Salicaceae family trees in sustainable agroecosystems

Abstract

Tested a prototype wooded buffer strip planted between a creek and row-cropped land with roots grown intentionally deep enough to intersect the near-surface water table. Populus cultured using this technique are both ecologically sustaining and productive. Nitrate is removed from near-surface groundwater and the nitrogen uptake is present as protein in the leaves and the woody stems. The tree's physiological attributes contribute to a harvested value that can "pay its way'; these include fast wood growth, cut-stem rooting, resprouting from a stump, phreatophytic roots, and a high protein content in the leaves. The wooded riparian strip changes the local agroecosystem by reducing fertilizer nutrients causing surface water eutrophication, by diversifying wildlife habitat, by reducing soil erosion, by diversifying the crop base and by creating an aesthetic addition in the landscape. -from Author