as MS
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Abstract
The native people of the Southwest were intelligent applied ecologists who
actively managed the land. They were skilled in the use of fire, hunted
and kept animals, selected and planted seeds for annual and perennial
crops including many tree crops, and transported and transplanted trees
and shrubs. In many areas they relied on tree crops for much of their
sustenance, primarily the oaks, mesquites, and pines. A better
understanding of their complex agroforestry management practices will
improve future resource use in the region.
The major problems in the region that should be addressed in agroforestry
development include: poverty and lack of jobs; poor productivity of
degraded woodlands, rangelands, and forests; water and wind erosion; loss
of rare ecosystems, species, and populations; health problems, esp.
diabetes and dust caused lung diseases; and agricultural and forest pest
problems.
Agroforestry practices used today include: forest/woodland grazing;
fuelwood, biofuel, and fiber from agricultural and forest or range lands;
wild harvest (pinyon, mushroom, etc.); riparian enhancement; windbreaks;
edible landscaping; intercrops as beneficial insect refuges; and
groundwater and irrigation drain water management.
Changing policy, regulations, and incentives to favor sustainable resource
management and improving education and research and providing
demonstration projects will speed adoption of agroforestry practices. One
of the fundamental lessons of this report is the importance of considering
systems as a whole rather than in parts. This is highlighted by the the
burgeoning wild mushroom harvests. The high demand and high prices for
mushrooms are in large part due to the contamination of harvest areas in
Eastern Europe from fallout from the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl (Gillins,
1993). Focusing on a wide range of future products makes it more likely
that long term management will be profitable. As Bob Heald comments, if
the University of California forest had been optimized to fit economic
criteria in the 1960's or 1970's it would be less profitable today.
Although many trends are quite clear, it is essential to plan for
uncertainty and change.
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