The Research Grove: The New England Agroforester - Summer Solstice 2026
Silvopasture Discoveries Beneath the Surface
Across research sites in New England, multi-year experiments are helping people interested in farming, forestry, and food systems to better understand how silvopasture practices take shape and function over time. The work spans both silvopasture-by-addition, where trees are planted into existing pasture, and silvopasture-by-subtraction, where forested areas are selectively thinned to create space and light for forages and grazing. These are shaped by site conditions, history, and long-term goals.
Site selection occasionally presents surprises. At UNH, researchers ruled out tree planting at one of UNH's research farms after learning of its archaeological sensitivity. Federally funded research is required to comply with , which states that projects must consider the potential effects of their proposed projects on historic properties. Historic properties include archaeological resources, such as indigenous cultural artifacts. Tree planting requires soil disturbance, which can damage or expose archaeological resources. So, in areas with potential cultural significance, these activities are restricted.
After consulting with an archaeologist and the (SHPO) and , UNH sought out a partnership with in Stratham, NH, to plant their silvopasture by addition. Other states have their own offices and procedures, but all government-funded research sites must comply with guidance from their SHPO and Tribal authorities. Working through these requirements has helped UNH researchers shape this part of the project, strengthening the alignment of research goals with long-term stewardship.
Both UNH and Dartmouth have located silvopasture-by-addition experiments in partnership with privately run farms. At , farmer John O'Brien grazes grass fed beef, chickens, pigs, and lambs. Dartmouth's silvopasture-by-addition site partner is in Hartland VT, which raises grass-fed Jersey and Holstein cows. Plantings at both sites include mixes of fruit, nut, timber, and forage trees, in widely spaced rows in existing pastures.
ADAPT Project Managers Ryan Smith (left) and Aaron Guman (right) and Project Coordinator Aaron Hoag (center) on a cooperator farm site visit.
Establishing Baselines
This summer marks a major push to establish baseline conditions across all participating sites, beginning in the soil. At in Connecticut, researchers are establishing baseline measurements for soil carbon and testing silvopasture approaches under working farm conditions. In New Hampshire, work is centered at an active agricultural site where trees are integrated into grazed pastures. The work tracks ecological changes in systems that reflect how farmers operate.
UNH is leading soil sampling and processing, using designed to track . Soil samples are collected immediately after the establishment of plots within each site, following the protocol to track changes in soil carbon over time despite spatial heterogeneity.
Each study area is a small rectangle, about 16 by 6 feet. A marker is placed in one corner so the same spot can be located over time. To establish baseline, soil samples are collected from several spots around the edge of each plot. When present, the top layer of organic material such as leaves and decomposed matter is also sampled. Soil is taken from different depths, from near the surface down to deeper layers, to track how conditions change over the years.
The samples are tested for soil carbon, which is a key ingredient in soil organic matter and is fundamental to soil health. In the future, new samples will be collected nearby to see how some of these soil characteristics have changed following silvopasture establishment, but not from the exact same spots, to make sure that they aren't collected from already disturbed areas. Simple sensors are also placed just outside each plot to monitor soil moisture, temperature, and light levels without interfering with the study plots.
Sampling protocols extend beyond carbon. Teams collect data on soil acidity, nutrients, bulk density, texture, and the structure of soil horizons, adapting sampling methods to fit different agroforestry systems. What works in a silvopasture does not always translate directly to a food forest or site. Standardization across these systems requires training and coordination, with technicians and students working together to ensure consistency.
Soil sampling demonstrates how systematic methods generate discovery. Soil maps (like the ) provide a useful starting point, but they rarely capture the variability that appears at the scale of a shovel or soil core. Each profile tells a story, shaped by geology, climate, and decades or centuries of land use. Unexpected features can be striking. A different color or texture can signal processes that have been unfolding for generations, shaping the land beneath our feet.
Measuring What Cannot Be Seen
Alongside soil sampling, the project is also measuring greenhouse gas flux at the UNH silvopasture-by-subtraction site. Principal Investigator explains that the aim is to understand how the transition from forest to silvopasture affects the movement of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide through the soil.
The method is simple in concept but precise in execution. The researchers install PVC collars into the ground and seal them with caps to create a closed chamber, or mini-atmosphere. Over about thirty minutes, they use a syringe to draw air samples from the chamber at set intervals. They then analyze the samples using a gas chromatograph in the lab. As gases accumulate inside the chamber, their concentrations increase, allowing researchers to calculate soil emission rates.
Alix shares that it can feel strange to stand in a pasture drawing air into a syringe. Yet the work captures an essential, if invisible, process: carbon dioxide and other gases constantly moving between soil and atmosphere, driven by biological and chemical activity at the microbial scale. By making that movement measurable, the chamber protocol provides a way to observe processes that are always happening but rarely seen.
Investing in Emerging Scholars
Much of this work is being led in the field by graduate researchers, including PhD student , who is focusing on soil carbon storage and greenhouse gas dynamics. In addition to her research, she has played a central role in training others, helping to establish consistent protocols across sites and ensuring that data collection is both rigorous and comparable. This spring, Jannatul received a small grant from the (RINGS) regional initiative to support ongoing sampling. Her project, "Changes in soil organic carbon stocks during the transition to silvopasture from New England fields," is supported along with others' at , , , and . The monetary award reflects a growing interest in applied research that connects directly to land management and climate outcomes. Jannatul presented the preliminary findings at the recent meeting in Southampton Township, New Jersey.
The Role of Macfarlane Research Greenhouses
±«±·±á’s provide controlled environments for ADAPT researchers and students can evaluate crop production and management practices year-round. These facilities support the generation of plants and collection of data that benefit New England growers to improve efficiency, resilience, and crop quality. During the recent , visitors to the Research Greenhouses got the opportunity to see firsthand how the ADAPT project is helping agroforestry operators to respond to changing conditions and adopt more sustainable, data-driven approaches to agroforestry.
Laurie Mooney, UNH ADAPT PhD student investigating food forests, presenting at the 2026 Macfarlane Research Greenhouses Open House.
Laurie has cultivated self-heal, arnica, Greek oregano, and little blue stem in the greenhouse to be transplanted into the groundcover of the food forest experiment.
Edwin Hernández GarcÃa, UNH ADAPT PhD student investigating forest farming, presenting at the . Edwin has cultivated American hazelnut, elderberry, and pawpaw in the greenhouse to be utilized in forest farming research at the and .
American hazelnut (Corylus americana) cultivated in the for ADAPT forest farming research.
At the silvopasture site at UNH's , Tanner Frost (UNH) demonstrates the installation of sensor arrays for measuring light, air temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture across ADAPT's university-based research sites. From left to right: Krystal Bagnaschi (Dartmouth), Tucker Nugent (UNH), Christian Filteau (UNH), Bernie Nyanzu (Yale), Tanner Frost (UNH), and Cayce Morrison (Yale). Behind Tanner are Randy Kolka (USFS) and Matt Vadeboncoeur (UNH).
The Role of Experimental Field Sites
, Research Soil Scientist with the US Forest Service (USFS) Northern Research Station, explaining the double infiltrometer technique to measure soil water infiltration for ADAPT researchers and participants.
Looking Ahead
The research sites reflect both scientific progress and a biophysical transition toward agricultural systems that integrate trees, livestock, and soil processes in ways that can endure for decades. Building silvopasture systems takes time. Trees establish slowly, soils change gradually, and temporary setbacks, including site changes, become part of a longer story. In the meantime, soil cores are cataloged, chambers are sampled, samples are analyzed, and data accumulate. Summer's field work provides a foundation, with success emerging in landscapes that continue to evolve long after the initial study is complete.
Growing and Grounding: Karam Sheban and the Energy of Agroforestry in the Northeast
As Karam Sheban begins his new role as a Research Assistant Professor at the Â鶹app, he steps into a moment when agroforestry in the Northeast feels full of movement. Many readers met Karam in our last issue. We pick up here with what continues to shape his work: the energy of practitioners and the questions that grow out of their work on the ground.
Karam's introduction to agroforestry came through experience rather than coursework. After growing up near Columbus, Ohio, in a landscape dominated by corn and soy, he joined Rural Action in southeastern Ohio as an AmeriCorps volunteer.
"That part of the state is part of Appalachia, where you go from flat lands to rolling hills, and conventional ag isn't a great fit for that rolling topography," he says. In that setting, agroforestry grew out of necessity and generations-old relationships with forests, with a focus on medicinal plants, culinary herbs, and tree-based products.
What stayed with him most was the sense of gathering around the work. "Everybody would come together for these agroforestry events, excited to learn agroforestry from different angles," he says. "For some it was about supplemental income, for others it was about healing the land."
That mix of motivations continues to guide how he thinks about agroforestry as a joining of two disciplines: agriculture and forestry. His research draws from forestry while asking questions about production, food, livelihoods, and complementary values.
During his PhD at Yale, Karam studied forest farming systems, with a focus on herbaceous crops like ginseng, goldenseal, black cohosh, and ramps. In working closely with these systems, a crucial gap became apparent. Formal guidance is often lacking for growers who engage with and are observant of natural cycles.
Wild-simulated American ginseng. Photo source: . Credit: NESARE/Karam Sheban. More info: (2021).
"There is limited information for growers on these crops on basic things, especially in New England: where to plant these species, how well they grow, timelines, conditions they respond to in forest environments," he says. He approached that gap by tracking mature ginseng plants over multiple years, comparing field observations with expectations found in the literature. The results often diverged, which presented interesting questions.
That divergence extends into policy as well, where rules written for wild plants do not always align with what is observed in agroforestry cultivation systems. For example, by the time the legal harvest window for wild ginseng opens in September, particularly in the colder, northern parts of its range, a large share of plants may have already senesced below ground, while many of those still visible do not meet the three-leaf requirement. Since forest farmers are required to follow the laws written to protect wild plants, this leaves a substantial portion of their crop unavailable for harvest.
Karam's research puts numbers to that pattern and highlights the economic consequences. "Research is key to document these types of impacts," he says. Clear data can help open conversations about how policies align with cultivation and how they might evolve.
At UNH, Karam sees a chance to build that kind of exchange, since "a missing piece in the Northeast U.S. has been a major university to anchor this work." Across the country, he explains, agroforestry has gained traction through networks of farmers, nonprofits, and researchers. Karam sees UNH as a place to connect those efforts, supporting growers while developing research in the region.
Karam Sheban as a graduate student at Yale University, working in the soil analysis lab. Photo source: . Credit: NESARE/Karam Sheban. More info: (2021).
Karam also draws inspiration from places where agroforestry has had time to develop. A recent visit to the University of Missouri's offered a look at what long-term investment can build. The university's was founded in 1998, and their Agroforestry Training Academy is in its sixteenth year. "It felt like stepping into the future," he says. There, farmers have moved into perennial systems such as chestnuts and elderberries, building markets and infrastructure over time.
In New England as well as elsewhere, Karam is impressed by farmers' willingness to step into a system that unfolds over years, and to keep shaping it with boldness and a spirit of experimentation. Across conversations with growers, one feeling comes up consistently: "It feels right to grow food this way," he says. That sense of alignment shapes how people stay with the work, how they
Mycena Agroforestry Report: Building Community Capacity for Agroforestry
Mycena leaiana is a colorful, non-edible woodland fungus. Its bright orange gill edges and clustered growth on decaying hardwood (especially beech, oak, and other deciduous trees) make it stand out in New England forests.
The aims to change how tree planting happens by centering relationships, local knowledge, and long-term stewardship. They recently released a report, , summarizing the careful listening they did with dozens of farmers and nursery folks to understand perceptions and barriers to farming with trees. The report concludes with recommendations worth reading for anyone involved in funding or promoting agroforestry practices.
Points of interest: The report highlights that while interest in planting trees is strong, farmers are looking for hands-on training, peer learning, and planning support to build confidence and follow through. Tree planting efforts tend to fall short when they prioritize speed and scale over relationships, trust, and long-term care, the social foundations on which successful agroforestry depends. The report describes the broader agroforestry landscape as currently fragmented, with opportunities to build coordination between growers, nurseries, and funding programs while addressing tree supply shortages, species suitability, and financial viability faced by nurseries.
Calls to action: Several priorities are suggested for agroforestry enthusiasts: (1) Root projects in cultural history and community connections with trees; (2) Secure land tenure for tree projects; (3) Increase funding and finance options; (4) Grow learning and support networks; and (5) Build cooperative and collaborative infrastructure.
For the full report and context, visit .
National Agroforestry Producer Survey
from the has been published, with over 5600 producers implementing agroforestry participating. Silvopasture stands out as the most widely adopted "working lands" agroforestry practice that combines livestock, trees, and farm income streams. Conservation-focused systems (windbreaks, riparian buffers) are more widely used overall. Production-integrated systems (forest farming, alley cropping) make up a smaller but significant share of adoption.
The results show that silvopasture is expanding nationwide. New England follows the same core trends, though typically at a smaller scale. Nationally, farms which have implemented silvopasture have done so on an average about 80 acres, but systems in regions like New England are often smaller and more diversified, reflecting tighter land bases and mixed-use operations.
In both New England and across the U.S., most systems start by thinning existing woods rather than planting from scratch, and cattle remain the dominant livestock. However, New England producers are more likely to emphasize diversified outputs like maple syrup, fruit, and nut crops alongside livestock, aligning with regional markets and forest types.
The benefits look consistent across regions: producers value improved animal welfare, shade, and wildlife habitat. In New England especially, maximizing the use of farm woodlands and enhancing ecological functions are key drivers. But the same challenges persist: upfront costs, labor demands, and management complexity. These can be amplified on smaller, resource-constrained operations.
Overall, the outlook remains strong both regionally and nationally. Most producers plan to maintain or expand their systems, suggesting silvopasture will continue gaining ground in New England as a practical strategy to make better use of forests, diversify income, and build resilience on working lands.
Special thanks to and ADAPT Advisor.
Agroforestry in Context: Spotlight on Regional Agroecological Agroforestry Project (RAAP)
At University of Vermont, the Institute for Agroecology's (IFA) (RAAP) utilizes a approach, partnering with local farms and organizations to co-create research goals through a practice of collaboration and reciprocity. RAAP researchers aim to use their positionality to support and uplift regional agroforestry actors and co-create knowledge to advance an agroecological approach to agroforestry in the region.
IFA covers a range of agroecology topics on its website including food systems, climate change, social justice, policy, and community based land stewardship. Agroforestry is highlighted as one of several approaches within this larger agroecological framework, often in discussions of food forests, perennial farming, and climate resilient landscapes. For students or practitioners interested in agroforestry, the site is most useful for understanding the social and environmental context in which tree based systems operate.
Food System Resilience: A Planning Guide for State Governments
, edited by Heather Tomlinson and Shihui Yang and published in Spring 2026, provides language to position agroforestry as essential infrastructure, rather than an "alternative" practice. It identifies natural assets such as arable land, soil health, forests, and water as critical food system components, improving resilience at the landscape scale. It suggests four asset groupings – natural, physical/built, political, and social – complementing the ADAPT Project's emphasis on biophysical, economic, and socio-cultural research areas.
The guide was developed by the with a local government community of practice. New England groups contributing to the guide are , , , and .