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**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** AGROECOSYSTEMS ARE EMBEDDED IN A LARGER LANDSCAPE MATRIX, AND INPUTS BETWEEN AGRICULTURE AND WILDLANDS CAN AFFECT THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PROVIDED IN EACH. FOR EXAMPLE, HAZELNUT PRODUCTION REQUIRES PEST MANAGEMENT AND BARE GROUND FOR HARVEST. INTENSIVE PESTICIDE USE AND GROUND SCRAPING TO ACHIEVE THESE AIMS CAN RESULT IN A LOSS OF BENEFICIAL INSECTS AND HIGH PESTICIDE AND HERBICIDE RUNOFF IN WILDLANDS. RECIPROCALLY, PESTS FROM SURROUNDING WILDLANDS CAN SPILLOVER TO EXACERBATE PEST LOADS IN HAZELNUT STANDS. FOR EXAMPLE, HAZELNUT ORCHARDS ARE EMBEDDED IN A LANDSCAPE PREVIOUSLY DOMINATED BY OAK-PRAIRIE SAVANNAH. THE PRIMARY ECONOMIC PEST OF HAZELNUTS IS THE FILBERTWORM, WHICH IS HOSTED BY OAKS AS WELL AS HAZELNUTS. CONSEQUENTLY, REMNANT OAK HABITAT IN THE AGRICULTURAL MATRIX CAN SUPPORT SOURCE POPULATIONS OF FILBERTWORMS THAT INVADE HAZELNUT STANDS, LEADING TO A POTENTIAL CONFLICT BETWEEN OAK CONSERVATION AND HAZELNUT PRODUCTION. DEVELOPING STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND CONSERVATION ACROSS THE HAZELNUT-OAK INTERFACE IS PARTICULARLY PRESSING AS THE HAZELNUT INDUSTRY IS BOOMING, WITH PRODUCTION DOUBLING IN THE LAST 10 YEARS, AND FORECASTED TO DOUBLE AGAIN BY 2025.WE TEST TWO STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE ECOSYSTEM MULTI-FUNCTIONALITY ACROSS THE HAZELNUT-WILDLAND INTERFACE. WORKING ON FARMS THAT EMPLOY A RANGE OF PRACTICES (CONVENTIONAL TO ORGANIC), WE FIRST TEST THE USE OF PIG GRAZING TO REDUCE PEST SPILLOVER FROM WOODLANDS. FILBERTWORMS BURROW INTO ACORNS, AND WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT GRAZING WOODLANDS AT PEAK ACORN INFESTATION WILL REDUCE PEST SPILLOVER INTO ORCHARDS. WE EMPLOY A BEFORE-AFTER-CONTROL-IMPACT DESIGN TO ASSESS THE LOCAL AND LANDSCAPE EFFECTS OF GRAZING ON FILBERTWORM POPULATIONS. SECOND, WE TEST WHETHER NATIVE COVER CROPS CAN REDUCE RUNOFF AND RETAIN SOIL NUTRIENTS WHILE ALSO PROMOTING NATURAL PREDATORS AND POLLINATORS. WE FACTORIALLY CROSS GROUND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES WITH COVER CROP TYPE (NATIVE, CONVENTIONAL, BARE) AND ASSESS PLANT POPULATION VIABILITY AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES. WE INVOLVE PRODUCERS IN QUESTION DEVELOPMENT AND EXPERIMENTATION, WHICH HELPS ENSURE OUR APPROACH IS RELEVANT AND OUR RESULTS ARE WIDELY DISSEMINATED.

$499,991FY2021National Institute of Food and AgricultureUSDA

University Of Oregon, Eugene OR

Investigators

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