URBAN AGROFORESTRY: CONNECTING AGROECOLOGY, PERMACULTURE, URBAN FORESTRY AND URBAN AGRICULTURE INTO URBAN FOOD FORESTS

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1 URBAN AGROFORESTRY: CONNECTING AGROECOLOGY, PERMACULTURE, URBAN FORESTRY AND URBAN AGRICULTURE INTO URBAN FOOD FORESTS Stephen Mann, Dr Shibu Jose, Dr Michael Gold

2 Most People live in Cities 83 percent (257 million people) live in urban areas

3 Environmental and Social Degradation Water and Food Security Blue River oxbow eutrophication Stadium Dr. KCMO 3333 & Garfield Kansas City Corner Mo Grocery store in disrepair adjacent & Garfield to cleared, Kansas vacant City Mo residential lots. 33 & Garfield Kansas City Mo 33rd & Garfield Kansas City Mo

4 Urbanization has become a major component of landtransformation, loss of wetlands, and deforestation with resulting degradation of ecosystems services worldwide (Grimm et al. 2000). KC Urban area 678 sq mi 2010 Census 58 square miles mostly within the city s urban core served by combined sewers. (DOJ 2012) Mid-America Regional Council

5 EPA vs. KCMO Kansas City, Missouri, to Spend $2.5 Billion to Eliminate Sewer Overflows. Since 2002, Kansas City has experienced approximately 1,294 illegal sewer overflows, including at least 138 unpermitted combined sewer overflows, 390 sanitary sewer overflows, and 766 backups in buildings and private properties. The overflows are in violation of the federal Clean Water Act and the terms of the city s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits for operation of its sewer system. (DOJ 2010).

6 2011 USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework (ASF) Suggests a focus on the integration of agroforestry with food production in urban areas. Adoption of agroforestry principles should start with urban populations and landscapes (USDA 2011).

7 Sustainable Urban Food Production Opportunity

8 Urban Food Forest (UFF)) Temperate Climate UFF designers use tropical Agroforestry home gardens as a model for perennial polycultures that produce: food, fuel, fiber, fodder, pharmaceuticals Ecosystems Services and human wellbeing

9 World Wide Sustainability Strategy Woody Perennial Polycultures (WPP), modeled from multistrata agroforestry systems, are widespread in the tropics, and are being adopted as sustainable, ecologically based land use strategies in urban ecosystems worldwide Fernandes and Nair 1986; Altieri 1999; Nair 2001; Ferguson and Lovell 2013; Fernandez et al. 2013

10 Sustainability Indicators for Woody Perennial Polycultures

11 Ecosystems Services Benefits people derive from their Landbase Provisioning resources, such as of food and water; Regulating, such as the control of water, climate and disease; Supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; Cultural, such as spiritual, aesthetic and recreational benefits. Source MA (2005)

12 Urban ecosystems generate local and direct services. Source: Bolund and Hunhammar (1999).

13 Intentionally Designed Perennial Urban Food Production Distributed at the neighborhood landscape level local ecosystem services can be increased. food provisioning, biodiversity, pollinators, soil building, water retention and filtering, nutrient cycling Cultural ecosystems services such as food security, recreational and employment opportunities and spiritual well-being

14 New Temperate Agroforestry Practice? Urban Food Forest (UFF) was coined by Swedish researchers, Clark and Nicholas in a 2013 paper to describe a set of practices based on home gardens, community orchards and perennial urban agriculture. Not Forest farming Intentionally designed Woody Perennial Polyculture (WPP) Important Eco-Social development

15 Components of Urban Agroforestry Agroecology Agroforestry Permaculture Urban Agriculture Urban Forestry

16 Agroecology Application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agroecosystems Focus Environmental and human elements of agroecosystems. Form, dynamics and functions of elements Interrelationships and processes in which they are involved (Altieri 2000), (Gliessman, 1998).

17 Agroecological Design Goals maximize beneficial interactions between plant species mimicking the structural and functional relationships of natural ecosystems sustainable production of agronomic crops preserving and restoring ecosystem services economic viability, Vibrant Communities Altieri 1999; Jacke and Toensmeier 2005; WPP Research 2014

18 Agroforestry Intensive land-base management practice consisting of the integration of trees and woody perennials with agricultural crops and/or livestock. Intentionally managed Multi level optimization of components Long term planning Economic viability (Lassoie et al. 2009)

19 Livestock In the Urban Landscape

20 Agroforestry Increasing Sustainability agroforestry can show its mettle in terms of environmental sustainability, even with low use of external inputs. Sustainability can be described in terms of conserving the soil, enhancing biodiversity, conserving carbon in terrestrial ecosystems, and enhancing nutrient capture and retention. Sanchez, P.A Science in agroforestry. Springer. And Cultural Ecosystems Services

21 Urban Agriculture Resilient local food system Organic/no till Distributed production In Your Yard Edible landscaping/ low ecological impact landscapes Food Policy Coalition Food Hub efforts Kansas City Food Circle Mobile Farmers Market

22 Local Food U.S. sales of organic products were an estimated $28.4 billion in 2012 Produce accounted for 43 percent of U.S. organic food sales in 2012, * Pike Farmers Market Seattle WA. * USDA ERS 2015

23 Benefits for Neighborhoods The forest garden...supplies people s spiritual needs by its beauty and the wealth of wildlife that it attracts. Robert Hart 1996 Gardening decreases street crime Healthy Food availability Neighborhood Turn Around

24 Permaculture Design Permaculture is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way (Mollison, 1988).

25 Permaculture Ethics Care of the Earth Care of the People Fair Share Image from :

26 Neighborhood trees into lumber in Kansas City

27 Lawrence (KS)Fruit Tree Project Community Orchard

28 Neighborhood Orchards Giving Grove plants edible tree gardens Orchard at Kansas Bhutanese Community Garden.

29 Green Infrastructure Center City Neighborhood Association raingarden bioswale 34 th & Forest Kansas City, MO

30 Neighborhood Food Forest Permaculture design augmenting green infrastructure. Center City Neighborhood 34 th & Forest KCMO

31 Green infrastructure 29th & Troost Ave Kansas City Mo

32 Beacon Food Forest Seattle WA

33 Degraded Urban site Transformed into Community Garden Somali Bantu Foundation of Kansas Kansas City Kansas

34 Urban Biomass into Thriving Business Missouri Organic kept 20,000 T waste out of landfills producing compost and mulches

35 Design drawings Christopher Richards Community Ecological Enterprise Hub Local businesses that have ecological and social goals as part of their core business definition and mission. Perfect for Urban Agroforesters Propagation of native species local cultivars for ecological restoration projects. Research? Which rootstock best for fruit trees in perennial polycultures

36 Sustainability Claims for Temperate Food Forests Overyielding systems Sustainable food production systems Lower labor inputs in the long run

37 UFF Research Project Cultivate Kansas City FF Study Area The ha property is located on a large city lot (.8 ha) in Merriam Kansas. Established 2011 Investigate Sustainability Indicators provide baseline metrics of a number of biogeochemical, ecological, agronomic and economic parameters.

38 Cultivate Kansas City Food Forest 2011

39 Cultivate Kansas City Food Forest 2015

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45 FF Economic Indicators

46 First Chestnut harvested from Cultivate KC Food Forest 2014

47 British Permaculture Research

48 Permaculture Association Research Network Geographical distribution of forest gardens in Permaculture Association Research Network. source: Remiarz (2013)

49 Conclusions Urban ecosystems can become more sustainable using agroecological system design, agroforestry, permaculture and edible landscaping. These practices can lessen the ecological footprint of urban areas by increasing the production of ecosystems services. Urban Food Forests are valuable Eco-Cultural Agroforestry Systems More WPP Research needed Urban Agroforesters needed

50 Thank You

51 References: Altieri, M.A The ecological role of biodiversity in agroecosystems. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 74 (1): Bolund, P. and S. Hunhammar Ecosystem services in urban areas. Ecological Economics. 29 (2): Clark, K.H. and Nicholas, K.A Introducing urban food forestry: a multifunctional approach to increase food security and provide ecosystem services. Landscape Ecology. 28 (9):

52 Fernandes, E.C. and Nair, P.R An evaluation of the structure and function of tropical homegardens. Agricultural systems. 21 (4): Fernandez, M., Goodall, K., Olson, M. and Méndez, V.E Agroecology and Alternative Agri-Food Movements in the United States: Toward a Sustainable Agri-Food System. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 37 (1), Ferguson, R. S., and S. T. Lovell Permaculture for agroecology: design, movement, practice, and worldview A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development Available online at: last accessed Feb. 19, 2014.

53 Grimm, N.B., J. G. Grove, S. T. Pickett and C. L. Redman Integrated Approaches to Long-Term Studies of Urban Ecological Systems Urban ecological systems present multiple challenges to ecologists pervasive human impact and extreme heterogeneity of cities, and the need to integrate social and ecological Jacke, D. and Toensmeier, E Edible Forest Gardens, Volume I: Ecological Design And Practice for Temperate- Climate Permaculture. Chelsea Green Publishing. MA Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005 Ecosystems and human well-being. Island Press Washington, DC. Nair, P Do tropical homegardens elude science, or is it the other way around? Agroforestry systems, 53 (2):

54 Permaculture Association Permaculture Association Hollybush Conservation Centre, Leeds,LS5 3BP, England. Available Online: ; last accessed September 18, Remiarz, T Forest garden research finding the baseline. The Permaculture Association. Available online at: last accessed November 14, 2014.

55 Torquebiau, E Are tropical agroforestry home gardens sustainable? Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, 41 (2): USDA USDA Agroforestry Strategic Framework, Fiscal Year Available online at last accessed Feb. 20, WPP Research (2014). Woody perennial polyculture research. WPP Research. In: Woody Perennial Polyculture research site. ; last accessed November 6, 2014.