What Effects Does Farming Have on Deciduous Forests?

Although a lot of attention is given to the effects that "slash and burn" farming practices have on the rain forest, the relationship between agriculture and deciduous forest is also a topic worth considering. While deciduous forests tend to be cleared to increase agricultural production in the United States, farming can also help preserve their existence.

Cleared for Tillable Land

• The major negative effect farming has on deciduous forests is areas of woods being cleared to increase the amount of available tillable land. It can be expensive to clear whole sections of woods at once to create new fields, but farmers may gradually bulldoze portions of forest that already border their fields. Although the forest floor contains a lot of roots and other debris that would be hard on agricultural equipment, it is also rich in nutrients and will provide excellent growing ground for several seasons.

Protection from Urbanization

• There are many instances when agriculture is instrumental in protecting deciduous forests. Often, farmers own the woods around their fields and farms and have great interest in keeping them in good condition for hunting, aesthetic purposes, or to enjoy them for other reasons. This prevents the forests from becoming victim to urbanization and others who would buy small plots and clear them for houses. Agriculture in general protects land from development which may eventually harm or reduce the forest.

Agroforestry

• Various forms of "forest farming" lead to the proper maintenance and care of deciduous forests because of their profitability. The production of maple syrup depends on the existence of large maple trees to produce the sap. It becomes essential to protect older trees, since they supply a significantly larger quantity than young trees, and it may take a maple 20 years or more before it can be worth tapping. Nuts, firewood and other forest productions can also be harvested from deciduous forests.

Species Diversity

• Farming can affect the type and density of species found in deciduous forests. Some species, such as black bears, make their habitat deep in the woods, while others, such as some kinds of birds, live on the border between woods and meadows. Agriculture tends to decrease the size of woods or split them into smaller sections, creating more border habitats. This can increase the population of plant species that require more light and therefore thrive in woods-to-meadows transition zones, and decrease the presence of those only found in deep woods, such as ferns.