Instead of cutting the tree down nearly to the ground, stump culture practitioners leave the bottom layer or two of branches. This preserves the health of the roots and allows the branches to continue growing. One of the branches is eventually selected to form the leader of a new tree. Like well-managed coppiced trees, which can produce steadily for hundreds of years (the oldest known coppiced trees are over 1000 years old), stump culture allows trees to produce continuously for many years. In British Columbia, some stumps have produced a tree every 5 years for more than 60 years.

In British Columbia, stump culture Christmas trees and greenery are often produced in combination with cattle in silvopasture agroforestry systems, or combined with shade loving floral greens such as Salal (Gaultheria shallon), Bear-grass (Xerophyllum tenax), Falsebox (Pachistima myrsintes), Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum), Deer Fern (Blechnum spicant), and Evergreen Huckleberry (Vaccinium ovatum). These are just a few of the alternative crops suitable to grow in agroforestry systems.

Learn More:

• Christmas Trees: Plantations to Agroforestry Systems
• Silvopasture With Christmas Trees

This is one reason mast-producing trees are so valuable a part of conservation and restoration efforts. As truly multipurpose plants, they offer benefits not only to wildlife and the environment but also to humans. Mast-producing trees offer many business opportunities for farmers and other landowners interested in diversifying their income with alternative crops.

The following is a sampling of some of the many crops produced by various mast-producing trees and shrubs that are suitable for commercial sale:

• Almonds
• Apples
• Aronia
• Blueberries and huckleberries
• Brambles
• Cherries
• Chestnuts
• Christmas trees
• Cranberries
• Currants
• Elderberries
• Firewood
• Gooseberries
• Hazelnuts
• Hickory nuts
• Kiwis
• Lingonberries
• Mulberries
• Nursery stock
• Pawpaws
• Pears
• Pecans
• Persimmons
• Plums
• Sawlogs
• Walnuts

In addition to crops produced directly by mast-producing trees and shrubs, there are a number of crops and livestock that can be raised in association with trees and shrubs. For example:

• Boar
• Deer and elk
• Honeybees
• Mast-finished pork
• Free range poultry
• Mushrooms

Value-added products and services related to mast-producing trees and shrubs include:

• Apple cider
• Baked goods
• Canned fruits
• Dried fruits
• Game park or private hunting preserve
• Handmade wood furniture or toys
• Honey and beeswax products
• Hunting guide
• Jams and jellies
• Maple syrup
• Nature preserve
• Sawmill
• Trail rides
• U-pick
• Wine

Learn More

• Income Opportunities in Special Forest Products
• Tree Crops: A Permanent Agriculture

Analog forestry products are typically less productive on an individual basis than those raised in more traditional agricultural settings. However, the high degree of biodiversity in analog forests ensures a steady income for practitioners. Analog forestry also provides the same ecological benefits as natural climax forests, including erosion prevention and water purification.

To date, analog forestry has primarily been practiced in tropical environments. However, the edible forest gardening movement in temperate regions shares many principles with analog forestry, and if analog forestry does move on a wide scale into temperate regions, mast-producing trees and shrubs are likely to play a major role in most analog forest gardens due to their multifuctionality.

Learn More:

• International Analog Forestry Network

Long practiced in the tropics, agroforestry is gaining increasing attention in temperate regions due to its many benefits.

Some of the basic techniques of agroforestry include:

• Alley cropping is a system of planting annual or perennial crops in strips between rows of trees or shrubs. The woody perennials help prevent erosion, improve moisture retention in soil, and diversify income streams through production of wood, fruit, nuts, or other tree products.
• Silvopasture combines trees or shrubs with livestock to diversify income and provide forage and/or shelter for the animals.
• Windbreaks and hedgerows are used to protect more valuable crops and livestock from strong winds and other inclement weather, but they can also be designed to provide habitat for wildlife such as game birds and beneficial insects (farmscaping), or to produce crops of their own.
• Riparian buffers are dense plantings of trees and shrubs planted along streams and other waterways to improve water quality by reducing erosion and agricultural runoff. In addition to their ecological benefits, riparian buffers are commonly managed to provide wildlife habitat and/or produce timber, firewood, fruits, nuts, and other tree crops.
• Forest farming is the production of timber and non-timber forest products in a naturalistic forest setting. It is different from wildcrafting and other opportunistic methods of harvesting forest products because the forest is managed. Examples of forest products produced by forest farming include timber, firewood, fruits, nuts, mushrooms, greenery for floral arrangements, medicinal plants such as ginseng, maple syrup, and more. Small scale and non-commercial forest farming is often known as edible forest gardening.

Mast-producing trees and shrubs make excellent additions to any agroforestry system because they are so multifunctional. Many forms of hard and soft mast are edible for humans and can be harvested and sold raw or processed. Many mast producing trees and shrubs produce superior timber or firewood, and all are exceptional wildlife plants that can be used to provide an additional source of supplemental income through hunting rights, birdwatching tours, taxidermy projects, and more. Some domestic livestock species also relish mast, while the flowers produced by some soft mast producing species are important nectar sources for bees and other beneficial insects.

Learn More

• Agroforestry Overview
• Association for Temperate Agroforestry
• National Agroforestry Center
• Center for Agroforestry

Coppicing is the practice of cutting young trees back almost to ground level to harvest the wood. The tree regenerates from shoots and suckers growing from the roots and is allowed to grow to the desired size and maturity before being cut back again.

Coppiced woodlands are traditionally harvested in sections called coupes in rotations of anywhere from 6 to about 25 years. These rotations ensure at least one coupe will be harvested every year. Coppiced trees live for very long times because coppicing resets the aging process of the tree. In Britain, there are coppiced woodlots that have been producing steadily for 800 years and individual trees believed to be over 1000 years old.

The benefits of coppicing include:

• A renewable, carbon neutral source of energy. Coppiced woodlots were the primary source of firewood and charcoal for energy in many areas of Europe for thousands of years. Thanks to improvements in technology such as high-efficiency wood stoves and advanced wood combustion power plants, wood is now regaining its former prominence as a clean and renewable energy source.
• Improved soil and water quality. Because the root systems are preserved, coppiced woodlots experience little or no erosion compared to conventional forestry methods and annual crops. In fact, if left in place, leaf matter and other organic debris can actually build soil. Coppiced woodlots also tend to be drought and flood resistant, and improve ground and surface water quality through natural filtration.
• Coppicing preserves natural woodlands. Because coppiced woodlands are so productive, they can relieve harvesting pressure on natural woodlands.
• Multi-aged stands benefit wildlife. Because coppiced woodlots are harvested in rotation, they promote a diverse woodland environment, improving wildlife habitat for many species.
• Carbon sequestration. Although trees in general are carbon neutral, coppicing can actually be used to sequester carbon in the soil due to root die-back after cutting back trees.

Almost any broadleaf tree can be coppiced, though some are stronger than others. Common products from coppiced woodlands include:

• timber
• post and rail fencing
• picket fencing
• garden stakes
• bean poles
• rustic furniture
• cordwood
• woven baskets
• charcoal

The most common mast-producing trees to be coppiced include hazel, chestnut, and oak. In addition to wood and charcoal products, mast-producing tree coppices can also produce nuts that can be eaten, sold, or used as livestock feed. The newly developed woody agriculture system uses intensively managed hazel and chestnut coppices to produce crop yields per acre that rival or even exceed those of annual crops, in addition to wood products.

Learn More

• Coppice.co.uk
• The Ancient Art of Coppicing
• Coppicing Handbook

Woody agriculture is an intensive system of production that establishes permanent stands of the woody crop through coppicing. Nuts are gathered annually, and the wood is typically harvested for biofuel or charcoal production once every 5-10 years. The plant regenerates from the roots and returns to food production the following year.

Woody agriculture has many benefits over traditional annual-based agriculture, including:

• Reduced erosion. Once the stand of trees or shrubs is established, no tillage is necessary, greatly reducing wind and water erosion. The deep root systems of woody perennials also help hold the soil in place.
• Reduced agricultural runoff. The deep root system of perennial woody crops uses soil nutrients more effectively, requiring less fertilizer, and utilizes fertilizer more efficiently when it is applied, reducing runoff. Herbicide and pesticide needs are also reduced.
• Reduced water needs. Established perennial crops are also far more drought-resistant than annual crops and require little or no extra water in most regions.
• Improved wildlife habitat. Woody trees and shrubs provide food and shelter for many animal species in addition to the food and fuel they produce for humans.

Contrary to popular belief, tree crops, especially improved hybrids, can produce as much or more per acre than traditional annual crops, and some hybrid varieties have been bred for precocious production, reducing the amount of time between stand establishment and income generation.

Woody agriculture has also been gaining attention from the scientific community due to its carbon sequestration capabilities. Woody plants fix three times as much carbon dioxide as annual crops per year, and it is estimated that converting 1/4th of current agricultural land to an intensive woody agriculture system would completely counteract the excess carbon dioxide emissions produced by fossil fuel burning and other human activities, while providing large amounts of food and fuel for human consumption in the process.

Learn More

• Badgersett Research Corporation
• Woody Agriculture

In recent years, some local farmers in the hazelnut-growing regions of the Pacific Northwest have been experimenting with another type of nut: the hazelnut. These sweet nuts are traditionally used in a variety of desserts, from praline to Nutella, and pigs love them as much as people do. The nuts give a sweet flavor to the meat, and impart many of the same health benefits shared by chestnut and acorn-finished pigs. Pigs fattened with nuts have an unusually high ratio of unsaturated fat to saturated fat, including as high as 55% oleic acid, a heart-healthy fat known to lower levels of LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels. Nut-fed pork also has higher levels of many important vitamins and minerals, and is more likely to be raised and slaughtered humanely.

One of the pioneers in the hazelnut-fed pork movement is Tails and Trotters, an Oregon company dedicated to creating a quality Northwest prosciutto.

The most famous chestnut-fed pigs are those raised around the town of Parma, in Italy. Parma is famous for two of Europe’s great delicacies: its parmesan (parmigiano) cheese and its wonderful prosciutto. Prosciutto di parma is salt-cured pork made from pigs raised on a combination of whey from Parma’s great cheese factories and chestnuts and grain from the surrounding countryside. Parma prosciutto is widely considered to be the best in the world.

Lardo di Arnad, a lesser known Italian delicacy, is also made from chestnut-fed pigs.

When European settlers came to America, they discovered a vast forest a waiting them. One of the dominant trees of the Eastern woodlands was the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata), which made up as many as one fourth of all trees in some regions of the Eastern United States. Whole industries revolved around the magnificent trees, which produced excellent timber in addition to delicious nuts. The trees were such prolific nut producers that after nuts had been gathered and shipped out for human consumption in towns and cities up and down the Eastern seaboard, there was usually plenty left over for the pigs, and chestnut-fed pork was considered to be the sweetest and best pork by early American colonists. Virginia hams were traditionally raised on a combination of peanuts and chestnuts.

Unfortunately, the great American Chestnut was nearly wiped out by a chestnut blight accidentally imported to New York on some infected Asian chestnuts, and between 1900 and 1950, an estimated 4 billion trees died.

Like the trees that once fed them, however, chestnut-fed pigs are now making a comeback as consumers seek a tastier, healthier, and more humane pork for their tables. Chestnut-fed pork, raised on naturalized European or Asian chestnuts, or Asian-American hybrids, has many of the same health benefits as better-known acorn-finished pork, another European tradition imported to the New World. Though fattier than modern commercial raised hogs, acorn and chestnut fed pigs have extremely high levels of unsaturated fat, including heart healthy oleic acid. The meat also contains higher levels of many important vitamins and minerals.

Chestnut-fed pork is also typically raised under more humane circumstances than modern commercially raised pork, and there is evidence to suggest that managed grazing by pigs can actually improve hardwood stands in woodlots and forests.

In some regions, these ancient, traditional methods of raising pork never disappeared. The legendary jamón ibérico de bellota (Iberian acorn-finished ham), also known as pata negra, is widely considered to be the finest pork in the world. This Spanish ham comes from the black Iberian pig (cerdo negra) and is raised in southern Spain near the border with Portugal in oak forests called la dehesa. During the six month period (la montanera) every fall and winter that they forage in the Dehesa, the pigs eat 15-20 pounds of acorns (bellotas) every day, gaining up to two pounds a day, and enjoy fresh air and exercise. After they are “sacrificed,” the hams are cured for 12-36 months, producing a truly artisan meat.

Jamón Ibérico de bellota has only been available in the United States since 2008 and can be purchased from websites such as Jamon.com for $100 or more per pound.

The Italian Cinta Senese and the Hungarian Mangalitsa are more old-fashioned European breeds traditionally raised on acorns. In the New Forest in southern England, pigs are still turned out for a minimum of 60 days every autumn to eat acorns and beechnuts, in a practice known as “pannage,” or the “Common of Mast.”

The practice of finishing pigs on acorns followed European settlers to North America and is regaining popularity today due to its many benefits:

Acorn Finished Pork and Animal Welfare

Acorn finished meat is humane, allowing the pigs to enjoy fresh air and sunshine, as well as practice natural behaviors such as rooting and nesting. Many acorn-finished pork producers even allow their sows to farrow in the woods. Because the animals are not too crowded and are able to behave naturally, pastured pigs rarely have problems with stress and boredom-related cannibalism and their tails are generally not docked. Most are completely antibiotic and hormone free.

Acorn Finished Pork and the Environment

Because the pigs spend their days wandering in forests and pastures, they spread their manure naturally, completely eliminating the toxic waste problems associated with many commercial-scale pig farms. In fact, instead of causing air and groundwater pollution, manure from pastured pigs actually improves the soil.

Forest-raised pigs have also been found to improve forest habitat in some regions. A North Carolina study found that managed grazing by pigs removed invasive plants and improved hardwood regeneration in woodlots.

Note: due to pigs’ omniovorous nature, pastured pigs are NOT recommended in areas with sensitive populations of endangered wildlife. In particular, feral pigs are blamed for massive environmental damage in the delicate native ecosystems of Hawaii.

Acorn Finished Pork and Agricultural Biodiversity

Most commercial pig production is dominated by only a few breeds and hybrids that are bred to be suited to confinement hog rearing. As a result, many traditional hog breeds have become critically endangered. These traditional breeds have many valuable traits that commercial hogs lack, including hardiness, disease-resistance, mothering skills, and foraging efficiency. Pastured pork production helps preserve these valuable traits and increase agricultural biodiversity and food security.

Nutritional Benefits of Acorn Finished Pork

Finally, acorn-finished pork is tastier and healthier for the consumer. For decades, pork has been marketed as “the other white meat” due to the extreme leanness of factory-farmed pork. Acorn-finished pork, on the other hand, is deep red and well marbled with fat. Depending on the breed, many acorn-finished hogs even develop the famous “fatback” – 3 inches or more of fat from the pig’s back that was once considered a delicacy.

Interestingly, even though acorn-finished hogs are fattier than confinement-raised hogs, their meat is healthier. Studies of Spanish pata negra pork have found that the fat they produce is largely unsaturated, often to the point of being liquid at room temperature, and that it is extremely high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids and oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that is also known to lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and raise HDL (“good”) cholesterol. In fact, the pigs are sometimes called “olive trees on four hooves” because the health benefits are similar to olive oil!

Different tree species produce mast on different schedules. For example, White Oak (Quercus alba), one of the most important autumn mast species in much of the country, produces acorns every year, while Red Oak (Quercus rubra), an important late winter food sources for many species, produces acorns only every two years. Including a variety of different mast-producing species increases the chances of a steady supply of mast throughout the year, every year. In most parts of the country, wildlife managers recommend that a woodlot managed for mast production should include about 50% native oaks of several different species, and about 50% other mast producing trees and shrubs, for a minimum of 10 different species.

Maintain an open canopy.

Pole stands with tight canopies of similarly aged overstory trees are the poorest mast producers. A stand managed for mast production should have about 48% sawtimber size (12 inches dbh or greater) trees, preferably larger. Many oaks don’t start producing maximum yields of acorns until they have reaches 20 inches or more. The rest should be a mix of ages and sizes, allowing sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor to encourage diverse understory growth and ensure space for overstory trees to develop large canopy sizes relative to their dbh. Studies have found that in many species, canopy size is a better predictor of the amount of mast produced than age or height. Additionally, the more of the crown surface that is exposed to sunlight, the more mast the tree will tend to produce. Thin trees as necessary to encourage the development of an uneven-aged, multi-species forest with an open canopy and a healthy understory.

For more information about managing woodlots for mast production, visit the Library.