Over-yielding in Temperate Silvopastures: A Meta-Analysis

Flashcards summarizing key concepts from the article on over-yielding in temperate silvopastures.

What is over-yielding in an intercropping system?

When the productivity of an intercrop exceeds the overall productivity of systems managed separately.

By how much do silvopasture practices improve land productivity compared to separate management of pasture or trees?

42-55%

What are some key management considerations for integrating trees with pastures for livestock?

Protect trees from livestock damage and prune trees to maintain forage production.

What are some potential negative interactions between trees and forages in silvopastures?

Competition for water and light.

What are examples of common facilitative effects in silvopasture systems?

Cooling effect of trees on livestock and nitrogen contribution from nitrogen-fixing trees.

What is a common goal for silvopasture managers?

Managing for facilitative interactions over competitive interactions.

What is it called when mixtures of plants or animals utilize resources in different spaces, at different times, and through divergent mechanisms?

A phenomenon known as niche partitioning.

What is the Land Equivalency Ratio (LER)?

A mathematical tool for understanding the value of intercropping practices relative to segregated production practices.

How is the LER calculated for a silvopasture?

Summation of the ratio of forage/livestock productivity in silvopasture to that in open pasture, and the ratio of timber/tree crop productivity in silvopasture to that in a comparable forest.

In what regions does this systematic review focus on summarizing the LERs of silvopastures?

Temperate regions.

What definition of silvopasture was used for this review?

Trees and livestock combined with improved pasture plants to form a carefully designed integrated system

What database was primarily used for the literature search in this review?

CAB Direct

What types of metrics related to tree productivity were recorded from each study?

Metrics related to tree height/diameter, basal area, trees per hectare, and biomass yield.

How were standard deviations (SD) converted to standard error (SE)?

SE = SD / sqrt(n)

How many records were identified through the initial search and additional sources?

868

What were the main reasons full-text articles were excluded from the quantitative synthesis?

Open pasture control, forest or timber plantation control, or both.

In Anderson and Moore (1987), what was the productivity of trees in the medium and light density plantings were compared to?

The high density planting used as the forest control.

In Orefice et al. (2016), what did the authors consider similar in degree to a conventional thin for a managed woodlot?

Thinning of the forest for silvopasture

What type of trees were primarily used in the compiled studies?

Coniferous trees

What are the percentage productivity increase of silvopastures compared to conventional practices?

55% or 42%