Designed strategic redeployment of perennial cover in North American farm landscapes

Excerpt

Central North America contains some of the most productive and intensively managed agricultural landscapes on the continent. Most crops grown here (e.g., corn [Zea mays L.], wheat [Triticum aestivum L.] and other cereals, soybeans [Glycine max L.], and canola/rapeseed [Brassica napus L.]) are summer annuals, grown in rows typically between 18 and 90 cm (7 and 35 in) apart, promoted with chemical fertilizers, and protected with pesticides (Potter et al. 2010). Within the farms of central United States and southern Canada, there are perennial agricultural land covers and nonfarmed land cover types. These include pasture and hay, remnant prairies, woodlands, wetlands, and other covers such as fencerows, ponds or reservoirs, and roadsides or access laneways. On whole, the landscape of production agriculture in central North America is approximately 80% annual cover and 20% perennial vegetation (figure 1). Recent research from several disciplines suggests that perennial cover ought to be much more extensive and thoughtfully deployed in agricultural landscapes. This paper describes a rationale and spatial strategy for increasing perennial cover in high-intensity farm landscapes.