Production and Economics of Perennial Woody and Herbaceous Biomass Crops in Alley-Cropping Systems.

Agroforestry has been proposed as an ideal system for producing biomass feedstock because of the potential to satisfy a broad suite of social, economic, and environmental objectives. Alley cropping is an agroforestry practice that shows particular promise in temperate regions. This project focuses on understanding productivity and economics in an alley-cropping system comprising perennial woody and herbaceous crops. The objectives of this study are to 1) determine productivity of woody and herbaceous biomass species in an alley cropping configuration, 2) establish a standardized management information system to aggregate woody and herbaceous biomass production data and refine enterprise budgets for alley-cropping and other perennial-based biomass cropping systems, and 3) integrate production and economic data into a decision support tool. Results will provide a basis for exploring the deployment of perennial-based biomass cropping systems to maximize yield potential across a range of environments while improving economic value and ecosystem services. This information will be used to improve the accuracy of economic models and provide a basis for design of an applied decision support system that can be used by farmers to make informed decisions.