Nature as Inspiration: LAnd Sparing vs. Land Sharing

Topics for Today:

• Observing Nature for Agroecosystems

• Land Sparing vs. Land Sharing

• Syntropic Agriculture & Multifunctional Woody Polyculture

• Tour of the farm from an agroecological frame

  • • • Orchard (SOM, wood chips and funal, fungal dominated vs. bacteria dominated, legumes, IPM)

      • WPP (pasture, animal integration, silvopasture)

      • Ed Garden (SOM, companion planting, IPM)

      • Greenhouse (vertical space, companion planting)

• Tour of Merry Lea Nature areas as analogs

  • • • Soil Pits (different ways of building SOM - compost-driven garden vs. grazing ground)

      • High Lake (aquaponics)

      • Paw Paw patch behind learning center (vertical niche space)

      • Oak Savanna (WPP agroforestry)

      • Goodrich Prairie (grazing land)

      • Switchgrass Prairie (monoculture in nature)

      • Walnut Grove by Goodrich - monoculture perennial

Here we have covered landscape diversity and morphed towards biogeochemical cycling - the next week we will move towards species diversity, the soil food web, etc.