How farming and forestry converge: enhancing the interface between agricultural production, and tree biomass/bioenergy systems to improve farm-scale productivity in Western Australia

摘要

Shifting government policies and degrading terms of trade are leading to a range of tree biomass related options competing with food production on agricultural lands, including bioenergy, forestry, conservation legislation, and carbon biosequestration markets. Tree bioenergy plantations need not be monocultural and homogenous, and can be successfully incorporated into existing agro-ecological systems to increase primary productivity and food security while providing cost-effective bioenergy resources. This work examines trees integration in relation to wind speed, turbulence, humidity, evaporation, transpiration, temperature, water competition, solar use efficiency, frost, erosion, and fodder. These effects are examined in terms of farm-scale limiting factors in agro-ecological systems (water, sunlight, wind, frosts, fodder, etc.), alongside research data on tree system integration with conventional livestock, horticultural and broadacre food production in southern Western Australia (WA).