Research
Alley Cropping
Alley cropping is a series of live barriers planted along the
contour. They slow down the movement of water and trap sediment, thus
reducing erosion.
In addition, the hedgerows themselves can serve
as a crop. This experiment includes a plot using blackberries as a hedgerow.
The berries are then harvested and weighed, just as the main crop, which
is corn in this case. We calculate the economic gains and losses in this
experiment. Some hedgerows may be pruned and used as fuel or mulch, an
important and convenient commodity for poor farmers of the third world.
Hedgerows can also serve to ameliorate the soil
itself. Leguminous hedgerows fix atmospheric nitrogen, which becomes plant-available
upon root senescence. These systems may improve aggregate stability of
the soil, penetrate hard pans and improve water infiltration.
A flume collects runoff from the alley cropped plot. The runoff
is collected and transported to a laboratory where it is analyzed for
sediment yield as well as nutrient content. In
this way, we can measure which hedgerow species are the most effective
soil conservation barriers.
