If you own woods you should read the new Woodlot Management Best Management Practices Agroforestry Series Volume 1. First of a two-volume set, it addresses the management of existing woodlots including established plantations.
Volume 2, planned for 2008, addresses the planning and establishment of agroforestry plantings including: afforestation, planting in fields, windbreaks and shelterbelts, treed buffer strips, intercropping and silvipasture.
The general agriforestry principles described in these two volumes mainly applies to areas south of the Canadian Shield.
Volume 1 Woodlot Management explains the principles of farm woodlot management; describing the best management practices for woodlots and plantations, highlighting new opportunities and providing links to key contacts and more information.
The Introduction discusses the benefits, challenges and potential of agroforestry in Ontario. Then, there is a section on understanding farm woods, the life cycle of a tree, the growth requirements of trees, how woodlands and forests change and a section on woods as ecosystems.
There is a six-step guide to developing a woodlot management plan and then a discussion on best management practices for different woodland types and on harvesting and for forest health.
The book is full of diagrams, illustrations and photographs. There is a good glossary of terms and the back cover has useful addresses and a list of publications.
The Green Cover Program, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,
Ontario Stewardship and Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs gave funding for this publication.
If you are an Ontario farmers single copies are available at no cost through the
target=”_blank”>Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
To purchase single or multiple copies or to order the complete set of BMP books please contact Ontario Federation of Agriculture: Attn Manager, BMP, Ontario Agricentre, 100 Stone Road, W., Suite 206, Guelph, Ontario N1G5L3
