Managing for Wildlife in Agroforestry

This chapter focuses on wildlife benefits in agroforestry settings. Wildlife production is a valuable byproduct that can be complementary to the goals of tree and crop production. The chapter describes the response of wildlife to a diversity of agroforestry settings, but it also discusses general ecological issues, such as scale and habitat fragmentation, that should be considered when attempting to maximize wildlife benefits. It deals with some general recommendations to improve wildlife benefits in agroforestry settings. The choice of cover crop in alley cropping and other agroforestry systems greatly affects wildlife response. A silvopasture combines trees, forage, and livestock in an intensively managed system. Shelter belts have a long and complicated history of use as a habitat management tool. Greentree reservoirs are bottomland hardwood forests that are artificially flooded during late fall and winter. Lease hunting is a scenario in which hunters purchase or exchange commodities to obtain trespass rights from a landowner.