Post by Naomi on Oct 1, 2015 10:24:16 GMT
Identified by workshop participants at the IPCUK, 11th/15th September 2015
Abbreviations: AF – agroforestry; FF – food forest; FG – forest garden; PC – permaculture
Framework: ecosystem services
* Holistic approach is important
* Gather evidence for FG providing ecosystem services
* Develop assessment tools and methodologies for FGs
* This can include yields, energy balance, time, biodiversity, system health, soil health and fertility, carbon sequestration etc.
* Gather stories as well as measurements – best practice examples, reasons for success
Ecology
Biodiversity
* Species diversity
* Biodiversity survey on polyculture and forest gardens at different successional stages
* Biodiversity surveys in mature forest gardens
* Food forests as ecological corridors & wildlife habitat
* Use of native vegetation
* Impacts of petrochemical farming on biodiversity
Land restoration
* How polyculture techniques can recover degraded land to make it fertile with the least possible time?
* Land regeneration strategies
* Carbon sequestration
* Marrying nature conservation and food production
Soil
* How do we know fungi are important for soil fertility?
* Research into nitrate leaching from heavily fertilised beds
Society & Economy
Human wellbeing
* Can mental health problems (I.e depression) be helped by PC projects?
* Food and nutrition security
* Nutrition of polyculture vs monoculture
* Human adaptation to a different daily diet – consuming mainly perennials
* Do polycultures produce the range of foods that can nourish target populations adequately
* Health & social benefits
Productivity
* Productivity in comparison with other systems
* Non-food yields and products
* Polyculture for different uses; cash crops, medicines …
* Inputs and outputs of polyculture vs monoculture (yields, energy, time, soil fertility, carbon sequestration etc.)
* Annuals vs perennials (impact, yield)
* Improve performance of perennials through breeding
* Yields at different successional stages
Economic models
* Economics of diversified farms
* Seasonal cycles (maintenance, harvest, income..)
* Aggregates/COOPs for distribution
* What roles do nurseries play in the economic viability of forest gardens
Learning
* How can polyculture be used as an awareness raising tool?
* How can farmers transition to a polyculture system?
System design & practice
Layout
* Guilds that work well in my climate. Site specific conditions.
* Successional stages of various guild options
* Evidence of usefulness of guilds
* Effects of planting layout and structure on plant health?
Plant choice
* Adapted species for different climates
* Medicinal plants
Regional variations
* FGs in temperate regions
* Study of indigenous systems in India, SE Asia
Tools and resources
* Machinery for harvesting polycultures
* Availability of plant material and varieties
Methodologies
* Quantification and monitoring – soil, biodiversity, water quality, inputs, outputs)
* Simplified data collection
* Continuous data collection methodology for polycultures
* Searchable database of guilds
Methodologies
* Baseline survey
* Ongoing survey
* Trial sites – improve on Permaculture Association trial (now in year 5 of 10)
* Key elements of successful polyculture projects
What do you think? Are there other areas? Which of these areas most appeal to you?
Do you know of existing research in any of these?
There's scope to share resources on Forest Gardens and Perennial Polycultures widely via the Permaculture Knowledge Base
Resources on forest gardens can also be found here.
Abbreviations: AF – agroforestry; FF – food forest; FG – forest garden; PC – permaculture
Framework: ecosystem services
* Holistic approach is important
* Gather evidence for FG providing ecosystem services
* Develop assessment tools and methodologies for FGs
* This can include yields, energy balance, time, biodiversity, system health, soil health and fertility, carbon sequestration etc.
* Gather stories as well as measurements – best practice examples, reasons for success
Ecology
Biodiversity
* Species diversity
* Biodiversity survey on polyculture and forest gardens at different successional stages
* Biodiversity surveys in mature forest gardens
* Food forests as ecological corridors & wildlife habitat
* Use of native vegetation
* Impacts of petrochemical farming on biodiversity
Land restoration
* How polyculture techniques can recover degraded land to make it fertile with the least possible time?
* Land regeneration strategies
* Carbon sequestration
* Marrying nature conservation and food production
Soil
* How do we know fungi are important for soil fertility?
* Research into nitrate leaching from heavily fertilised beds
Society & Economy
Human wellbeing
* Can mental health problems (I.e depression) be helped by PC projects?
* Food and nutrition security
* Nutrition of polyculture vs monoculture
* Human adaptation to a different daily diet – consuming mainly perennials
* Do polycultures produce the range of foods that can nourish target populations adequately
* Health & social benefits
Productivity
* Productivity in comparison with other systems
* Non-food yields and products
* Polyculture for different uses; cash crops, medicines …
* Inputs and outputs of polyculture vs monoculture (yields, energy, time, soil fertility, carbon sequestration etc.)
* Annuals vs perennials (impact, yield)
* Improve performance of perennials through breeding
* Yields at different successional stages
Economic models
* Economics of diversified farms
* Seasonal cycles (maintenance, harvest, income..)
* Aggregates/COOPs for distribution
* What roles do nurseries play in the economic viability of forest gardens
Learning
* How can polyculture be used as an awareness raising tool?
* How can farmers transition to a polyculture system?
System design & practice
Layout
* Guilds that work well in my climate. Site specific conditions.
* Successional stages of various guild options
* Evidence of usefulness of guilds
* Effects of planting layout and structure on plant health?
Plant choice
* Adapted species for different climates
* Medicinal plants
Regional variations
* FGs in temperate regions
* Study of indigenous systems in India, SE Asia
Tools and resources
* Machinery for harvesting polycultures
* Availability of plant material and varieties
Methodologies
* Quantification and monitoring – soil, biodiversity, water quality, inputs, outputs)
* Simplified data collection
* Continuous data collection methodology for polycultures
* Searchable database of guilds
Methodologies
* Baseline survey
* Ongoing survey
* Trial sites – improve on Permaculture Association trial (now in year 5 of 10)
* Key elements of successful polyculture projects
What do you think? Are there other areas? Which of these areas most appeal to you?
Do you know of existing research in any of these?
There's scope to share resources on Forest Gardens and Perennial Polycultures widely via the Permaculture Knowledge Base
Resources on forest gardens can also be found here.